As 2025 comes to a close, the Glossy Beauty team — Sara Spruch-Feiner, Lexy Lebsack and Emily Jensen — came together on the Glossy Beauty Podcast to reflect on some of the defining themes that shaped the beauty industry this year, and their own reporting.

Spruch-Feiner unpacks the continued rise of Gen Alpha as a beauty consumer, the brands emerging to meet that demand and the retailers adapting to deliver for this younger demographic. Jensen examines a challenging year for color cosmetics, where lip care and lip liner emerged as bright spots. And Lebsack points to longevity as a key growth area in wellness, highlighting momentum in categories like fitness trackers and strength-training equipment. She also notes that, in skin care, clinical, results-driven products are igniting consumer interest. 

Tune in for a look back at the biggest moments and themes across beauty and wellness in 2025 — and what they could signal for the industry in 2026.