2025 was a year of extremes in beauty culture. The $450 million industry felt more polarized than ever, with a push towards “low maintenance” routines that encouraged us to ditch our mascaras or go makeup-free entirely, Pamela Anderson style. The shift came from the fact that this low-effort look often required “high maintenance” treatments like lash lifts, teeth whitening, laser hair removal, or even cosmetic procedures, to be achieved. While some brands were telling us to “redefine beauty on your terms,” others were selling us compression face shapewear to sculpt our jaws.
The scope of beauty widened, too. In November, the Canadian actress and entrepreneur Shay Mitchell made headlines when she launched Rini, a…