Recession-Ready Beauty
Published 25 August 2025
Budget beauty has been rebranded. Once a necessity, now a cultivator of kudos, the category is growing in popularity (82% of women globally say that inflation is impacting how they spend) and commercial value around the globe thanks to smart buying, value-hacking trends and dupes that deliver.
Thrifty Mindsets Fuel Budget Beauty
Market Shifts in Budget Beauty
The Dupe Domination
Hardworking Hybridity & Savvy Skinimalism
Ongoing socioeconomic uncertainties are driving thriftier consumer attitudes and behaviours. TikTok emerges as a learning platform for new underconsumption trends, value-hacking becomes a sport, and ‘recession-era’ inspires more relaxed grooming.
Ongoing socioeconomic uncertainties are driving thriftier consumer attitudes and behaviours. TikTok emerges as a learning platform for new underconsumption trends, value-hacking becomes a sport, and ‘recession-era’ inspires more relaxed grooming.
In Q1 2025, mass-market beauty sales in the US saw a year-on-year increase of 3%, marking the first time in years that the mass market has outpaced prestige sales, which remained flat (Circana, 2025). Experts believe the high level of innovation from brands in the affordable beauty space is driving consumer desire for mass and budget beauty at its very core.
Dupes—cheaper versions of expensive items that mostly look and feel the same—have been beauty industry staples for decades, but interest has more recently reached fever pitch. Now, dupes are commanding more shelf space and filling online shopping carts as beauty addicts continue prioritise discovery without the price tag.
Skinimalism returns to favour, influencing consumer behaviour and market dynamics. Simplified routines that prioritise fewer, more hardworking products backlash against complex multi-step regimens and impulse buys. Mindful consumption tackles ‘beauty burnout’ and prioritises multi-tasking heroes for modern living.
Recession-Ready Beauty
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