Buy Now Pay Later (BPNL), a form of short-term borrowing is used by millions of beauty shoppers looking to purchase goods sooner rather than later.
BPNL allows consumers to spread the cost of a purchase, often interest-free, and is offered by specialised companies such as Klarna, Clearpay, and Affirm, to name a few.
An estimated 10.9 million people used BNPL at least once in the 12 months to May 2024, according to the Financial Lives survey by the Financial Conduct Authroity (FCA).
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Although not everyone might use BNPL, or even realise it is offered, the service is available on a staggering number of websites by beauty brands and retailers.
British beauty and health care retailer Boots offers both Klarna and global online payment platform PayPal’s BNPL services.
UK beauty retailers Lookfantastic and Space NK, meanwhile, both allow for deferred payments through Clearpay.
And tucked away right before checkout on make-up brand Charlotte Tilbury’s website is the option to use all three of the above-mentioned BNPL services.
The list could go further, but it offers a glimpse at how much the beauty industry utilises, and potentially relies on, these payment plans to woor consumers to get their beauty fix.
However, as of 15 July 2026, the FCA has tightened regulation around the payment method.
The move raises questions about what this could mean for shoppers, brands and the actual BNPL providers.
Here is everything you need to know about the FCA’s new changes.
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