Dual Upgrade of Technology and Experience in the 2025 Cosmetics Market Drives New Industry Transformation
01 Overview of the Cosmetics Market
Technology leads the trends, while experience touches the soul. In the trillion-yuan cosmetics industry, innovation has undoubtedly become the core driving force for development. According to the "2025 Mid-Year Beauty and Skincare Market Trend Insight" report jointly released by Magic Mirror Insight and Xinhua News Agency, the sales of China's beauty and skincare market reached 235.23 billion yuan in the first half of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 10.1%, demonstrating the market's robust vitality. Meanwhile, the global beauty industry scale is as high as $677 billion, with skincare products occupying a core position, accounting for 42% of the market share.
Against this backdrop, the power of technology is becoming increasingly prominent, driving product iteration and industrial upgrading. Internationally renowned brands such as P&G, Unilever, Estée Lauder, as well as outstanding domestic companies like Proya and Shanghai Jahwa, are engaged in fierce technological competition in areas like anti-aging, skin repair, and whitening. Simultaneously, the integration of skincare benefits into color cosmetics ("skincare-makeup fusion") and the sensory upgrade of hair care products are making the beauty industry more aligned with consumers' pursuit of "efficacy, safety, and pleasure."
02 New Technologies in the Skincare Field
In the skincare world, repair, anti-aging, and whitening remain the industry's focal points. According to a Euromonitor report, the scale of China's functional skincare market exceeded 180 billion yuan in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.4%, far surpassing that of the general skincare market. This growth trend reflects consumers' increasing demand for product efficacy.
Currently, the beauty industry is exhibiting a new trend of "research intensification" in core areas like anti-aging, repair, and whitening. Brands are no longer satisfied with simply stacking ingredients; instead, they are committed to building their product moats through in-depth research into product mechanisms, rigorous clinical validation, and continuous technological innovation. Furthermore, demand in the sensitive skin care market is constantly driving industry change. According to statistics from the "Chinese Expert Consensus on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Sensitive Skin," over 40% of the Chinese population has sensitive skin, making repair products a new market favorite. Currently, this segment is shifting from traditional "barrier repair" to more cutting-edge "cell-level intervention," and the integration of medical research and cosmetics is increasingly becoming an industry consensus.
In the anti-aging sector, statistics from Grand View Research indicate that the global anti-aging product market reached approximately $52.4 billion in 2024 and is projected to surge to $80.6 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.7%. The Asia-Pacific region, with its strong momentum, is the main driver of this market growth. At major exhibitions, it's evident that competition in the anti-aging field is intensifying. Meanwhile, skincare technology is continuously advancing, with explorations ranging from simple collagen supplementation to more complex protein network reconstruction, as well as peptides and mitochondrial research, all in full swing.
In the whitening field, the focus is gradually shifting from pure "ingredient competition" to exploring "mechanism innovation," with emotions and photoaging becoming new research hotspots. According to a Kantar consumer research report, demand for whitening products in the Asian market has shifted from simple "brightening" to pursuing multiple effects like "comprehensive anti-dullness, antioxidant, and anti-photoaging."
03 Transformation in the Color Cosmetics Market
The color cosmetics market, being the segment with the fastest iteration and most active innovation within the beauty field, not only profoundly reflects the aesthetic concepts and value pursuits of the new generation of consumers but also leads the innovation direction of the entire beauty industry. According to data from market research company Circana, 53% of color cosmetics consumers in 2024 preferred hybrid makeup/skincare products, an increase of 6% compared to 2022, indicating that skincare concepts are gradually permeating the color cosmetics category.
04 Upgrade of Hair and Body Care Products
The global premium hair care market continues to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 9.8%, with "sensory therapy" becoming an important driver for consumer purchases. The hair care field is undergoing a comprehensive upgrade from a singular "cleansing function" to "scalp health, sensory enjoyment, and emotional soothing." Packaging design is also increasingly focusing on the integration of cultural aesthetics and user experience.
Looking at the entire Chinese cosmetics industry, it has entered a new stage of "core scientific research." Whether international renowned brands or local emerging companies, all are committed to building unique technological barriers through basic research, clinical validation, and industry-academia-research collaboration. Simultaneously, product development is increasingly focusing on the "experience," encompassing ingredient efficacy, emotional value, functional integration, and packaging design.
In future market competition, brands that can deeply understand consumers' real needs and provide unique experience design are more likely to win consumers' sustained trust.
