From slowing consumer spending to Trump's tariffs, Q1 2025 brought mounting pressures to the beauty industry. In such uncertain times, making strong consumer connections and maintaining brand equity became more critical than ever.
The Cosmetify Index Q1 2025 highlights the brands that managed to maintain success despite challenges in the three months ending March 31. To create the list, Cosmetify analyzed top beauty brands by tracking their social media following, engagement, and Google search volume. As the year kicked off, Huda Beauty dominated the index by beating its competitors by several points, driven by its impressive social media following of 67.6 million.
BeautyMatter breaks down the rest of the Cosmetify Index Q1 2025 key findings.
The Winners of Q1
Consistency, community, and cultural capital led the way during the first quarter of the year. On the heels of a rebrand, Huda Kattan’s cosmetics brand Huda Beauty, known for its legacy influence and cult-product vitality, remained at the top of the index. The brand's impressive engagement across Q1 was complemented by a surge in searches (+22% YoY), which was amplified by the brand’s viral launch of its Ube Powder at the start of the year, according to the report.
Fenty Beauty came in second place with steady engagement and a strong cross-category, cross-platform presence. Debuting on the Index, NYX Professional Makeup placed third, a position the report attributed to the brand’s balance of affordability and TikTok virality. Despite YoY searches dipping, Rare Beauty held strong in fourth place, led by its resonating branding and the ruling of creator-led content. Although beaten by faster-moving players, classic brands including Dior Beauty and Charlotte Tilbury remained relevant, evidencing that in an industry constantly chasing the latest trend, brands with rich history will always have their place.
Cosmetify’s Beauty Brand Losses of Q1
While Sol de Janeiro shined in first place on the overall 2024 Cosmetify Index, the Gen Z-favorite brand fell eight spots over the winter season, which the report claimed is due to market oversaturation, overexposure, and consumer product fatigue. Despite coming in as teens' favorite beauty brand, e.l.f Cosmetics softened in searches, due to market overfamiliarity, according to the report.
Glossier and Bubble Skincare also lost ground, failing to make the top ten, which Cosmetify attributed to a zeitgeist shift in favor of heritage brands and “clean” or minimalist brands, such as Rhode.
Q2 Predictions
Cosmetify predicts that Sol de Janeiro is primed for a summer comeback, a season when the brand’s tropical scents typically thrive. Rhode is noted as another brand to watch after its recent expansion into makeup, which drove a 50% rise in searches this quarter. Kayali is also on the rise, with searches for the brand soaring by 123%, and Danessa Myricks continues to climb, led by a growing TikTok buzz.
While some brands are set for success, others are at risk of losing momentum. The report stated that Drunk Elephant saw one of the biggest drops this quarter, down 10 places with searches falling by 70%. Bubble and COSRX also saw notable drops, which Cosmetify attributed to consumer attention shifting away from the Gen Z skincare hype into Gen A.
