September 16, 2025

Complete Guide to Sell on Amazon Beauty Category

How do you promote your beauty products on amazon? Learn from the very best in the business.
Complete Guide to Sell on Amazon Beauty Category
Complete Guide to Sell on Amazon Beauty Category

Key takeaways: 

  1. The beauty category is one of Amazon’s largest categories, with consistent demand and rapid growth, making it both highly profitable and highly competitive for sellers.
  2. Luxury Beauty (premium, high-end brands), Professional Beauty (salon and spa-quality products), and Indie Beauty (independent, niche, or innovative brands) and the three main beauty sub-categories on Amazon. 
  3. Items like skincare, makeup, and haircare are essentials that customers buy regularly, which creates opportunities for recurring revenue and long-term customer loyalty.
  4. Amazon has strict rules for selling beauty products, including requiring sealed, authentic items, regulatory compliance (FDA/EU), ingredient labeling, and approval for gated sub-categories.
  5. Success in the Amazon beauty category depends on tactics like optimizing product listings, leveraging Amazon ads, building a storefront, understanding seasonality, driving external traffic, and generating positive reviews.

Are you currently selling or interested in selling beauty products on Amazon? The beauty and personal care category is one of the largest product categories on Amazon, and by extension, one of the most competitive. 

Being one of Amazon's top sellers, this category has also experienced massive growth in sales and revenue over the years. 

Based on a survey by Kantar, 33% of skincare shoppers visit Amazon to look for a new product or brand. Also, the majority of skincare buyers, 88%, purchase products in-store. However, buyers first research beauty products on platforms like Amazon before making a purchase. 

To attract customers, boost sales, and increase company revenue in the beauty category on Amazon, it is important to implement the right marketing strategies that increase visibility and sales. 

If you're ready to boost your sales and grow revenue with Amazon, read on as ePlaybooks explores top marketing strategies to win your customers over and increase sales on Amazon. However, before we dive into that, let’s take a look at what the Amazon beauty category looks like. 

Amazon beauty category 

Before 2017, the beauty category was gated and sellers needed to go through a very tedious process to get approval and list their products on the beauty category. However, in 2017, Amazon ungated this category and created three sub-categories that sellers can access through a specific approval process. 

These sub-categories include: 

  • Amazon Luxury Beauty 
  • Amazon Professional Beauty 
  • Amazon Indie beauty 

Amazon Luxury Beauty

The Amazon luxury beauty category is dedicated to high-end, prestige beauty brands that are often sold in luxury department stores.
It offers a wide range of beauty products from luxury brands like Elizabeth Arden and Anastasia Beverly Hills. This category contains all the latest products including hair products, make-up, skincare, fragrances, nails, and much more from premium brands. 

This sub-category caters to shoppers looking for premium quality and brand reputation rather than budget-friendly options.

Amazon Professional Beauty 

This sub-category contains a curated selection of quality products in a professional setting such as salons, spas, and dermatologist offices. The professional beauty category contains products that professionals can use in their business. This includes items like hair tools, salon equipment, and skincare items. 

This category is also further divided into two categories: Professional Skin Care and Salon and Spa. Amazon often requires brand approval for sellers in this category. Many items here are not widely available in regular retail stores.

Amazon Indie beauty

The Indie beauty category launched in 2018 and is the newest category of the three. This category includes cosmetics and skincare brands that have independent owners and are not sold directly by mass retailers like Walmart.

Amazon states that brands in this category must have a brand store and be Prime-eligible. 

The approval process for each category might be a bit different depending on what products you are selling. However, the process begins with opening an Amazon Seller Central account.

Some categories in the beauty and health industry include skincare products and professional skin care, hair care products, salon and spa, oral care, fragrance, baby care items, and so on. 

Why sell beauty products on Amazon?

The beauty and personal care industry has maintained consistent demand regardless of economic conditions. On Amazon, this category is not only popular but also growing rapidly. Here are some reasons why selling beauty products on Amazon is a strong business opportunity: 

  1. Growing demand

Beauty is a repeat-purchase category. Products like skincare, shampoo, makeup, and grooming items are essentials that customers buy monthly or even weekly.
According to market research, the global beauty industry exceeds $500 billion annually, and a large share of that spending happens online.
Amazon is the go-to platform for convenience and 31% of shoppers complete their beauty purchases on the Amazon marketplace. They prefer to buy beauty products alongside other household items, creating consistent demand.

  1. Global reach and visibility

Amazon operates in multiple countries, giving you access to millions of international customers.
Beauty brands that sell locally can now reach a global audience without setting up physical stores.
With tools like Amazon Global Selling and FBA, expanding your beauty business is even easier.

  1. High customer lifetime value 

Unlike one-time purchases, beauty products encourage loyalty and repeat buying. If a customer likes a skincare serum or haircare product, they’ll often reorder the same brand every month.
Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program makes it even easier for you to lock in recurring sales.

  1. Diverse markets and sub-categories  

Amazon’s Beauty category is broad and appeals to multiple customer groups, allowing you to find your niche:

  • Luxury beauty: High-end skincare, perfumes, and makeup for prestige shoppers.
  • Professional beauty: Salon-quality products and tools used by professionals and DIY enthusiasts.
  • Indie beauty: Innovative, niche, or eco-friendly brands that attract customers looking for uniqueness.
  • Every day beauty products like moisturizers, cosmetics, shampoos, etc. 

This variety gives room for both established brands and small businesses to compete. 

Regulations for selling in the Amazon beauty category 

Selling beauty products isn’t as simple as uploading a listing. Amazon has compliance and quality requirements to protect customers. Here are a few requirements and regulations for selling beauty products on Amazon: 

  • Many beauty sub-categories (especially Luxury and Professional) are gated, meaning you must request approval.
  • Only authentic, sealed, and new items are allowed. No used or repackaged beauty products.
  • Products must meet FDA, EU, or other regional cosmetic regulations, depending on your selling location.
  • Proper ingredient lists, usage instructions, and safety warnings are mandatory for beauty products.
  • Products must have valid product identifiers unless you qualify for the GTIN exemption.

You can work with Amazon professionals at ePlaybooks to ensure you are up to date and follow all regulations needed to set up and scale your beauty business on Amazon. 

7 top marketing strategies for selling on the Amazon beauty category 

Here are seven top marketing strategies to help you increase sales on Amazon:

  1. Know your target audience 
  2. Optimize your product page 
  3. Leverage Amazon advertising
  4. Build and optimize your Amazon Storefront 
  5. Understand seasonalities and trends
  6. Drive external traffic 
  7. Get positive reviews 

Know your target audience 

The first step to selling on the Amazon beauty category is to know your target audience. Are you selling strictly organic products? Is it a man's fragrance or hair or makeup? Knowing who your target audience is will help you build your customer base and channel your advertising and marketing campaigns to the right audience. It will also help you put up the right images, keywords, and packaging to attract your ideal customer.

Knowing your target audience will narrow down your audience and eliminate shoppers who aren't interested in your product. 

Optimize your product page 

Optimizing your product page is crucial to attracting the ideal customer. Customers are constantly searching for beauty products on Amazon. You want to make sure that when customers search for your products you appear in search results. To become visible to customers, it is important to use the right keywords. Conduct in-depth keyword research to find keywords related to your niche. For example, if you sell make-up, a popular keyword could be “make-up brushes”. What's important is finding the right keywords that are relevant to what customers are searching for. Include these keywords in every section of your product page. From your titles to bullet points, product, and image description. 

Another way to optimize your product page is to use high-quality images that will entice your customers. Ensure you are following all of Amazon's image guidelines

Lastly, write a compelling copy in your bullet point and product description sections. Ensure you are communicating the benefits of your products to your customers. 

Leverage Amazon advertising 

When selling on the Amazon beauty category, leveraging Amazon advertising isn't an option. You can increase reach, visibility, and traffic which is critical to increasing sales on Amazon. 

There are three major types of advertising on the Amazon platform. The Sponsored Product Ads, Sponsored Brand Ads, and Amazon Display Ads. 

It is important to leverage all three types of advertising to generate maximum results. 

Sponsored Product Ads and Sponsored Brand Ads

Sponsored Product Ads provide a foundation for your advertising strategy. You can easily drive customers to your product page by promoting an individual product. 

Sponsored Brand Ads go up the funnel. It increases visibility and brand awareness. Customers who are exploring your brand may not be ready to buy your product immediately. However, having seen your brand, they are more likely to buy from you when they are ready to purchase a product. 

Using both Sponsored Product Ads and Sponsored Brand Ads together is more effective. In fact, Amazon reports reveal a 30% increase in category impression share for advertisers who utilize both ads together. Other benefits of using both ads together include lower cost per click, increased visibility on product pages, and individual products. 

Amazon Display Ads 

Using Display Ads, you can target relevant customers on and off the Amazon platform. Display Ads will appear on Amazon’s homepage, social media platforms like Twitter, and other third-party websites. With this, you can retarget previous shoppers, increase your click-through rate, and conversion rate.  

Ensure you tweak your advertising campaign to get results for every Ad spend. Remember that your Ads should over time increase organic sales and brand awareness. 

Build and optimize your Amazon Storefront 

An Amazon storefront is a mini-website that allows businesses and brands (no matter the size) to showcase their products and tell their brand story all in one place. You can create several category pages and display best-selling products. Online shoppers get a glimpse of all your business is about and can follow your brand store to get updates on the latest products and offers from your brand. You can update your store with seasonal offers and shape your campaigns to align with your brand. You also get your own branded URL for your brand store. 

In addition, linking your Amazon brand store when running a Sponsored Ad increases your conversion rate and allows you to increase sales on Amazon. 

Understand seasonalities and trends 

In the beauty category, certain subcategories and products could appear seasonal. For example, if you sell sunscreens, they are more likely to boom in summer. It is important to take into account seasonalities and trends to attract customers and maximize sales. You can offer a discount when your products are in season to increase customer purchases. When it comes to trends, you want to be careful as trends lack staying power. A product that is in vogue today might not mean so much in a few years or even months. 

Drive external traffic 

Looking for how to increase conversion rate on Amazon? More than optimizing your page for Amazon, consider pulling external traffic to your product page. You can do this through external channels like social media platforms and emails. You can create a blog post or any resource of value and insert links to your product page or brand store. You can remind customers to purchase new products once they are all used up. 

You can also utilize advertising platforms like Facebook Ads and Google Ads. This way you can attract interested customers who may not be searching on the Amazon platform. This supplementary traffic will help increase your conversion rate and sales. 

Get positive reviews 

When it comes to selling on the Amazon beauty category, social proof is critical. If you have positive reviews, consider getting more positive reviews as they can never be enough. Reviews play a significant role in your marketing strategy. When customers come to your page, they want to see that other customers have derived some satisfaction from using your products. Positive reviews build trust, remove objections, and increase your conversion rates. 

There are several ways to get reviews on your product. You can use the ‘Request a Review’ button on Amazon. You could also use product inserts or emails to encourage customers to drop a review after they make a purchase. 

You should also pay attention to negative reviews. Try to reply to negative reviews in the most polite way to reduce their impact. 

Conclusion 

Beauty brands on Amazon have many opportunities for growth and customer retention. With the right marketing strategies, sellers can win more customers and increase sales on Amazon. 

For more advanced marketing strategies tailor-made for your business, you can reach out to ePlaybooks.

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Which category is best to sell on Amazon?

The best category to sell on Amazon depends on your goals, budget, and product type. However, some profitable product categories you can sell in even as a beginner include Home & Kitchen, Toy & Games, Clothing, Shoes, and Accessories, Pet Supplies,  and Electronics. 

What are the categories of beauty products?

Beauty products cover a broad range of categories including skincare, haircare, makeup, bath and body care, fragrance, nail care, oral care, grooming products, and wellness. 

What type of products sell the most on Amazon?

Products that sell the most or are in high demand on Amazon include:

  • Electronics and accessories like phone cases, chargers, headphones, smartwatches, etc
  • Clothing, shoes, and accessories like t-shirts, shoes, handbags, activewear, etc
  • Home and kitchen products like storage containers, kitchen appliances, etc
  • Toys and games like board games, educational toys, puzzles, etc
  • Pet supplies like pet food, toys, and grooming products.

Turbo-Charge Your Revenue!

You’ve probably already considered selling on Amazon but its way easier than you think.

Call Us Now

Enjoying our articles?

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive ePlaybooks insights directly in your inbox. Don't worry we will respect your inbox.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.