The business case for diversity in beauty is getting harder to dismiss. According to SeeMe’s annual Inclusivity Index, which assessed more than 200 brands, those that consistently represented diverse communities grew sales 1.8 times faster than their less inclusive counterparts in 2025 — 2.7 percent growth versus 1.5 percent, based on joint data with market research firm Circana.
Of the brands assessed, only 32 — or 16 percent — qualified as “Certified Inclusive,” meaning they represented diverse communities meaningfully across brand and creator advertising, their websites and their brand purpose. That list includes Rare Beauty, E.l.f. Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury, Gillette, NYX Professional Makeup and Sol de Janeiro, among others.
The picture across the broader pool was more uneven. There were incremental gains in on-screen representation of plus-size talent, those aged 55 and over, and non-white talent — though both plus-size and older talent still account for less than 7 percent of screen time. Colorism remains a significant gap, with talent with deep skin tones receiving less than 25 percent of screen time. Representation of gender nonconforming talent actually declined, dropping to 0.7 percent from 1.5 percent in the two previous years.
The demographic breakdown of talent across all measured brands paints a consistent picture: roughly 42 percent was known or perceived to be white, 68 percent were 29 or younger, 89 percent presented as female, and 50 percent had straight hair. White talent was the most represented racial group across every beauty category — cosmetics, fragrance, hair, skin care and men’s.
Some category-specific patterns emerged. Hispanic and Latin talent was most prominent in hair care, making up around 32 percent of talent featured, with Garnier, Ceremonia, E.l.f. Beauty and Rare Beauty noted as standouts. East and Southeast Asian talent was most represented in skin care, with Gillette, Oribe, Clarins and Eadem highlighted for AAPI representation. Black talent was most visible in men’s products and brand purpose content, with Topicals, Dove, Vaseline and Danessa Myricks Beauty leading that category. Older consumers were best served by brands including Naomi Watts’ Stripes and L’Oréal Paris.
The ten most inclusive beauty brands of 2025, as ranked by SeeMe’s proprietary Inclusivity Index IQ scores, were Rare Beauty, Haus Labs by Lady Gaga and MAC Cosmetics at the top, followed by Danessa Myricks Beauty, Lancôme, Dove, Gillette, Pattern Beauty, Sephora and Fenty Beauty.