The endless bombardment of Black Friday and Cyber Monday ads was more than just noise — it was the trigger shoppers needed to dive headfirst into the beauty aisles. Whether prompted by aggressive social media ads, last-minute text alerts, or irresistible deals, consumers flocked to beauty counters for everything from prestige fragrances to skin care bundles. The payoff? A surge of new customers and a clear trend: the treat mindset was overtaken by a desire for value-driven beauty deals.

A Surge in Beauty Bargains

This year’s holiday shopping window was compact but impactful. According to the National Retail Federation, nearly 197 million shoppers swarmed the stores, a slight uptick over projections, with beauty and personal care landing in the top five most-purchased categories. Cyber Monday also added fuel to the fire, as U.S. consumers spent $13.3 billion online, with beauty seeing the lion’s share. According to Adobe Analytics, online cosmetics sales are on track to increase by 73%, hitting over $10 billion by year-end. But the real kicker came from unit sales: Circana reported double-digit growth across all beauty categories, with makeup leading the pack.

“I always say unit performance is the true indicator of consumer demand,” said Larissa Jensen, Circana’s SVP, Global Beauty Industry Advisor, in a LinkedIn post. “My in-store Black Friday retail observations held true — the crowds were there, and spending was strong.”

This shift suggests that consumers aren’t just treating themselves — they’re hunting for discounts and practical, lasting purchases. 

Fragrance Leads the Charge

While skin care and hair care racked up their share of sales, prestige fragrance stood out as the star performer this year. The category nabbed the biggest market share (9%) at specialty beauty retail stores for the seven days ending Saturday, November 30, followed by foundation (5%) and face moisturizer (5%), according to Daash Intelligence.

Prestige perfumes dominated store shelves, with popular scents from Mugler, Valentino, and Billie Eilish flying off the shelves. Mass retailers like Target got in on the action, moving fragrances like Fine’ry and Mix:Bar with ease. In fact, fragrance was the fastest-growing beauty category of 2024, up 14% in dollars and 12% in units by September, according to Circana.

TikTok Made Them Buy It

Store associates across the board said TikTok was the number one sales driver in their stores. Milani Cosmetics’ Make It Last Setting Spray, Highly Rated Lash Extensions Tubing Mascara, and Baked Blushes stood out as top performers and benefitted from social media.

“Our tried-and-true products continued to shine,” said Jeremy Lowenstein, Chief Marketing Officer for Milani, which recently partnered with the Lipstick Lesbians to showcase its Blur Out Smoothing Primer.

Gen Alpha Shifts to Hair & Body Care

Social media is reshaping shopping habits, particularly among Gen Alpha. The newest beauty consumers are turning their attention from skin care to hair and body care, with products like rosemary hair oil and body care lines from Tree Hut becoming must-haves. Influencers and TikTok stars are fueling this shift, and mass retailers like Ulta and Target are capitalizing on the trend with major product displays aimed at the younger crowd. As a result, body care became the fastest-growing segment of skin care in the first half of 2024, growing 7% from the previous year.

Mass Marketers Get Savvy

Despite flat sales in the first half of 2024, mass beauty brands are proving they won’t let prestige steal the show this holiday season. CVS and others are pulling out all the stops, launching beauty advent calendars and high-profile product displays to attract younger shoppers, following in the footsteps of Ulta and Sephora. The competition between prestige and mass-market beauty products has never been fiercer, but this holiday season, it’s clear: savvy consumers want value without compromise.

As beauty deals dominate, one thing is clear — this isn’t just a season of gifting. It’s the season of savvy, deal-hunting shoppers ready to embrace beauty without the frills. The question now is, will these trends endure beyond the holiday rush?