Top beauty trends 2020: From ampoules to anti-pollution products, here’s everything you need to know

Read our expert guide on the latest beauty techniques, with product recommendations to match

From sustainability to scalp skincare, here are our predictions on hot beauty topics this year (The Independent/iStock)

Last year was an interesting one to say the least. It was a political powder keg, Area 51 was “raided” and sunburn tattoos were a trend on Instagram.

While we can’t imagine Donald Trump giving up Twitter any time soon, dermatologists round the world can breathe a little easier knowing that the trends for 2020 might be a little more forgiving on both your body and mind.

The beauty industry runs at lightning speed. Our online baskets are always full, mostly thanks to new, must-have releases popping up every time you turn your laptop on. So it’s comforting that a more thoughtful approach to skincare is a running theme throughout our predictions for 2020, echoing the changes in consumer conscience across the board, whether it be food or fashion.

From capsule skincare to minimal make-up, there’s no need to keep up with Insta influencers and their 12-step beauty routines, as we’ve found the top trends to watch out for this year.

So without further ado, here’s our beauty breakdown for 2020, following our break-up with last year’s mania.

You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Anti-pollution skincare

Following a surge in environmental activism last year, we’re more awake to the climate crisis than ever, so the beauty industry’s environmental effect will no doubt continue to be a priority in 2020. Subsequently, anti-pollution skincare is about to become as commonplace as your sunscreen.

Increasing pollution levels from metal emissions and the like are showing a pretty hefty effect on the skin, including premature ageing. The toxic molecules from car exhaust gases for instance are 20 times smaller than a single pore and once burrowed firmly into the skin, can cause inflammation and deterioration of your cells. Sounds pretty apocalyptic, but can be potentially counteracted with the right skincare.

The gold star you’re looking for is a cleverly balanced vitamin C which will ricochet free-radicals off your skin, while barrier-protecting hyaluronic acid and niacinamide are also good go-tos to keep your visage in check.

IndyBest top picks

Allies of Skin peptides and antioxidants firming daily treatment, 50ml: £112, Space NK

First out the gate is the new launch from Allies of Skin and it’s chock full of antioxidants and reparative properties. The concentration of the formula has as much as impact as a mask but is far easier to use. We enjoyed using this as a moisturiser mixed with a few drops of our favourite oil to get it even more fired up in the cold weather. It’s the perfect cocktail for stormy times to keep you in check.

Transitioning to the summer, using this as a serum before a lighter moisturiser would give you a similar kick. The peptides and fat-soluble vitamin C will work hard to ensure you keep the smog at bay. This left us dewy and supple and felt like it kept its promises of working continuously throughout the day. Nourishing and effective, it’s a reliable and versatile product to have in your arsenal.

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Oskia city life facial mist,100ml: £44, Oskia

A surefire mist can be a godsend when you’re in need of a refresh as it won’t screw up your make-up and is a super quick fix on the go. This niacinamide-focused, non-filming formula from Oskia cleverly bonds with pollutants in the air, preventing them from penetrating below the skin’s surface. Vitamins and Coenzyme Q10 enrich the skin, while a plethora of unique ingredients including astaxanthin (a super-concentrated booster) work in tandem to help keep your visage lively all day. This works wonderfully as a toner or setting spray as well as a handbag-handy treat. Urbanites can keep this in their holster and be haughty.

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No make-up make-up

Skin is in when it comes to make-up. There’s been a slow surge in the no make-up make-up game but we’re expecting it to really blow up in the coming months. Think gorgeous sheer foundations with light, thin textures and powerful, nourishing correctors that brighten and hydrate. It’s merely about enhancing what you’ve got, giving yourself a subtle boost. If you forget to drink your water allocation for the day, this section is a cheat sheet to a couple of litres down the hatch, giving you that “I woke up like this” face.

IndyBest top picks

Pat Mccgrath Labs skin fetish sublime perfection foundation: £60, Selfridges

Described by Anna Wintour as “the most influential make-up artist in the world”, Pat McGrath launched the enviable Skin Fetish foundation late last year. Available in a commendable 36 shades, we can’t cheerlead this one enough. What we love most about this foundation is that it genuinely gives you the “your skin but better” look that other formulas often fail to achieve. We think the key to good make-up is people saying “your face looks nice” not “your make-up looks nice”, so this product is what we’ve been waiting for.

It has a silky, glowy consistency that blends effortlessly, leaving a super-hydrated and even finish. It is buildable but just one pump will give you that fresh-faced aesthetic with no effort whatsoever. It’s hard to get wrong as it delivers a sumptuous tint, making you look as runway ready as you’ll ever get.

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Becca under eye brightening corrector: £21, Cult Beauty

From humble beginnings to a now critically acclaimed empire, Becca offers a multitude of skin enhancers that are gorgeous for minimal looks. Described by the brand as a “backlight for your cover-up” this under eye brightener is a castor oil-based formula so immediately gives you an extra hydration boost.

It’s only available in two shades which seems a little dated but fear not as they are deceivingly universal. This literally works as camouflage for under eye darkness and uneven colouring to give you a very impressive, wide-awake aesthetic. Fine pearlescent particles scatter light left, right and centre, working to brighten while giving you that coveted soft-focused look, with a buttery texture that melts into the skin as it sets.

It can be used as a base for concealer but we loved this on its own. It doesn’t crease and lasts the whole day without breaking. When we first tested, comparing one eye to the other after application, we felt like we were in one of those infomercials that seem too good to be true. It’s true, it is that good. Apply this with your favourite blending sponge for a seamless finish.

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Ampoules

South Korea strikes again with its introduction of ampoules to your skincare routine, and they’ve already docked firmly on our shores. These are powerhouse, potent skincare shots to be used daily, usually in succession of one another to boost you back to life. Each vial contains just the right amount of product for each use, so there’s no need to worry about over-using them or having the product go off.

Ampoules essentially offer you a tailored beauty boot camp with great results via a stealthy shortcut routine. If you’re going to commit to a secret ampoule arsenal, a neat tip is to use an acid toner first to swipe away any dead skin cells sitting on the surface. If you’re a skincare fanatic, seal in the goodness with a sheet mask full of hydrating properties to get the best out of the high-powered minis.

IndyBest top picks

Omorvicza the cure: £195, Omorovicza

A nine-day beauty bonanza is housed in Omorovicza’s newly launched skincare programme, named “The Cure”. Split into three separate stages, this is the coolest at-home indulgence for those who want to get their skin back on track.

The first stage, “resurface and brighten”, is an infusion of glycolic and mandelic acid with enzymes to catalyse cell turnover. Then we have “renew and revive” which eliminates toxins and improves skin texture after you’ve sloughed off the debris. Finally, “reconstruct and replenish” is an oil-focused boosting stage, giving you firmer and tighter skin.

The ingredients throughout the curated programme are top notch and should be applied nightly, one at a time. This is a joy to use, we looked forward to seeing what was in store each evening. If you’re looking to refine your complexion and get more glow on the go, this is a great investment.

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Susanne Kaufmann pollution skin defence system: £48, Cult Beauty

Coming at it from a different angle are the wizards at Susanne Kaufmann. This three-stage affair turns its hands to attacking environmental aggressors and protecting skin in a flash. The first ampoule is a stable vitamin C super-shot; actives in this formula act as a barrier to inflammatory triggers and detoxify the skin. Second is the “face serum ectoin” which works to protect your skin from dehydration, allergens and sun damage by strengthening the skin’s barrier.

Lastly, the enzyme Q10 stimulates and breaks down free radicals – it’s also formulated with a low-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid for an intense moisture boost. This three-day quick fix is great for fighting the elements at this time of year as the super-concentrated vials can probably perk you up faster than your whole shelfie combined. Invest in this if brightening was one of your new year’s resolutions.

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By-product beauty

Sustainability is on every brand’s agenda for 2020. Whether it be changes to packaging or sourcing ingredients ethically, every little helps. One step further is the world of by-product beauty, which entails the usage of ingredients that would usually go to waste and utilising them to make new products. It’s about redefining what the word wastage can mean and redistributing what would usually end up in the bin. It’s not just eco-conscious but business savvy.

IndyBest top pick

BYBI blueberry booster: £12, BYBI

BYBI just gets everything right, every time. This blueberry booster is just one of its forward thinking-products and is made from the seeds of blueberries that would have ordinarily been thrown away. The oil is a neat protector from blue-light pollution that comes from laptops and phones which has sadly shown to contribute to ageing.

It can be used in multitude of ways by adding to your moisturiser, serum or plainly straight up. It’s a nourishing, simple formula which is reflective of the brand’s commitment to staying as sustainable as possible. Our package even came in a box made from grass pulp with some interesting stats on why the brand uses it. One being that just one litre of water per ton is used to create it rather than 3000l per ton for wood pulp. Sold.

If you’re looking for a moisture surge in the same format, we love BYBI’s strawberry booster too.

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Sensorial beauty

Your skin health and mental wellbeing are closely linked, and as we’ve finally started to take our mental health as seriously as our physical, beauty products that focus on your psyche are about to have a big moment. Pyschodermatology is a scientific practice that works to treat skin conditions with psychological techniques. It works from the fact that the same tissues that make up the brain and central nervous systems also form the skin, making our mental wellbeing and skin intrinsically connected. The beauty industry has taken inspiration from this concept, with a rise in products that help relieve stress and anxiety which can often aggravate skin issues. Mood-enhancing fragrances coupled with skin-calming properties are keys to the kingdom of relaxation.

IndyBest top picks

Neom great day wonder balm: £15, Neom

Neom believes so much in scent having an effect on your wellbeing that it has split the brand into four distinct ranges to help sleep, de-stress, boost energy and in this case make you a bit jollier. This little pot is for skin, lips and any other bits that need some TLC. As well as the dreamy scent, nourishing almond and olive oils also give your skin some love.

It’s a perky and uplifting scent without being overpowering. The range spans a multitude of skincare concerns but we have a place in our heart for this unassuming balm. Perfect for targeting dry spots.

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Tata Harper aromatic stress treatment: £61.75, Tata Harper

The supreme queen of green, holistic brand Tata Harper has created this stress treatment that is an intoxicating arrangement for the senses to get you back to centre. Applied to pulse points, the woody and multilayered scent is great to shave off unwanted anxiety. Handy to pop in your bag or have at your desk, it’s easily applied via a nifty rollerball. We found it a lush accompaniment to our day, if only to have some conscious time out for a meditative moment. Rub it liberally into the palms and give yourself 10-15 deep breaths to really feel the benefit.

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Scalp skincare

The hair gurus are taking influence from the skincare industry in a new wave of treatments that focus on the health of your scalp. Turns out, skin and hair aren’t too dissimilar, being made up of similar bodily structures. Feeding the proteins on our barnet in a similar way we do our skin, with ingredients from the same family such as witch hazel and salicylic acid, can work wonders. Think of it this way: you wouldn’t just reapply your make-up over yesterday’s, so getting into the nitty gritty from the root and clearing it out cleverly is the pathway to happy hair and an even happier garden for it to grow in. Your scalp actually is skin so it’s about time it had the same amount of love as the rest of your fine self.

IndyBest top picks

Ouai haircare scalp and body scrub: £27.20, Feel Unique

If it’s good enough for the Kardashians, it’s good enough for us. Jen Atkin, who is responsible for the infamous family’s hair, launched her line in 2016 and this scalp treatment is one step closer to reality TV tresses. It smells like roses which is a great start. It gets rid of congestion on the scalp’s surface and helps microcirculation (the constant blood flow to each hair follicle) thanks to some dissolvable sugars. Get this product right into the roots to give the scalp a good seeing to.

It works wonders as a weekly treatment but you can also add a little to your shampoo to take it up a notch. Coconut oil, glycerin and sweet almond oil are usually found in products for dry skin, so you can probably guess that there’s a significant moisture boost amid all the exfoliating. Luscious locks might not be as far away as you thought.

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Goop G.tox Himalayan salt scalp scrub shampoo: £38, Goop

Hot off the heels of watching Goop staff on Netflix try magic mushrooms in the name of research... we admit we weren’t as adventurous, but did find this wonderfully whipped shampoo a dream to use. Gwynnie has done it again. The mix of Himalayan pink salt and moringa oil is as calming as it is cleansing, lathering beautifully and leaving the scalp and hair able to breathe a little easier.

The salt can potentially leave fine hair a tad dry, but that’s nothing a decent conditioner can’t fix and it’s a small price to pay for such a luxe experience and pay-off. It purifies and detoxes in the most glorious fashion. This is fantastic for those who wear a lot of product and want a clean base as it gets rid of build-up without disturbing the peace.

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