Hype isn’t enough: C-beauty faces 618 reality check

What happened This year’s 618 shopping festival in China marked a striking comeback for the beauty sector. According to analytics firm StarChart, total beauty sales across major e-commerce platforms surged 63.4% YoY to $80 billion (575 billion RMB), making it the fastest-growing category of the mid-year campaign. Of this, skincare accounted for $60 billion (432 billion RMB) while makeup and fragrance raked in $20 billion (143 billion RMB). This performance contrasts with the respective 13% and 14.2% declines seen in 2024. This year’s campaign kicked off early, on May 13, extending the promotional period to 35 to 40 days. The elongated cycle, combined with broader platform inclusion (Douyin and Kuaishou are now part of comprehensive e-commerce statistics) helped lift numbers. Global beauty labels lead Tmall, JD.com rankings Still the top-line growth masks an entrenched dynamic: global beauty brands continue to lead. On Tmall, Proya remained the sole domestic player among the skincare top five, trailing Lancôme, L’Oréal, Estée Lauder, and SkinCeuticals. Meanwhile, in makeup and fragrance, domestic names Maogeping and Caitang made rare appearances, though the top ranks remained dominated by Dior, YSL, and Givenchy on JD.com. Douyin’s beauty rankings offered more room for local disruptors. Kans topped the skincare segment, followed by Proya and Chando. But even here, 12 of the top 20 skincare brands were international. New entrants like collagen-based Tongpin and TikTok-style brand Dirovey managed to break into the spotlight, yet their long-term staying power is unproven. The Jing Take Despite headline figures suggesting a beauty boom, 2025’s 618 underscores a sobering reality for C-beauty: breaking into the mainstream remains an uphill battle. While brands like Maogeping, Caitang, and newcomers such as Tongpin and Dirovey made visible gains, their wins are isolated and overly reliant on platform-driven flash sales, or creator tie-ins. Tmall and JD.com remain strongholds for global prestige brands. Even as domestic names fight for mindshare, the structural advantages — legacy branding, mature supply chains, and deep R&D — of multinational companies continue to secure their lead. On JD.com , the skincare and make-up top five were entirely international, with names like Dior, SK-II, and Mac cementing their positions. C-beauty’s Douyin play pays off, for now However, Douyin’s fluid and fragmented ecosystem provides fertile ground for experimentation. The rise of niche entrants like Dirovey (founded in 2021) and French-imported Galénic, which was acquired by Yatsen in 2021, highlights consumer appetite for novelty and targeted functionality. But viral spikes alone are not enough; the disappearance of multiple “Douyin-native” beauty brands from this year’s rankings signals growing fatigue with short-cycle hype. For China’s domestic beauty players, algorithmic success must evolve into brand equity. The next phase of growth demands not only innovation, but consistent storytelling, omnichannel strategy, and emotional resonance, elements global players have long mastered. In a post-traffic-dividend era, durable value, not just visibility, will define the winners. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

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Hype isn’t enough: C-beauty faces 618 reality check