Is beauty losing its Instagram grip?

The top performing haircare influencers? Professional stylists. Eight of the top 10 by EMV were hairstylists who organically posted tutorials, hair reveals and before-and-after videos using branded products. While stylists may post more frequently due to the nature of their jobs, the EMV they generate presents a clear opportunity for brands.

Rethinking influencer plays

How brands use influencers could help them to course correct this year.

Fragrance brands are beginning to adopt luxury fashion’s influencing playbook, leaning into celebrities, actors and stars as their creator leads, with macro-to-nano fragrance influencers struggling to cut through the noise.

Skincare, haircare and makeup are thriving by partnering with smaller creators. “Fragrance is expensive, and you can’t see its benefits through a screen, so brands need to sell a vibe and an aesthetic. Celebrities, pop stars and mega-influencers still dominate that need, and the category is succeeding in that respect,” says Baer.

For all three categories, the smaller and more engaged the influencer and community, the better. “There are so many beauty influencers on social media that it may not be as effective to partner with mega-influencers when smaller creators are driving more impact, with a heavier lean on organic content output versus paid work,” Baer adds, noting that beauty brands are benefitting from influencer promotion without having to invest as heavily.

What’s next?

For brands, the first-quarter slowdown underscores a key takeaway: strategic restraint doesn’t have to mean disengagement. Instead, it’s a reminder to lean into authenticity, invest in long-term creator relationships and experiment with platform-specific storytelling. With influencer fatigue rising and audiences seeking more than just product placement, the brands winning in Q1 are those prioritising immersive activations, cultural relevance and creators with tight-knit communities. These strategies will be critical in building momentum as the year progresses.

Still, Lefty is confident the Q1 dip isn’t necessarily indicative of the year ahead, given the sector has yet to see major launches, campaigns, or viral moments hit the grid. But Baer isn’t ignorant of the growing macro headwinds, including the on-again, off-again trade war and looming TikTok ban, both of which could impact brand spending and influencer partnerships in the months ahead. “Tariffs could impact launch timelines and pricing, especially extended to cosmetics and packaging components, and this will have a knock-on effect, delaying campaigns due to longer product rollouts or reformulations,” she says.

As a result, brands should increase reliance on national influencer markets — the US, the EU and Asia-Pacific — and prioritise locally driven campaigns, such as ‘Made in France’ for clean beauty in the EU or ‘Clean at Sephora’ in the US.

Meanwhile, a TikTok ban could push more creators to Instagram, intensifying competition. “As creators shift platforms, visibility may become harder to secure,” Baer says. This makes creator engagement and organic community-building more important than ever. Brands may shift budgets towards creators who can demonstrate measurable impact — sales, not just reach.

“Budgets may flow towards creators who can deliver sales or measurable engagement, rather than pure visibility,” Baer concludes.

Lefty analyses the impressions and engagement generated by Instagram in-feed posts. Brands were included based on market establishment, ongoing influencer marketing campaigns and social following. Influencers in this report were identified by attributed content to a brand based on mentions. EMV is calculated as $1 per like.

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