How prestige beauty outperformed during 618

What happened During this 618 shopping festival, beauty remained one of the event’s largest categories, generating 42.5 billion RMB ($6.2 billion) in skincare sales, 24.2 billion RMB ($3.5 billion) in personal care and 13.6 billion RMB ($2 billion) in fragrance and color cosmetics, according to Syntun. Overall, the six-week shopping event ending June 20 generated 934 billion RMB ($137 billion) in gross merchandise value across China's major e-commerce and instant retail platforms, up 4% year-on-year. Notably, prestige beauty found new momentum via content-driven commerce. On Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), high-end beauty brands recorded GMV growth of more than 60 percent during the 618 campaign, with creator-led sales rising 77% YoY and product card transactions increasing 68% YoY. According to Qingyan Intelligence, Estée Lauder, Helena Rubinstein and La Mer took the top three positions in Douyin’s overall beauty ranking, generating more than 2 billion RMB ($295 million) in combined GMV and accounting for 26% of the Top 20’s total sales. Eleven international brands earned a place in Douyin’s beauty Top 20. Yves Saint Laurent Beauté, Guerlain and Charlotte Tilbury each posted GMV growth of more than 70%, while YSL more than doubled sales year-on-year. Domestic premium players also showed resilience. Mao Geping's GMV rose more than 50% YoY to claim Douyin's No. 1 position in fragrance and color cosmetics, narrowly ahead of YSL. Both labels grew sales more than 45% YoY. On Tmall, SkinCeuticals rose five places to lead skincare, followed by Estée Lauder and Proya, while L’Oréal fell out of the top five. JD.com’s skincare ranking was led by Lancôme, SK-II and SkinCeuticals. In fragrance and color cosmetics, YSL topped both Tmall and JD.com, while Mao Geping ranked third across Tmall, JD.com and Douyin. The Jing Take: Content is becoming a competitive advantage While National Bureau of Statistics data showed cosmetics retail sales rose just 4.9% YoY during the first five months of 2026, Douyin’s prestige beauty segment grew more than 60 percent during the festival. Brands including YSL Beauté, Guerlain and Charlotte Tilbury all posted GMV growth exceeding 70%, indicating that premium demand continues to outpace the wider market. Yet, prestige brands are changing strategy to pursue growth online. Helena Rubinstein spent nearly nine months building educational content around Black Bandage PX50 before accelerating sales during 618, contributing to a 74 percent GMV increase and an 18-percentage-point improvement in settlement rates. Estée Lauder, meanwhile, has expanded from a single flagship livestream into multiple category-specific channels. During this year’s 618, its new customer acquisitions increased 189 percent YoY, with first-time buyers accounting for 78 percent of customers. Rather than relying on promotional campaigns, international beauty groups are increasingly turning to content, self-operated livestreams and platform-specific operations form long-term customer acquisition. Consumer demand is evolving in parallel. Syntun described demand this year as a combination of “rational efficacy” and “emotional self-reward.” Premium spending is becoming more selective Skincare spending concentrated on premium products targeting sensitive-skin repair, minimalist formulations and anti-aging, helping prestige brands maintain their lead across Tmall and JD.com. In makeup and fragrance, purchases shifted to products designed for everyday use, from low-saturation makeup looks and skincare-infused foundations to subtle fragrances suited to daily wear. Rather than chasing discounts, this year, consumers appeared more selective about where they are willing to trade up. 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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Luxury beauty topped Douyin 618 rankings

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag