What Beauty Brands Got Right This Year

And What Comes Next.

Beauty’s year-end report cards are out, and on the surface, the story looks familiar.
Massive EMV (Earned Media Value) numbers. Explosive growth. Viral moments.

But if you look closer, the most important takeaway has nothing to do with influencers.

The brands that won this year didn’t just get louder.
They got clearer.

Clearer products.
Clearer messaging.
Clearer paths for the customer to understand what they were buying and how it fit into their routine.

That clarity is what drove trust. And trust is what drove growth.

Influence Created Awareness. Understanding Created Retention.

Influencer marketing still plays a role. Visibility matters.
But visibility alone didn’t carry brands through the year.

What kept customers coming back was education.
Simple explanations.
Products that felt usable, not intimidating.
Routines that made sense for real life.

That’s why some of the fastest-growing brands this year focused less on hype and more on accessibility. They made beauty feel less like a guessing game and more like a guided experience.

I stated this in an earlier Beauty Edit…

IRL Events Is Coming Back Stronger Than Ever

As we move into next year, IRL beauty experiences are going to matter more, not as flashy activations, but as moments of connection and education.

Customers are overwhelmed.
They don’t need another launch.
They need context.

Being able to touch products, ask questions, learn from professionals, and understand how something fits into their lifestyle builds confidence in a way digital campaigns can’t always do on their own.

IRL isn’t about replacing digital.
It’s about grounding it.

Where Triple Eight Creative Fits In

This shift is exactly why Triple Eight Creative exists.

We don’t build beauty moments for attention.
We build systems that help people show up beautifully with intention.

The Winter Edit is our response to where beauty is right now.
A seasonal reset focused on cold-weather skin, hair care, and routine clarity.
Not trends.
Not hype.
Just guidance that makes sense.

Through Studio Eight, the Inner Circle, and our IRL experiences, we’re creating space for beauty to slow down and be explained.

Because the future of beauty isn’t about who shouts the loudest.
It’s about who helps the customer understand the most.

And this season, we’re choosing clarity over chaos.

Read more weekly insights inside Studio Eight.