Radical Honesty in Beauty: How Brands Are Talking
In an age of Gen Z candour, cosmetic brands are stripping back filters, over-polished visuals, and PR spin
24 Jun'25
By Yugadya Dubey
Radical Honesty in Beauty: How Brands Are Talking
Remember when honesty in beauty meant “cruelty-free” logos or ingredient transparency?
Fast-forward to 2025, and brands are baring everything—blemishes, brand missteps, true motivations.
Welcome to radical honesty: a movement born from Gen Z's demand for real—raw, unfiltered, unvarnished. It’s the new beauty currency, and some brands are cashing in like never before.
Why Radical Honesty Resonates Now
In a world brimming with filtered perfection, Gen Z craves authenticity. The exhaustion is real—pandemic fatigue, economic pressures, social media facades—call it “ethical-consideration fatigue.”
As a result, being frank about your flaws is oddly powerful.
Vogue Business captures it: celebrities now admit vanity, greed—even admitting cosmetic procedures—because it builds trust, not backlash.
For brands, this means moving past “spotless marketing” to embrace transparency and relatability. And yes, that gets messy—but relatable sells.
What Radical Honesty Looks Like in Beauty
- Real skin, unretouched: Avène just ran a campaign spotlighting real users on BeReal—zero retouch.
- Brands sharing raw stats: Candid launches using micron data—shade trials, patch test results, even batch inconsistencies.
- Influencers go “anti-ad”: The rise of de-influencing, where creators openly critique paid partnerships, showing both pros and cons.
- User-generated confessionals: Brands invite honest reviews—warts and all, blemishes included.
This is unfiltered beauty realism: the glow-up is real, but so are the imperfections
Beauty Marketers: How to Make Radical Honesty Work
A. Be the First to Admit – It Builds Trust
Acknowledging mistakes (delayed launches, shade mismatches) shows vulnerability. Jet backstory: *“We missed on shade 081, but here’s how we fixed it”—and consumers respond.
B. Design Truthfully
Make your visuals reflect reality: no perfect pores, no edited somethings. Frame features with honesty-infused lighting and raw-close shots—a hallmark of trustworthy visuals.
C. Use Real Voices
Invite micro-influencers or everyday users to review honestly. Let them admit drawbacks, and why they still recommend the product. This transactional approach beats glossy celeb endorsements.
D. Context Matters
When everything is filtered, the truth stands out. Connect ingredients to real skin outcomes: “Yes, it’s sticky—because we use AHAs. Here’s why that matters.”
Admigos: Crafting Honest-Imagery That Pops
At Admigos, we frame this movement visually:
- Unedited texture macro shots: A moisturizer’s drydown on real skin, with “no-airbrush” labels.
- Swipe-up raw POVs: Videos of testers applying products with zero filter, CGI disclaimers, and candid voiceovers.
- Before → after flows: Not flawless transformations—but build trust with visible pores and true results.
- Interactive truth layers: Polls like “Too greasy? Tell us!” or captions that say “Still testing in deep freeze—but this is our #1.”
Result? Brands look human, relatable, and like they walk their talk.
Avène’s BeReal Reveal
Avène’s “When Real Skin Meets Real Social” campaign used unfiltered BeReal content—real users showing red patches, texture, and transparent reactions. The campaign resonated: Avène highlighted “Radical Transparency Marketing,” a subtrend in beauty realism.
Engagement spiked, and the brand emerged as more trusted.
Why Gen Z Trusts Brutal Truth
- They buy from real people: 92% of Gen Z prioritise authenticity.
- They crave truth in policy: Sustainability, sourcing info—they ask for receipts.
- They reject perfection: No more staged influencer aesthetics; imperfection wins.
In short, telling it like it is resonates.
Final Thoughts
In 2025, authenticity isn’t a brand add-on—it’s a survival strategy. Radical honesty proves you're human, and people yearn for that. When beauty is raw, real—and relatable—you don’t just sell—you connect.
Let’s drop the filter. Admigos will build visuals that don’t just impress—they resonate.
Flipkart’s AI Try-On Features: Can They Replace Beauty Stores?
Flipkart’s AI beauty try-on tool “Vibes” is redefining how India shops makeup. Here’s what it gets right and what’s next.
Gen Z & Gen Alpha Are Redefining SPF Rituals
Why young generations are rewriting sun protection—embracing personal style, fun formats, and daily rituals.
