Key takeaways:
- Tmall hosts its 11th Beauty Awards, going viral for the celebrity participation again.
- With livestreams from streamers and brands, the event is shown as a collaborative effort.
- With the platform nurturing the brands, they might be on track to see off the “white label” threats.
Around the end of August, many celebrity topics swept Weibo, from actress Zhong Chuxi’s make-up to singer Zhou Keyu’s all-black dress code. These viral topics all stemmed from a single event: the Tmall Beauty Awards 2025.
Tmall Beauty Awards has been an annual trend-setting moment in China’s beauty world for over a decade
This awards show was the 11th event from the e-commerce platform and has been an annual trend-setting moment in China’s beauty world for over a decade. It is often called the “Beauty Oscars” of China. This year, Tmall even gave a theme to the event: wind-making (造风), meaning trendsetting, as wind is often used as a metaphor for trends and styles.
The brands
This year sees a triumphant return for bigger brands. After several years under siege from the “white label” competitors, established global and domestic brands are finally making a comeback. Big brands such as Maogeping, MAC and L’Oréal also hosted fashion shows to showcase their looks at the award event.
The definition of white-label goods has shifted from its original meaning in English as private label owned by retailers such as Amazon Basics or other OEM products, to OEMs’ own labels. These smaller labels were pushed heavily by platforms such as Douyin and Taobao and were presented as affordable alternatives with high value for money. However, the white labels that made it into the top 20 gross merchandise value (GMV) on Douyin had an average lifespan of 8 months. This meant that brands were consistently under threat from new white labels, but these labels are often quickly replaced by new ones.
As it became unsustainable for white labels, brands began to grow steadily. C-beauty brand Maogeping saw its member GMV rise 75% with a high repurchase rate of 41%. Maogeping grew 30% in the past year and is forecasting revenue of over 5 billion RMB (700.07 million USD) at the end of this year. Some white labels, like CENTSO (三资堂), gradually built themselves to become established brands by entering Tmall.
The Awards
For the actual awards show, Tmall brought a simultaneous livestream on 3 channels. They were connected with the theme of the offline gala, but streamed on the Tmall official livestream channel, top streamer channels, as well as brand livestream channels. The many channels appeal to different viewers’ needs. By partnering with 6 major channels, such as Li Jiaqi’s, Tmall can reach as many shoppers at the same time as possible.
Tmall handed out awards such as the Top Brands award, the New Star Brands awards, the Top Items and the Top New Items awards. However, for Top Brands, there wasn’t too much change other than that Pantene took the place of Whisper (Always) on the list among Proya, L’Oréal, Lancôme, and Usmile, etc.
The people
With celebrities such as Zhong Chuxi, Ye Tong and Lin Yun, the event also invited over 30 celebs, influencers and streamers to the awards show. The star power from these guests caused fans to engage with the 3 Tmall Weibo posts over 310,000 times. The hashtags such as “Tmall Beauty Awards” and “the beauty Oscars” had over 40 million views in a week and 130,000 comments, and 630,000 engagements. With the involvement of celebrities, influencers and streamers, Tmall brings a sense of co-creation to the awards.
Tmall, with the awards, is making its statement to foster and nurture brands in these uncertain times
This ties back into the “wind-making” concept from the platform, as Tmall is trying to make waves with the brands and creators. In the first half of 2025, Tmall had over 500 brands selling over 10 million RMB (1.4 million USD) and over 5,000 items selling over 10 million RMB. Over 500 livestream channels grew at a double-digit rate. Tmall, with the awards, is making its statement to foster and nurture brands in these uncertain times.