Circana 2025 Prestige and Mass Beauty Growth, Trends for 2026

Circana’s 2025 beauty sales figures are in.

The market research firm’s point-of-sale data shows that for 2025, prestige beauty sales in the U.S. grew 4 percent to $36 billion, while mass beauty swelled 5 percent to $72.7 billion for the same time period.

The dynamics by category, though, are much less congruent, with the only category to jump double-digits being fragrance in the mass market while consumers in makeup, for example, seem to be trading up.

“We’re starting 2026 in a strong position,” said Larissa Jensen, Circana senior vice president and beauty industry adviser. By unit sales, prestige grew 3 percent and mass notched a 2 percent uptick. “It’s a very solid year when many industries across total retail saw unit declines.”

For fragrance, the mass market jumped 15 percent while prestige only swelled a third of that. “Fragrance is the only category where prestige is dominant in terms of volume. Mass is much smaller,” Jensen said. “There’s a lot of luxe-inspired scents and packaging. If you think about mass fragrance today, it is a much more elevated experience.”

On the makeup front, Jensen is watching consumers trade up to prestige, which she attributes to pricing. Of all the categories in the premium market, makeup has the lowest average retail price, she said. “The ones that are doing well tend to lean into the value conversation, but not only in terms of price — in terms of quality,” she said. Prestige and mass notched respective upticks of 4 percent and 2 percent. “What’s consistent is what’s driving it in both, which is lip products and skin care hybrid products.”

One of Jensen’s key takeaways from the year, and heading into 2026, is the emphasis on value, which was also exemplified in skin care. “Skin care, at the end of the day, is about efficacy. If products work, consumers come back, and if they’re able to save money that’s even better,” she said. “Mass is outpacing, and one of the drivers in skin care is body care. In mass, that makes up a large portion of skin care volume.”

To that end, prestige skin rose 3 percent, while mass increased 6 percent. Hair care grew the most in prestige, up 8 percent, while mass rose 4 percent.

“A lot of what I’m talking about is related to expertise, and salon brands tend to do very, very well,” Jensen said of the hair care category. “They are the dominant in terms of size in the prestige market, and consumers trust salon brands. That’s what’s driving prestige.

“If you look at the mass side of the business,” she continued, “salon brands make up a significantly smaller portion of sales there. So that’s a big piece of what’s driving prestige and where the premiumization is happening.”

The focus on value will continue to shape the 2026 market dynamics, Jensen predicted. “It’s going to be interesting to watch, whether it’s new brands coming into play, or potentially existing brands coming in with new innovations to try to meet this redefinition of value,” Jensen said. “The wellness piece is going to continue to be a big role, whether it’s hybrid makeup, mass fragrance or body skin care, even a good hair day. That’s all mental wellness.”