In an industry where products are sold as much through stories as science, food has become the secret ingredient driving authentic consumer engagement. Signaling taste in both the literal and fashionable sense, food-infused beauty now serves as a gateway for emotional connections, nostalgia, and even social status.What once began in the '90s with Lip Smacker’s Cotton Candy craze has evolved into a full-scale, social media-led cultural craving as beauty lovers seek out “glazed donut skin” (driven by over 1.5 billion views on TikTok), gourmand “dessert-inspired scents” (Spate reports +182.1% year-over-year search growth across social platforms), and “strawberry girl makeup” (fueled by a single TikTok tutorial with 45.1 million views). Driven by this consumer appetite, beauty brands are cooking up products, collaborations, and marketing campaigns that look, smell, and feel like flavorsome snacks and beverages, with a strong focus on sweet treats.The rise of food-flavored beauty reflects a wider cultural shift in consumer relationships with indulgence and identity as a whole, turning everyday routines into sensorial experiences worth sharing (and savoring). BeautyMatter explores the growing crossover between food, beverages, and beauty, as culinary cues influence formulations, aesthetics, and consumer psychology.Society’s Sweet Spot: Why the Trend Hits NowBeauty critic and cultural commentator Jessica DeFino believes the rise of food-led beauty stems from the anti-diet culture rhetoric that entered the mainstream in the mid-2010s.