In last month’s editorial letter, I mentioned that an evident shift to “Wellness” from purely “Beauty” has become a priority for consumers who are focused on products that will make them feel good, as well as look good. 

Now, Jennifer Famiano, Beauty Industry Analyst, Circana, has looked into the “clean beauty” offshoot—and whether it’s still critical to today’s consumers?

Famiano says that clean skincare sales are declining, based on first-quarter 2025—suggesting that demand may be waning. Her view is that today’s consumer is instead seeking brands that are focused on clinical expertise. In prestige beauty outlets, Famiano said skincare accounts for the largest share of clean beauty product sales, but has been declining since 2022.

Flip-flopping trends are also true of cosmetic industry packaging, which we address in our feature story in this issue, titled “Beauty Shifts Into ‘Refill 2.0’.”

With a push for global sustainability in all areas, Beauty has been at the cutting edge in re-designing packaging that meets consumer, brand, and legislative goals. 

While some cosmetic brands have always held recyclable and/or refillable goals as essential to their DNA, a push over the last decade or so has been toward increasing refillable packaging, from jars to bottles. 

While beauty packaging suppliers showed their agility and eagerness to problem-solve by producing various solutions, refillables were not met with the enthusiasm that had been envisioned. Although it seemed like a good solution, too many hurdles blocked the way. But why not give a good idea another go-round?

As you can see by the title of this year’s Refillable Packaging story, with a reference to 2.0 (from an interview response from Stephanie Rowntree, International Product Manager, HCP Packaging), we are seeing a new wave of industry excitement. Suppliers and brands have again worked together to analyze and determine how this promising solution can benefit all, including the Earth.

We may still have a long way to go before there’s an overall acceptance rate, from mass to prestige, but as sustainable habits and legislation grow, so it seems, will refillable packaging. In an industry that’s constantly changing, remaining agile and flexible, and keeping things simple, can result in success.

Have a great summer!

We hope you enjoy this issue,

Jamie Matusow

jmatusow@rodmanmedia.com