2025 Beauty Year-in-Review: Best (and Worst!) Products, Viral Celeb Moments and the Creator Wars Taking Over the Group Chat

0:00The following podcast is a dear media production.

0:08Welcome to Breaking Beauty, the podcast all about the breakthrough people, products, and moments in beauty. We're your hosts, Jill Dunn and Carleen Higgins.

0:21Welcome back to Breaking Beauty podcast, everyone. I'm one of your co-hosts, Jill Dunn, and I'm here alongside Carleen Higgins in studio. Hey, Carleen. Hi, Jill. Hi, everyone. And of course, we are two longtime magazine beauty editors turned beauty podcasters. And we are doing a solo episode today, everybody. You know, we're always bringing you the breakthrough people, products and moments in beauty. And we talked to so many amazing people this year, Carlene. Like how many incredible guests. Lisa Eldridge was like a bucket list. Yes. A person to have on our podcast. The fact that we finally got her on.

0:54Like high five. Yes. She was incredible. We still get so much traction. Bobby Brown. about that. I mean, people say they hate my voice on our YouTube with Lisa, but they love her. And I'm okay with that because I still got to share couch time with Lisa. And I know I'm annoying compared to her. And we landed her. Okay. We landed her on a North American beauty podcast in the year 2025 after she launched her line. So give us some credit. All right. I know. I know. I know. I know I'm more annoying than Lisa. Okay. She has the most incredible voice on the planet and the sweetest face. And Bobby Brown was incredible.

1:27Chris McMillan was incredible. Yeah. Ash K. Holm, Carolyn Badino. We had a killer year, my goodness. Yeah. And, you know, we're just going into year nine next year and we still have people on our bucket list that we want to chat with. And, of course, you know, as beauty editors, we're always kind of assessing the market, the landscape in beauty. There's never a shortage of things to talk about. And that's why we love doing this podcast because we could do a daily episode, honestly. Yeah, absolutely. With the amount of beauty news that's out there and product news and celebrity news, just the pace.

2:01Yes, absolutely. But what we're doing today is we're going to look back at the year. We're going to talk about the highs and lows in beauty. Yes. We're just pausing for a minute from doing the interviewing, from reviewing products. And we're just going to chat and we're going to get kind of spicy, I think, today. Carlene, I'm so glad that we get to sit together in studio. You know, I love being in New York when we have the Today Show lights in here. Oh, tell me about it. Oh, my gosh. Yes. And we had the best night last night, courtesy of our friends at Pantene who... We're here for a little press trip.

2:33Yeah, we're here for a little press trip. And it was really fun. We're going to talk about it more in an upcoming episode. But we got to meet Abby Young in person. I had met her once before, but I can say one year later, her hair is just as good and glossy. Yes, exactly. So she was on a panel and Abby Young has been on our show before. She is a trichologist and a educator and creator, content creator, young method. Yeah. And she's really known to be a drugstore hair girly. And I think people just love that because she brings a lot of credibility to the space and people love that they can afford solutions for their hair.

3:14So it was just so great to see her there in person and a little bit of a sneak peek, guys. So Pantene is they are introducing a three-piece line that all has to do with reducing hair shedding. Yeah. And it's a topic that we have touched on before in the past for sure. The thing about it is usually these solutions that are being put forward and that we've talked about, they're expensive as hell. Well, I also think at the drugstore level, there are medications. Yes. Or there are things to make your hair grow. Yeah. Whereas I think the whole conversation around keeping the hair in the follicle on your head for longer was very much from like salon brands and Lux brands, which we have chatted about on this show before.

3:58But I love that Pantene is coming into this space and you just know that anything that P &G does, that's the parent company. It's like we as beauty editors have been to enough launches that we know it's like they are crossing their T's. Everyone are dotting their I's to like the most nerdy extents. I've always used Pantene. You guys know that. This product line is all about keeping the hairs in your follicles happier for longer. And we did the whole thing. We like got to feel, they basically said after six weeks, it was like 6 ,000 strands they saved per person. Yeah. After eight weeks. But I want to tell you one thing that when we chatted with Abby, because she was on the panel.

4:43Yeah. And we had said to her, we're like, Loki, like, what is it? What is it about this that you love? Like, what's the real talk? You know, we're all about real talk. And she's like, here's the thing. She's like, I don't have hair thinning. Everybody knows that. But everybody has the seasonal shed. I don't know if you guys have heard about the seasonal shed. So once in the fall, a little bit in the spring, your hair is going to come out more. And she's like, this serum in particular helps to, like you can basically bypass the seasonal shed with this serum. So I was like, okay, I'm listening. So anyway, that was kind of the real talk, like creator to creator.

5:20Yeah. That made me perk up my ears. But we actually, while we're here in New York, are recording with the scientist, Dr. Jenny Thomas. Yes. Who's behind this Pantene creation. So we're going to do a full episode where she's educating on like the latest findings and how you know that drugstore products are actually legit and really good because they have popped off in the past couple of years. And so that episode will be coming out in the new year. So we'll be able to share all that. But in the meantime, yeah, that's what's going on. That's what we were doing last night. In addition to eating some crispy pasta that was delicious.

5:56It was crispy? Yes. The one you didn't have at Scarpetta. Oh, I see. It was the Agnolotti and it was like crispy and delicious. Incredible. Well, now we're going to go hold hands around the holiday tree at Rockefeller Center and sing carols. No, we're not. But last year I did drag Carleen to the Rockettes and she was lukewarm about it. So I won't force you to do any holiday things in New York. But yeah, it was it was great to be back in the city. So let's keep going and chat about our some of the biggest moments in 2025. Yeah, let's get into it.

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8:40Restrictions apply. See website for full details and important safety information. Have you ever looked in the mirror and not recognized yourself? Me too. Hi, I'm Caroline Baudino from Instagram Shop with Caroline and host of Coming In Hot. This tough New Yorker who swore she would never depend on a man lives to wear all her jewels and look fabulous, let everyone else's expectations of being a mom, a wife, a daughter to Cuban parents take priority. I finally put my oxygen mask on first and took the biggest bet of my life. Join me every Monday on Coming In Hot to deep dive on finding your own happy tools and living your best life too.

9:22Yes, we can.

9:34We've had quite a few overarching themes this year. But if there was one kind of moment, beauty moment, that you felt was really pivotal for you this year, something that just stopped you in your tracks and you're like, this is a moment, what would it be? Yeah, it's not that deep. Okay. But I think it was really fun. Yeah. And it was the cunty little bob. Ah, okay. The white lotus moment. It married all my favorite things, which is pop culture, which is beauty, which is Hollywood, red carpet, experts, viral moments. And it was it had a life of its own. And I think it inspired a lot of bobs. And I think it really is the antidote to like a lot of the Mormon wives hair that we also see out there.

10:27It's very liberating to cut your hair off into a bob. And thank you to Chris McMillan and Leslie Bibb for creating the cunty little bob. And then also I feel like really was a great moment for Chris McMillan to then be able to say, I'm still here as a career hairstylist. Yes. Creating these moments that go viral and then launching his whole lineup, which all the products are great. Yes. And I think this also kind of spills into my next point was just like, I think the year of the expert, I was really thrilled to see that come back with Hung Van Goh, with Chris McMillan, with Mary Phillips, with I'm blanking, but there was other industry experts that came out with their own products.

11:12And I think that really is a huge shift compared to what we've been seeing. We have this vision, which may or may not be true, which is that there's some businessman man walking around with a briefcase and knocking on celebrities doors and going, look, we have the math, knowing that you have this many followers, that we can make this much money, we can sell this many units, we can make this much money. So here's like, we're going to connect you with this turnkey operation. And it's going to be so easy for you to create your celebrity beauty brand. And I feel like that's at least metaphorically what it seemed like was happening.

11:51And maybe before somewhere in there was also influencers had a moment, which is definitely seemed to have died down. Now it's about the cream is really risen to the top. But this year, it really was about the actual glam squad. So not the celebrities themselves, the Kim Kardashians of it all, but the people who are actually doing their hair, doing their makeup. An extension of that is who we're now seeing come to the forefront with hung van go yeah his launch in september was so great he's a canadian makeup artist and he's been on our show but a beautiful line and i think for the most part what we've seen are really great product formulations because it's a makeup artist making makeup it's a hair legitimate hair artist making hair products so versus a celebrity maybe It's like that assurance that these products are going to be really effing good is just so much higher.

12:52There's so much trust that it can so much more trust that a consumer would have that it is past this vetting process of being what we would say is hashtag damn good. So, yeah, there's definitely a whole kind of crew. I think it's also interesting to see a celebrity brand like Kylie that was on top for so long. and she had to dig back into the 2016 era to make any splash this year. And like the timelines of nostalgia, that's a big thing I've noticed just in general and culture is so much shorter. It used to be like a generation, right? And now in order for her to make any kind of inroads or get any kind of buzz, everybody's like, let's go back to the King Kylie era and the pink hair and sell a few lip kits because she doesn't have the innovation or the expertise.

13:41I think a lot of these brands have really quieted down. So it'll be interesting to see. And then, of course, Celebrity Beauty, Hailey Bieber going into Sephora was a massive, massive deal. We'll see how that nets out. You know, I have my opinions on that. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, and I think that just the ones we're really highlighting is it all comes back to that idea of the cream rising to the top And, you know, because of that, we have seen some of these celebrity brands that have started to go away. You know, Gwen Stefani, JLo's pretty questionable these days. Like, just when you thought that it was dead in the water, though, she like apparently they launched under eye patches a few weeks ago, which she went on social media and put them on over top of her makeup.

14:31That doesn't help credibility, guys. Yeah, I just think she's a huge name and she's very aspirational. So I think no matter how many times it changes hands, I'd be very surprised if JLo Beauty if it ever had a final nail on the coffin. Oh, yes. I don't know. I don't know. She hits so many demos, the right age, a huge Latin following. She's not going anywhere. She will be on TV. Well, it looks good on paper. I cannot name a single person who uses it that I know of who has ever told me that they enjoy any one of those products don't know a single soul. Right. But that's just me. Whereas with other lines, I wouldn't say that's true.

15:13Now, another brand that I see on the list of brand goodbyes for celebrities, Kate Moss's brand. Did that go bye-bye? Yeah, no surprise. Oh, I didn't know that. Okay. Well, newsflash. Yeah. Sorry about that, Kate. Yeah. Well, it was weird. It was like all lotions and potions. Cosmos, like it made no sense. I'm sorry. Yeah. I also think it was weird with the distribution. Like it launched in a very sideways type of a way. It felt mishandled, I'm going to say. Yeah. You know, because in theory, wasn't it some perfumes and aromacology type stuff? Yeah. And skincare. It was beauty meets wellness. Yeah.

15:52Is really where she was trying to go. Well, it kind of started on the right. I That's not the best fit there. Yeah, sure. Anyway, we wish her luck on her next endeavor. I'm sure she can write that off because, I mean, she's still the face. She's still fronting like Isabel Maran. She's in Zara campaigns and stuff. Like she's not worried about her, but that was clearly a mistake. Not everyone needs a skincare line, guys, or a beauty line. This is the thing that I, and I've talked to you about this before, when it comes to celebrity beauty is just like, especially some of these people, like when I think about a J-Lo, it's just to me, why do you need this much money?

16:32Like you already have your hands in so many pockets. Can you leave some for the rest of us? I don't buy into that at all. I think there's nothing wrong. We live in capitalism. We are in capitalism, whether you like it or not. And why would you say no if a a thing is coming across your desk. It's just another business venture. Because it's so transparent when it's a money grab. It's weak. That's why it's weak. I actually hold less respect for those people because I think that it's just so inauthentic. It makes them look weak. I think it kind of it looks bad on their image and their image is everything.

17:15Well, I, again, disagree because Martha Stewart and J.Lo are laughing all the way to the bank. Well, we don't know. We don't know the numbers behind J.Lo. I do think that Martha Stewart came along with the second wave where they started partnering with really high profile dermatologists, which I think is another point in the conversation this year when we talk about these expert led brands. and there are like everybody and his uncle is starting a skincare line. Of course, I launched a skincare product this year myself. I'm just a lowly beauty editor. But one of the things that I can say is nobody functions in a silo.

17:55Like it's not possible to create your own line and wear every hat and be the cosmetic chemist, be the marketer, be this, be that. So I think it's a little, in a way, misleading to think that because this person is a makeup artist, it's definitely going to be the best makeup line. It takes a village. It takes a village to create everything. Some of my favorite makeup lines, like Hourglass, she's not a makeup artist. She's a killer product developer, you know, and she who's been on our show has said because she's not a makeup artist, she wants the makeup artist to be in the makeup, you know, so and that can happen, too.

18:40Like, I would argue with Mary Phillips, the contour kit, you know, I used it. I think it's interesting. Is it one of the best products that launched this year? I will say no. And we've had some products that have launched that, you know, is it a guarantee it's going to be great for every skin tone, all of that. So everybody plays a role and like some esthetician brands, if they don't have a good business person behind them or a marketer, that brand will never go outside of their, their skincare studio. Do you know what I mean? Well, I've always, I've said it many times, ideas are free. It's the execution and the marketing.

19:19And if nobody knows about your idea, good luck. Well, I think at the end of the day, and this is my humble opinion, it's about building a really strong team. Yeah, of course. And, you know, like finding the cosmetic chemist, or if you're the cosmetic chemist, then you have to find your opposite. Everybody has to work with their opposite to make it pop. And those people who build the best team as a whole will have the best brands. That's my humble opinion. Yeah. No, I think that is the rule book, but it's hard to do. It is very hard to do, but I think that's the real talent is to think holistically.

19:59And I think that the siloing and I will acknowledge like this is a trend. This is what's happening. But it doesn't mean that it's a guarantee for magic. Yeah, no, there's a lot of factors plus tariffs. Anyway, what are we going to talk about next? OK, what would you say is the biggest flop beauty flop of the year, Jill? I think it's something I would say is a concept more than a moment or a product. But I think just the complete backpedaling on DEI, I think it is so problematic. I think it's bad for business, first and foremost. We've seen that with Target. Their bottom line has been massively affected by not living up to their DEI initiatives.

20:42And it's one thing if there's companies out there that never, never aspired to that and never caught on board and like whatever they're going to do them. But I think the fact that certain companies out there aspired to it, created programming around it or committed to like the 15 percent pledge. And then they're like, you know what? It's too much and we can just roll it all back. And I think that's a huge flop. And it is bad for business. Yeah, it's a bad look. and it goes back to what we said before about authenticity. And I know that word is thrown, integrity. I'm gonna say integrity instead of authenticity.

21:20I think that what in this day and age, when this market, this beautiful industry that we have the privilege to work in, it's so cluttered. There's so much going on. And when we talk about the cream rising to the top and when we talk about brand loyalty, which I think we'll get into more as we talk about this and like what people value, what they're going to hold on to instead of dispose of. It is about integrity to me. And I think maybe integrity is the new authenticity because I think that that's what people are going to hold on to. And whether you're talking about a brand or a retailer, that counts for a lot and it's it's bullshit when a retailer makes promises and then acts like they never happened and people are going to go elsewhere especially now when there's like tiktok marketplace and all of these things like they don't need you don't even necessarily need a a retailer like to to buy your stuff if you want.

22:33I mean, you need some sort of retail, but you could, you know, we're not as reliant as we used to be. And, you know, whether you like Sephora or not, like they're making major moves in affiliate marketing to make it so that you have the creator storefronts that they rolled out this year. It basically means like, you know, that's how they're treating influencers. And if you are an influencer and you, you know, have a certain set of beliefs and your followers follow you because of that, you're not going to be linking to Target. I'm sorry. Yeah. You know, it's just the whole ecosystem is changing rapidly.

23:08And I think that that was just a huge gaffe. And I also am interested in the repercussions of people. Sorry, how do I want to phrase this? But I'm interested in the repercussions of how DEI, you know, it seemed to take these really big steps forward. And now and then there's these steps back like youthphoria closing, which I think had to happen because they just didn't even try to acknowledge their mistakes and do better. And then very unfortunately, you know, Ame Kolei folding as well. And I know we know Jada will be back and better than ever, but I just think that was an example of where maybe she was promised the moon.

23:50She wrote about that and it didn't. People that were excited about that three years ago, all of a sudden weren't so excited anymore. Yeah. And I think to your point, that's going to just become very glaringly obvious if you're trying to stand for something, but you don't actually. Yeah. And I also just think there's seismic shifts happening in this industry right now. you know, and a lot of BIPOC founders are particularly vulnerable because they didn't have the support necessarily from the outset. But when you are seeing that Cody is trying to, Cody, the huge conglomerate, is trying to unload CoverGirl and Rimmel because it's dragging down their bottom line, you're just like, what is happening?

24:28Those are iconic brands. And same thing with Kenview looking to sell off Neutrogena and Aveeno. Yeah. Unilever unloading Kate Somerville. Yeah. Caring, selling all of their fragrances to L 'Oreal. I just think we are in a moment, a very different moment than we were five years ago. So just a lot of shifting happening. And, you know, even Mac, oh, my God, Mac can't get arrested now. Like it can't like they just keep hemorrhaging money. And it's so unfortunate. They can't elaborate. They're just not breaking through. They've had loss after loss after loss. Yeah. So I just think that it's I feel like these legacy brands are struggling.

25:12Yeah. Especially in color cosmetics. They actually are hemorrhaging money. Yeah. And so is the parent company Estee Lauder. And what did Estee Lauder acquire this year? Xeno XINU, which is the if you're not subscribed to our sub stack, subscribe. It's the perfume house I wrote about when I went to Mexico. Oh, interesting. And they snapped them up. So I think that the growth, it's riding on the wall. Every big conglomerate thinks it's perfume. Yeah. So make of that what you will. But and then L 'Oreal snapping up Medicaid. So I think perfume and skincare is still big. So anyhow, that's yeah. So that would be my biggest flop of the year.

25:50And it encompasses a lot. Yeah. Well, I mean, you touched on this, but I think the best beauty surprise for me was that Jara will be going to Skims because I think that everyone was so disappointed about the Ame Kole moment. And so I think it's just like knowing that she is so talented, the fact that this may not be her own thing, but like she's going to kill it in that role. And also, I think it's Skims Beauty. And I think it's such a brilliant move for Skims Beauty because as we've talked about, celebrity beauty has to take a lot of boxes now to get cred. Like it really does. As we've talked about, they've upped the ante.