Beauty trends 2025: What do you need to know about the “embrace midlife” trend?

What is Age Management in the beauty world?

According to a report from WGSN, many women fear the prospect of ageing, with concerns about wrinkles and dark spots appearing from the age of 29, but also the social invisibility that comes with turning 40. Yet, women over 40 represent a significant and influential consumer segment, with substantial purchasing power and a growing demand for products and services that cater to their unique needs.

Rather than fear ageing, the age management movement aims to get women to celebrate the natural process of getting older and embrace these changes to age gracefully. Modern society applies a lot of pressure to stay looking youthful when obviously, nature tells a different story. The embrace midlife trend is focused more on improving skin well-being than reversing the sign of ageing. This includes addressing factors like hydration, barrier function and environmental stressors, which can impact the overall appearance and wellbeing of the skin.

The key aspects of this trend are:

• Positive ageing narratives
• Holistic solutions that address overall skin health
• An emphasis on the science behind ageing

Embracing midlife with positive ageing narratives

Positive ageing narratives focus on empowering messaging that celebrates the unique beauty and wisdom that comes with age. By celebrating the natural process of ageing, brands can encourage women to embrace the changes that come with midlife as a time of pride and self-discovery.

Western society is particularly focused on maintaining a youthful appearance and beauty products typically include claims around anti-ageing, age defying or fighting the signs of ageing. In positive ageing messaging, products should instead focus on skin health and wellbeing.

Discussing menopause is a key aspect of “embrace midlife” messaging. Menopause can be perceived as a challenge, a questioning of the feminine ideal. Hormonal upheavals such as the oestrogenic decline accelerate the signs of ageing, leading to permanent sagging of the face, accelerated appearance of wrinkles and loss of skin elasticity including the appearance of droopy eyelids. Talking candidly about the science behind the menopause destigmatises it and builds confidence and positivity for women during this period of their lives.

This positive narrative aligns with the sustainability ethos of working in harmony with nature rather than attempting to defy it. Brands can leverage this mindset to develop products that support healthy ageing using sustainable, biotech-derived ingredients that work synergistically with the skin's natural processes.

Feminage™ is a perfect example of a biotech ingredient that uses natural processes to work on the effects of oestrogenic decline. Feminage is a plant-derived active ingredient that acts on glycation to protect the integrity, quality and functionality of elastic tissue. It has been designed to stimulate the synthesis of major components of the dermo-epidermal junction, helps offset the antioxidant and regulatory effects of oestrogen on glucose metabolism; and improves the quality of elastic tissue.

Without hiding anything or making it disappear, Feminage helps women to feel better about themselves.

Also consider using a personalised approach and an inclusive representation that both challenge traditional beauty stereotypes, to recognise that ageing is a highly personal journey. Initiating and encouraging open dialogues about the challenges and joys of ageing is a genuine opportunity to position your brand as a trusted partner in this journey.

Holistic solutions that address overall skin health

Products marketed on the embrace midlife trend should focus on holistic solutions that address overall skin health, vitality, and well-being rather than solely targeting specific ageing concerns like wrinkles. This aligns with the principles of sustainability, which prioritize minimizing environmental impact and promoting long-term viability, as well as promoting a strong narrative of embracing changes with pride.

By focusing on holistic skin care solutions, brands can develop products that are gentle, and formulated with sustainable, plant-based ingredients. That's where Phytessence™ French Rose EC, an extract of Rosa Gallica flower, comes in to provide its gentle moisturising and protective properties.

Moisturisation has been one of the essential pillars of our beauty routines for centuries, accounting for around 80% of skincare products. This fundamental benefit is often associated with beautiful skin at every stage of a woman's life, including the menopause.

With its components of passion and delicacy, rose is clearly the ultimate flower to support women of all ages, bringing comfort and hydration to the skin, particularly during periods of hormonal fluctuation. High in flavonoids, Phytessence French Rose EC moisturises the skin, visibly improving its quality and preserving its natural youthfulness. It also protects the skin from signs of premature ageing by reducing the expression of inflammatory mediators and the glycation phenomenon.

What's more, roses are synonymous with timelessness. At a time when anti-ageing skincare has taken a sharp turn towards the pursuit of longevity, this flower is ideally suited for helping brands reposition themselves.

Between its responsible sourcing and extraction process, the intangible value of the rose, and these proven properties, Phytessence French Rose EC is the perfect asset to offer a holistic solution to bring well-being to the skin while preserving its youthfulness and for your brand to emphasize on longevity.

Helping the skin to cope with environmental aggressors is another cornerstone of maintaining skin wellbeing. This is one of the key ideas behind Phytessence™ Osmanthus, one of our most recent botanical launches. Thanks to its antioxidant and soothing properties, this active ingredient helps the skin to fight against UV rays, heat, and pollution, which attack and weaken the skin barrier.

Our osmanthus flower extract has been shown to protect the skin from the harmful effects of heat by regulating the production of HSP70 defence proteins and reducing the production of free radicals. It has also been shown to naturally soothe sunburnt skin by reducing redness and the production of pro-inflammatory mediators such as PGE2. Phytessence Osmanthus is therefore an ideal active ingredient for protecting formulas that preserve the youthfulness of the skin, in line with our “Embracing Midlife” concept.

Beyond that, the fragrance of the Osmanthus flower is highly praised in perfumery for its white fruit notes, so our Osmanthus extract offers a wonderful opportunity for scented skincare or care perfumes. The combination of fragrance and cosmetic ingredient truly embodies the pleasant sensation of the sun's warmth on the skin.

Cosmetic formulations for the “embrace midlife” trend

Brands can truly benefit from the potential offered by cosmetic formulations that ally sustainability to the objectives of the positive narratives and inclusivity of the “embrace midlife” trend in personal care. In addition to the essential issues of transparency and waste reduction, they therefore can incorporate the following elements.

• Natural and sustainable ingredients, such as plant-based ingredients that are gentle on mature skin and environmentally sustainable.
• Holistic skincare approach, for customers to delve into the philosophy of embracing the natural ageing process.
• Minimalist formulas that simplify skincare or haircare routines while delivering multiple benefits, a great plus for consumers seeking practical, sustainable solutions.

With its very pleasant smooth and melty texture, the Naturally Boosted Blurring Stick offers an instant healthy-looking appearance to the skin. Easy to use on the go, this solid stick improves skin texture, no matter what skin type or age. It visually blurs skin imperfections, particularly fine lines and wrinkles, while fighting against the phenomenon of sagging pores.

The natural ingredients for this minimalist formula are:

• Syncrowax™ SB1, a very special blend of 100% non-animal derived, non-GMO waxes and emulsifiers to provide a vegan alternative to natural beeswax.
• ChromaPur™ CV7, our COSMOS approved and readily biodegradable micron-sized cellulose powder offering exceptional optical effects. Ideal for complexion-perfecting anhydrous systems to deliver natural blurring benefits.
• PoreTect®, our new skin texture rejuvenator. Acting as a skin architect, this eco-designed active ingredient counteracts the age-related cutaneous pore enlargement phenomenon. It brings confidence through more firmness, tone and density to the skin, thus reinforcing the structures that hold the pore tight.

By engaging with the 'Embrace Midlife' trend with a positive, inclusive and science-backed approach, beauty professionals can tap into the influential and demanding middle-aged consumer segment, while promoting a movement of empowerment around ageing.

Don’t miss your chance to stay ahead of the curve in beauty industry, make sure to learn more about the products mentioned in this article with the links provided here or by reaching out to your local sales representative! They will also be delighted to introduce you to the other personal care industry trends in 2025, and to tell you about all the ingredients in our ranges that will help you get started.

This is part of a series of articles covering the major trends in personal care expected in 2025. You can find the other articles here when they are posted.