The modern beauty landscape is experiencing a distinct polarization in consumer interest, with shoppers increasingly gravitating toward two major categories: personality-led independent labels and high-value drugstore mainstays. According to newly released data from digital market intelligence platform Similarweb, these two distinct segments are currently capturing the most significant growth in direct-to-consumer website traffic across the beauty sector.
The findings offer a revealing look at shifting consumer behaviors in an economy where shoppers are simultaneously seeking out deeply personal, founder-driven brand connections and cost-effective alternatives to luxury cosmetics. While prestige beauty has historically dominated digital engagement metrics, recent data highlights a powerful pivot toward accessibility, affordability, and influencer-backed authority.
According to Similarweb’s comprehensive tracking, the number-one beauty brand by year-over-year monthly traffic growth in August was L’Oréal Paris. The global drugstore legacy giant experienced a remarkable 62 percent surge in traffic compared to the same period the previous year, pulling in roughly 1.4 million monthly visits to its direct-to-consumer digital properties.
L’Oréal Paris was closely followed by Huda Beauty, a prominent personality-led independent brand founded by makeup artist and entrepreneur Huda Kattan. Huda Beauty recorded a 59 percent year-over-year increase, reaching 196,799 monthly visits in August. Other top-performing brands driving significant traffic growth included budget-friendly powerhouse E.l.f. Cosmetics and Hailey Bieber’s celebrity-led skincare line, Rhode. E.l.f. saw its web traffic climb by 46 percent year-over-year, while Rhode recorded a 3 percent increase in annual growth, highlighting the sustained appeal of celebrity-founded ventures.
Daniel Reid, principal market insights analyst at Similarweb, noted that these trends underscore a broader shift in consumer priorities within the digital marketplace. "Budget-conscious, digitally native or drugstore legacy brands are capturing massive consumer interest," Reid explained, pointing out that this strong digital momentum is being fueled in part by a widespread consumer fascination with beauty "dupes"—affordable alternatives that mimic the performance and appearance of high-end prestige products.
Reid further observed that while broad trends point toward value and personality, the exact trajectories and growth drivers vary considerably among the top ten brands analyzed in the study. A closer examination of the data reveals nuanced stories behind the digital traffic numbers of some of the industry’s most closely watched players.
For instance, E.l.f. Cosmetics occupies a unique position at the top of the digital engagement hierarchy. Despite being one of the industry’s top growers with a 46 percent year-over-year increase, E.l.f. also stands out as the overall market leader in raw website traffic volume among the brands tracked, logging an impressive 2.6 million visits in the month of August alone. This massive volume underscores the brand’s ability to sustain high levels of consumer curiosity and continuous transactional intent.
In contrast, Hailey Bieber’s Rhode has experienced a different growth pattern. While its year-over-year annual growth rate was more modest at 3 percent, the brand exhibited a sharp upward trajectory on a month-over-month basis. Rhode’s web traffic ramped up by 16 percent in August compared to the previous month, signaling that its digital momentum is frequently tied to specific, high-impact product launches, targeted marketing campaigns, or seasonal drops that immediately re-engage its core digital audience.
L’Oréal Paris similarly enjoyed standout performance on a month-over-month basis. In addition to its leading year-over-year growth, the legacy brand saw its web traffic rise by 31 percent from July to August. Furthermore, the broader L’Oréal consumer division maintains a commanding presence across the top ten brand rankings. Alongside the flagship L’Oréal Paris name, sister brands Maybelline New York and Nyx Professional Makeup also secured spots on the coveted ranking, demonstrating the parent company’s formidable reach across various segments of the accessible beauty market.
As digital landscapes continue to evolve, the Similarweb data illustrates that beauty consumers are spending their time and attention where they perceive the highest value, whether that value is found in the trusted heritage and budget-friendly pricing of a drugstore classic or the aspirational yet accessible charm of a personality-led independent label. With traffic patterns shifting rapidly in response to digital marketing pushes, product innovations, and economic considerations, brands across the spectrum are finding new ways to capture consumer interest online.
