As gold hits $5,200, beauty finds its new CNY lever

As global investors continue to rotate into safe-haven assets, gold’s rally has entered uncharted territory — and China’s Lunar New Year gifting economy is moving with it. On January 28, spot gold climbed to a fresh record, rising above $5,200 per ounce for the first time. Domestic prices followed swiftly. According to comparisons of onshore retail quotes, multiple brands announced sharp same-day 24-karat gold jewelry price increases in mainland China, reinforcing expectations that higher prices may become the new normal rather than a temporary spike. The impact was immediate across capital markets. Buoyed by surging bullion prices and upgraded earnings forecasts, shares of high-end jeweler LaoPu Gold surged 29.9% to HK$849.50 on January 26 from HK$654 on January 16, before dropping to HK$825.50 today. But the more structurally revealing shift is unfolding in consumer culture — particularly in beauty, where gold is being repurposed from an investment object into an emotional anchor. When ingredients stop converting, beauty turns to gold China’s beauty sector has spent years locked in what industry insiders call “ingredient involution”: a relentless escalation of actives, concentrations and clinical claims. That strategy is now yielding diminishing returns. As consumers become fluent in the language of peptides and ceramides, efficacy alone is no longer enough to command attention — especially during Chinese New Year, when gifting is as much about meaning as it is about utility. The challenge for brands is how to elevate products from functional solutions to emotional objects. Dermatological skincare brand Comfy’s 2026 Lunar New Year collaboration with jewelry group CHJ Jewellery (Chao Hong Ji) offers a clear case study. The limited-edition gift box pairs Comfy’s collagen repair sticks with a custom-made 999 gold horse charm, built around the zodiac symbolism of success arriving with gold (马到金来). Launched against a backdrop of surging gold prices, the collaboration positions the gift box as both practical and symbolic. Skincare addresses visible results; gold delivers reassurance, luck and perceived permanence. Together, they transform a consumable product into a keepsake designed for China’s most emotionally charged gifting season. Comfy: From product to ritual The emotional reframing resonated quickly with consumers. On Xiaohongshu, user @AGoodMealIsHarderThanHappiness described the Comfy gift box as something closer to a New Year ritual than a skincare purchase. “This doesn’t even feel like skincare anymore,” the netizen wrote. “The moment I opened the box and saw the pure gold horse charm, I clipped it straight onto my phone. And the 60 collagen sticks, each with a different blessing tag, felt like opening blind boxes.” The appeal lies not in novelty, but in repetition. Each collagen stick carries a message. Each use becomes a small ritual. Beauty, in this framing, becomes a daily reinforcement of optimism — an idea that resonates strongly during periods of economic uncertainty. Kimtrue taps desire, not superstition That logic extends beyond premium dermocosmetics. Indie brand Kimtrue has leaned fully into everyday fortune-building, teaming up with Beigaofeng Caishen (Number One Wealth God Temple), for a New Year capsule that embeds “luck” into daily routines. The lineup includes gold stickers for phones and desks, scented sachets meant to “carry wealth,” bath products promising prosperity, and charm bracelets framed as wearable talismans. On Xiaohongshu, user @FortuneMagnetMeme joked: “Hair care that also brings wealth? What new trick is Kimtrue pulling now?” But the tone quickly turned sincere. “I bought it just to follow the trend, and now it’s my ‘good luck essential.’ My hair is smoother, my mood is better — and somehow, even my bonus came in higher than expected.” The humor is telling. These products are not positioned as superstition, but as lighthearted emotional anchors — small gestures that offer a sense of control in uncertain times. Clé de Peau Beauté borrows from jewelry At the prestige end of the market, Clé de Peau Beauté (CPB) has also leaned into gold logic. For Chinese New Year 2026, the brand introduced limited-edition packaging and a 100mg pure gold pendant gifted with each purchase, alongside artist collaborations and immersive retail experiences. On Xiaohongshu, user @YY shared a photo of the gold charm with the caption: “Buying skincare and getting gold — this gift really hit the spot.” The user added that while beauty freebies have become increasingly competitive, “100mg of gold as a gift feels genuinely substantial.” CPB’s strategy reframes skincare as an “energy reset,” blending high-tech language with East Asian symbolism. Gold here is not about resale value, but about affirmation — a tangible marker of auspicious intent that elevates the act of purchase. When fast food giant McDonald’s turns to gold Gold’s cultural momentum is perhaps most visible where it appears least expected. CHJ Jewellery’s collaboration with McDonald’s, featuring gold bag charms and a “super gold bucket,” has become one of the most talked-about Lunar New Year of the Horse campaigns across Chinese social platforms. Consumers purchasing promotional meal sets via Douyin livestreams can enter lotteries for real gold items, while a themed McDonald’s pop-up in Shenzhen has drawn long queues. The campaign riffs on the idea of securing the “first pot of gold” for the year, turning fast food into a vehicle for fortune. The pairing works because both brands understand youth psychology. McDonald’s brings meme culture and accessibility; CHJ — often dubbed the “Pop Mart of jewelry” — contributes collectibility and IP fluency. Gold becomes social currency, designed to be photographed, shared, and joked about. Rising gold prices stimulate demand This cultural enthusiasm is underpinned by market momentum. LaoPu Gold’s recent stock rally was driven by surging precious metal prices and bullish analyst sentiment. Citi recently raised its 2026 and 2027 profit forecasts for the company by 5% and lifted its revenue outlook by 6%, citing accelerating store traffic heading into Chinese New Year. According to The Beijing News, La Pu Gold boutiques in cities including Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, and Wuhan have seen queues forming as early as 7am, with daily quotas exhausted by mid-morning during SKP’s Spring Festival shopping season. Kaiyuan Securities notes that rising gold prices, combined with expectations of further increases, are prompting consumers to pull spending forward and expand budgets. Higher prices are stimulating demand rather than suppressing it. A new CNY beauty playbook enhanced by gold In a beauty industry saturated with claims, gold has become the most efficient emotional shorthand in the Lunar New Year economy. Brands do not need to sell bullion to benefit from the trend — they only need to borrow gold’s symbolism: permanence, foresight, and blessing.

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As gold hits $5,200, beauty finds its new CNY lever