As a beauty journalist of over a decade, I am in a bit of a funk. I have devoted my career to researching the most important beauty trends, the best skincare products, the most effective makeup products and the hardest working hair products out there, but in recent months I’ve been feeling increasingly confused by the beautyscape. More and more people seem to be feeling disgruntled by their beauty routines—their serums are breaking them out, their moisturisers aren’t working, their mascara is smudging and their hair is breaking left, right and centre.
It seems, I am afraid to say, that we have become victims of new beauty product overwhelm. With new “it” products hitting the shelves every day, my theory is that, in our pursuit of finding the next big thing in beauty, we’ve lost sight of the very thing we all seek—products that make us feel better about ourselves.
(Image credit: Future)
In carrying out extensive research over the past few months, I have discovered something that has proved quite revelatory for me: the viral beauty products we’re impulse buying like our lives depend on it are consistently leaving us disappointed. But, despite what people might say, these products are not keeping the beautyverse turning. In fact, tried-and-true classic beauty products from heritage brands continue to bolster the industry—and this is giving me faith.
As the most recognised beauty retailer in the UK, Boots has revealed to me that 60% of its sales are still coming via heritage brands. “Clinique is still our number one brand by a long way,” says Alice Rafferty, Director of Luxury Beauty and Cosmetics at Boots. “We sell nine Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balms every hour, and searches for Clarins Double Serum increased by 91% between October and January, year over year.”
And this makes sense to me. The majority of the complaints I receive centre around trending, viral products that people expect to behave in the same way as some of beauty’s greatest classics—but they never will. Here’s why…
The Beauty Capsule Wardrobe
Before we get into what makes a classic beauty product the best, I want to be clear: there is still room for new, trending products in your routine. The best way to approach this? Just as you would a capsule wardrobe. Grace Vernon, Head of Global Trends & Cultural Insights at Boots says, “You might have your Chanel Bronzer and an Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation, but a cream blusher, for example, can be your trend product.” Via a new internal programme for 2025, Boots is amping up its offering of new-to-market viral beauty products that lend themselves to these trending aspects of our routines, making them more shoppable in the UK than ever before. Think the likes of Biodance sheet masks and Sacheu Lip Elixir.
But while your trending products might chop and change, your core beauty products can remain classic. To really get to the bottom of this concept, I knew there was only one person who could help me truly understand—fellow journalist, classic beauty expert and author of Pretty Iconic, Sali Hughes. “Classic beauty products are like a brilliant tuxedo suit—they are just hanging there ready for you. You know they’re going to work,” she says.
What Makes a Classic Beauty Product?
After months of research, I have discovered the blueprint for a great classic beauty product lies in three simple things.
1. Dependability
For a beauty product to earn classic status, it has to work. And this doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to be the most active product in our routines—quite the opposite. “The key thing is dependability,” says Hughes. “Classic beauty products aren’t for beauty nerds, they’re for people. Most people are not an engaged beauty customer and are not looking for complicated solutions—they’re looking for products that are respectful of our time.”
2. Innovation
In my opinion, innovation can only be considered groundbreaking once it has stood the test of time. For classic products to continue to work, they also require an element of modernisation. Products like Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair, Shiseido Ultimune and even the classic Chanel perfume, No5, have had their formulas tinkered with over the years. The trick to success? “It’s about improving and modernising, because woe betide you if you change the formulas too much. It’s evolution not revolution,” says Hughes.
And even if the formulas aren’t being changed, you better believe the marketing is. Rafferty reveals, “A lot of classic beauty products, because they have great formulas, already contain ingredients that suddenly become trending. Heritage brands can pull out the benefits of these ingredients in their marketing to maintain relevance.”
3. Intergenerational Approval
Something that simply can’t be ignored is the element of nostalgia that all great classic beauty products evoke. “The smell of L’Oréal Paris Elnett is the smell of my grandmother getting ready, my mother going to work and me getting ready with my girlfriends to go clubbing,” says Hughes. “It’s a million memories in one spray—it’s more than just a hairspray.”
But this nostalgia doesn’t just exist because the products have been around forever, it exists because they stand the test of time. “Younger customers are discovering heritage products either through TikTok or through intergenerational conversation,” says Rafferty. And this really sums it up—yes, a classic beauty product creates a nostalgic emotional connection with the wearer, but it can only do that if it continues to impress every generation that comes along after its inception.
The Best Classic Beauty Products in 2025
Buckle up, because I’m about to share a tight edit of the very best beauty products that money can buy. I’ve done the research, I’ve scanned bestsellers lists, I’ve spoken with the most in-the-know people around—behold, the best classic beauty products ever made.
1. Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex
Estée Lauder
Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex Serum
First launched: 1982
Yes, the famous ANR has been modernised a handful of times over the years, but the core of its formula remains the same. I don’t care what anybody says, this is the best face serum money can buy. It doesn’t do anything particularly fancy, but it helps the skin help itself to become its most hydrated and glowing. “Everyone’s skin likes ANR. It’s never going to cause problems. It hits lots of different spots,” says Hughes.
2. Chanel N°5
Chanel
N°5 Eau De Parfum Spray
First launched: 1921
Whether you like it or not, Chanel N°5 is probably the best perfume ever made. “It is the most iconic beauty product of all time. It’s an incredibly complicated and absolutely innovative, revolutionary fragrance. It used aldehydes at a time when luxury perfumes only used natural oils. It used cheap chemical aldehydes to phenomenal effects,” says Hughes. In my opinion, Chanel N°5 is the very definition of an exceptional perfume—it packs a punch, it is almost unbelievably versatile, it lasts on the skin and it makes you feel inexplicably great about yourself.
3. Lancôme Hypnôse Mascara
Lancôme
Hypnôse Mascara
First launched: 2004
The mascara landscape is full of really great products, and heaps of truly excellent formulas have come on the scene in recent years (L’Oréal Paris Paradise Big Deal, I’m looking at you). However, for most people in the know, every mascara launch since 2004 needs to stand up against this, Lancôme Hypnôse. It delivers effortless length, buildable and workable volume and unrivalled lash definition. It is, true to classic beauty form, the mascara to go for when you just don’t know what you want but can’t risk being let down.
4. Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm
Elemis
Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm
First launched: 2013
This product hasn’t been around for as long as many other products on this list, but its best-selling status and cult following leaves no doubt in my mind that it will continue to deliver throughout future decades. This was the product that put cleansing balms firmly on the map. Dubbed a “spa in a jar”, it has the sort of texture and scent that is sure to evoke nostalgia for generations to come. If you’re after a luxury skincare product that can only make your skin happier, this is it.
5. Clinique Black Honey
Clinique
Almost Lipstick in Black Honey
First launched: 1989
Clinique first debuted its Black Honey shade all the way back in 1971, but it was this product launch in 1989 that changed the face of lipstick forever. The Clinique Almost Lipstick has a sheer formula that creates a barely-there but polished-looking wash of colour on the lips, and it did this way before “no-makeup” makeup was a thing. After seeing recent viral success on TikTok, it goes to show that sometimes the original product just can’t be beaten.
6. Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream
Elizabeth Arden
Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant
First launched: 1930
I firmly believe that everybody should have a tube of Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant in their beauty collection. While multi-purpose balms might be common place in 2025, this stuff truly changed the game—and you should never forget that it was the original. To this day, it still tackles dry lips, softens cuticles, soothes skin and delivers targeted glow better than any of its copycats.
7. Olaplex No.3 Hair Perfector
Olaplex
No. 3 Hair Perfector
First launched: 2014
Olaplex No.3 has “the original” printed on its bottle for a very good reason. Despite only launching in 2014, it has changed the game in haircare for good. Through pure innovation, Olaplex created a bond-restoring, hair-strengthening product that had never been seen before. Since then, every haircare brand worth its weight has tried to replicate Olaplex’s results, but this patented technology can’t be beaten.
8. La Mer Crème de la Mer
La Mer
Crème De La Mer Moisturizing Cream
First launched: 1965
I have been working with beauty retailers for many, many years, and believe me when I say that Crème De La Mer Moisturizing Cream is one of the best-selling beauty products I have ever known. Year after year, this cream remains in the top spots on various retailers’ best sellers lists. With its iconic branding, unctuous texture and skin-loving formula, Crème De La Mer has come to define luxury skincare.
9. Diptyque Baies
Diptyque
Baies Scented Candle
First launched: circa 1980
Iconic French fragrance house, Diptyque, was founded in 1961, but as for when the brand launched this iconic candle, reports vary. One thing I do know, however, is that Baies has been around for decades, and its popularity shows no signs of waning. I truly believe that Diptyque fragrances are amongst the best ever made, and Baies’ fresh, fruity, floral aroma is the epitome of expensive-smelling home fragrance.
10. Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion+
Clinique
Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion+
First launched: 1968
Everyone I spoke with for this story had something to say about Clinique DDML without me ever uttering its name. It seems it is almost impossible to discuss classic beauty products and not also discuss the impact of this facial moisturiser. “Clinique DDML is always going to be good for your skin. You’re not going to fall out with it. It’s always going to work,” says Hughes.
11. L’Oréal Paris Elnett Hairspray
L’Oréal Paris
Elnett Hairspray for Normal Hold
First launched: 1960
As Hughes has already mentioned, it is impossible to smell Elnett and not feel something deeply emotional. Its affordable price point and perfect results make it a no-brainer when it comes to shopping for a hairspray. It does exactly what it needs to with no fuss, no faff and no stress.
