2024 Beauty Sales Point to a Prestige-Masstige Growth Cycle Through 2027

Feb 16th, 2025

Fragrance sales continued to grow robustly in 2024, driven by both value and a desire for high quality.

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U.S. beauty sales grew 3% in 2024, totaling $119 billion; prestige beauty sales grew 7% in 2024, according to Circana data*, totaling $33.9 billion. (How big is that prestige market? More than twice that of the next-largest prestige market, China.) Meanwhile, U.S. mass beauty sales grew 3%. According to McKinsey data, the luxury beauty sector is expected to expand at an annual growth rate of 10% through 2028. What’s driving growth in the market? And what's ahead for 2025-2027? Let’s get into the data to find out.

Circana's rundown of beauty category dynamics in 2024.CircanaIn her presentation at a recent CEW event, Larissa Jensen, Circana’s global beauty industry adviser, noted that 2024 was a year of normalization and disruption, the latter of which will be the driver for growth.

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2024 Beauty Category Sales Dynamics

Fragrance was the fastest-growing U.S. prestige beauty category in 2024 based on both dollar sales, up 12%, and units sold, which were also up double digits. Mass also grew at a healthy 9% in the same period, displaying robust demand across price tiers (see below for category-by-category rundowns). Masstige sales were up 13%.
Skin care sales were soft in mass and prestige, increasing 2% and 1%, respectively. However, masstige was a key highlight. For example, the masstige facial skin care market boomed by 13% in 2024, making it the strongest performer in the entire masstige space.
Prestige and mass hair care grew by 9% and 3%, respectively. Notably, Circana data points to the majority of hair care shoppers spending across both the mass and prestige space.
In makeup, which is the largest prestige beauty category, dollar sales were up 5%. Mass, however, was down roughly 3%.
According to NielsenIQ data, bath and shower was the only beauty category aside from fragrance that grew at a faster pace in 2024 than it did in 2023.

In the United States, brands touting clean concepts boomed in fragrance and makeup, while hair was more muted, and skin care actually softened.

Dupes have also boomed across categories, with 27% of U.S. beauty shoppers admitting they’ve purchased such items. Notably, 55% of dupe shoppers made their purchases on Amazon, beauty’s top U.S. retail destination as of 2025, overtaking Walmart (per earlier Morgan Stanley forecasting).

2024’s Holiday Season in Review

Mass-prestige dynamics were mixed in Q4 2024’s holiday selling season, with prestige makeup growing 2%, compared to a decline of 3% on the mass side, compared to the 4% mass gain in skin care, compared to a 2% gain in prestige.

Global Zoom-out

Circana data reveals that prestige beauty drove most growth across most regions in 2024, while mass-market beauty also achieved steady global gains.

Notably, South America emerged as the only region where mass-market beauty outpaced the growth of prestige products.

The analysis also uncovered significant differences in product category preferences across regions, with many markets heavily leaning toward either mass-market or prestige offerings. However, North America stands out as an exception, maintaining a relatively even split between the two segments.

Meanwhile, the U.S. market continues to lead global beauty trends, with international brands increasingly refocusing their efforts on this critical market.

Although the beauty industry has moved past the rapid surge seen in the post-pandemic era, it remains on a healthy and sustainable growth trajectory.

Beauty 2025-2027 Sales Forecast

Overall prestige beauty sales are expected to increase 5% year-over-year in 2025, with growth slowing to 4% for 2026 and 3% in 2027, per Circana. This trend portends growth, but also signals that prestige and mass expansion will be more closely aligned.

Through 2027, mass makeup is expected to be soft, while mass skin care will accelerate (see category deep dives for more details). Mass unit performance will also be softer than most prestige categories.

According to McKinsey data, the global beauty industry will be valued at $596 billion, representing 6% annual growth. Luxury will grow faster, per the company, expanding at 10% through 2028.

Looking ahead, Jensen, said, “The beauty industry’s resilience continues to shine as consumers turn to beauty to not only look, but also feel good. With beauty products intertwined with consumers’ emotional needs and wellness routines, maximizing this opportunity will go a long way to ensure a healthy future for our industry.”

More Reports in this Series

*This report is based on insights derived from CEW’s State of the Industry: Global Trend Report 2025 (among other sources), which covered key industry trends for 2025 with insights from top experts:

Sarah Jindal (Mintel): 3 key consumer trends for 2025.
Leslie Ann Hall (I ced Media): Strategies for future-proofing social shopping success.
Tara James Taylor (NielsenIQ): Must-know global trends.
Joëlle Grünberg (McKinsey & Company): Luxury and retail growth insights and their impact on beauty.
Yarden Horwitz & Sam Mintz (Google & Spate): Gen Z's influence on beauty trends.
Larissa Jensen (Circana): Year-in-review report on beauty industry performance.