As beauty brands wage a silent war to capture the attention of Gen Z, millennials and, more recently, boomers, there is one generation sitting just out of sight of the marketing skirmish.
Gen X, born between 1965 and 1980, is lovingly known as the ‘forgotten’ generation – an entirely apt description for a demographic that is too often left out of the modern beauty conversation.
Some 39% of Gen X in the UK do not agree that beauty and grooming brands do a good job catering to their age group, according to data from market research firm Mintel.
It is a confusing situation for beauty brands to be in, given that this generation made up 25% of the beauty category’s total spend at US$1.5tn in 2025, according to analyst NielsenIQ’s latest data.
Given this immense spending power, the opportunity to tap into the ‘sandwich’ generation is abundantly clear, yet seemingly underutilised.
So, what exactly does Gen X want from their beauty products, and can the industry deliver on these demands in 2026
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