Thirty years ago, the beauty industry was largely a landscape dominated by monolithic corporations. Giants like L’Oréal, Estée Lauder, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and Coty held near-monopoly over household personal care brands. Their products often relied on harsh, synthetic ingredients, a strategy driven by the need for affordability, extended shelf lives, and consistent formulation. Independent skincare brands were a rarity, and the options for products formulated with natural ingredients were equally scarce. It was against this backdrop that Lena Korres, a chemical engineer, and her husband Giorgos, a chemist, embarked on a mission to fill a perceived void in the market.
Inspired by the rich heritage of traditional Greek remedies and botanicals, the Korres couple launched their eponymous skincare brand in Athens. "Because we worked in a herbal homeopathic pharmacy, we knew herbal ingredients inside and out," Lena Korres recalls, highlighting the deep knowledge base that informed their venture. Rejecting the allure of heavily curated, quick-fix trends, the brand instead championed a philosophy of deliberate, slower-paced rituals centered on wellness, skin health, and authenticity. This commitment to a more holistic approach has proven to be a powerful differentiator. Over three decades, Korres has steadily expanded its global footprint, achieving an annual revenue of approximately $150 million and establishing a presence in over 50 countries through major retailers such as Sephora, Boots, and Ulta Beauty. This month marks a significant milestone for the brand as it celebrates its thirtieth anniversary, a testament to the enduring appeal of Mediterranean principles in beauty and wellness.
The resurgence of Mediterranean beauty is not an isolated phenomenon. It mirrors the growing global appreciation for the Mediterranean diet, which has consistently been ranked as the top expert-recommended diet in the United States for seven consecutive years, according to U.S. News & World Report. This dietary trend is intrinsically linked to the longevity observed in populations residing in or near the Mediterranean basin. Countries like Spain, Italy, and Greece regularly boast some of the highest life expectancies worldwide, a remarkable achievement often attributed to a combination of diet, active lifestyles, and robust community networks.
Mediterranean aesthetics are also permeating contemporary beauty standards. The current summer beauty ideal favors a relaxed, sun-kissed look, characterized by natural-looking freckles, a radiant tan (whether achieved naturally or through self-tanning products), and effortlessly tousled hair. This sentiment is evident in marketing campaigns, such as Hawaiian Tropic’s recent collaboration with influencer Alix Earle, which showcases a sun-kissed aesthetic. Similarly, brands like Rhode and Summer Fridays often evoke a vacation-ready feel through their visual identities, featuring skin-first complexions, dewy hair, and warm, outdoor lighting. Consumers are responding enthusiastically to this aesthetic. One top comment on a Hawaiian Tropic TikTok video featuring Earle expressed, "This is so fun and cute. I’m sold on buying more Hawaiian Tropic products," garnering hundreds of likes, with the video itself exceeding 11,000 likes.
The rise of Mediterranean beauty also coincides with the burgeoning "touch grass" movement, a phrase that originated as viral Gen Z internet slang. Initially a self-deprecating admonition for chronically online individuals to disconnect from their screens, it has evolved into a broader cultural sentiment. Louise Yems, strategy director at youth culture and insights agency The Digi Fairy, explains, "The origins of the phrase were somewhat self-deprecating. It was a reality check for people who were always online and that was detrimental in various regards. But it has become a tongue-in-cheek cure-all antithesis for the ills of the constant churn of the algorithm."
This trend has transitioned from internet slang into a tangible wellness movement, with individuals actively recalibrating their relationship with technology and seeking out beauty solutions that feel grounded, unhurried, and sensorial. "Ironically, the touch grass lifestyle became very visually appealing on social media," Yems observes, "because a lot of it speaks to a life spent in nature, in community, in peace. Somewhat therein lies your parallels with the Mediterranean lifestyle." The widespread adoption of the term has also broadened its definition. Yems adds, "It’s now become a catch-all term for broadly spending time IRL and community experiences."
Sui-Sien Donovan, senior creative strategist and editor at Morning, a creative strategy studio, echoes this sentiment. "We once looked to digital didacticisms like touch grass as simplistic truths, reliant on self-imposed lines to guide our behavior and preferences — online vs offline, screen vs grass, selfcare vs people-pleasing," she states. "These prescriptive algorithm-led movements were then followed by optimized, LLM-era wellness." Donovan continues, "Now, deeply subjective and intuitive manifestations of touching grass, aka prioritizing feeling as the ultimate measure of a good life, are resonating with Gen Z. The recent low-cortisol summer trend quickly developed into a larger conversation about having a low-cortisol life. Now, embodiment and grounding can look like Sicilian grandpas sharing an antipasti lunch at the beach, young male fitness influencers taking a pause with their Topicals under-eye masks on, or city folk wearing Vibram Five Fingers to feel more intentional while stomping concrete."
Time-Tested Remedies: The Core of Mediterranean Beauty
While some may perceive this cultural shift as performative, Lena Korres argues that Mediterranean beauty, particularly for brands with deep roots in the region, offers a more profound and authentic connection. Korres’s brand distinguishes itself through its dedication to local, organic agriculture and in-house eco-extraction processes. The company collaborates with over a thousand Greek family farms to source its ingredients, which are then meticulously formulated within their own facilities. "We bring the landscape and people into everything we do," Korres emphasizes. "I think that is really quintessential to the Mediterranean lifestyle; it has to do with people and nature being in contact every day." This commitment to integrating the environment and community into their product development underscores a philosophy that prioritizes natural synergy and sustainable practices.
Responsible local sourcing and the delivery of slow-living-inspired beauty rituals are also central tenets for Rowse, a Madrid-based beauty brand co-founded in 2018 by Nuria Val, a photographer and creative director, and Gabriela Salord, a marketing executive. The co-founders first met while working in Paris. Their inaugural product was a winter body oil designed for skin protection and hydration during colder months. Over eight years, Rowse has expanded its offerings to include skincare, makeup, and facial treatments, with two flagship stores located in Madrid.
For Val, minimizing reliance on silicones was a key objective for Rowse. While synthetic ingredients in beauty products are generally considered safe for use, they can present cosmetic and environmental challenges. Silicones, for instance, possess occlusive properties that can trap comedogenic substances like dirt and oils, potentially leading to clogged pores, blackheads, or acne. For some individuals, silicones may also trigger skin irritation. Furthermore, the biodegradability of silicones varies significantly, with certain types persisting in the environment and aquatic ecosystems.
Instead of isolating single synthetic ingredients, Rowse prioritizes nutrient-dense, antioxidant-rich formulations. These are powered by modern biotechnology and high-performance botanical actives, as explained by Val. "Our ingredients come from the Mediterranean, because there are so many rituals here; people have been taking care of their skin for hundreds of years," she elaborates, underscoring the reliability of time-tested remedies. Among Rowse’s best-selling products is the Summer Hydrating Mist, a versatile mist formulated for the face, body, and hair, featuring ingredients such as apricot, aloe vera, and carrot.
Plant-rooted formulations are equally fundamental to Korres’s approach. "We formulate with Greek yogurt, Santorini grape, pure olive oil – ingredients that we know are part of the Mediterranean diet," Korres states. "We formulate with the same ingredients because of their nutritional value to our body but also to our skin." This connection to the diet resonates strongly with consumers, as evidenced by the brand’s impressive 47% year-on-year sales growth, largely driven by its Greek yogurt product franchise.
However, adhering to Korres’s core values has necessitated certain strategic decisions regarding ingredient selection. "We don’t use retinol in our products," Lena Korres explains. "Does retinol have benefits? Hands down, yes. But we choose not to use it, because it sheds off our surface skin cells at a very fast pace, so that the skin always looks fresh and new cells form." Korres made an early decision to avoid ingredients that could be aggressive towards the skin. "As cells shed, you do not have a full epidermal layer to protect the skin. That goes against our purpose, which is to protect the skin," she adds. "That’s the Mediterranean way of thinking. We don’t lead an aggressive lifestyle here; it’s very balanced."
The Optimization Backlash and the Return to Authenticity
Louise Yems of The Digi Fairy points to a growing online discourse surrounding 2026 being the year of "the unoptimized summer." Within a wellness context, she clarifies, this signifies "being present in the moment" and savoring life, "rather than being beholden to strict routines and wellness goals, like biometric tracking and Oura rings," which have dominated wellness conversations over the past year. For many, the constant pressure to treat their daily existence as an ongoing performance review has become exhausting. This sentiment is driving a growing number of consumers towards ancient healing systems, such as acupuncture or ear seeding, which promise to calm the nervous system and restore balance.
The Mediterranean lifestyle, in many respects, offers a welcome counterpoint by prioritizing community connection and slow living, eschewing the relentless pursuit of constant productivity. This ideal encompasses long, unhurried meals shared with family and friends, free from digital distractions; natural forms of movement like walking or running for physical activity, rather than demanding gym routines; and finding contentment in simple, everyday pleasures rather than solely pursuing material accumulation.
Yems observes that beauty has been heavily influenced by "such a strong scientific narrative" in recent years, which has contributed to the hyper-optimized beauty industry feeling "quite impersonal." This trend has not gone unnoticed by fragrance brands, many of which are capitalizing on the Mediterranean aesthetic, even if they lack direct regional ties. Diptyque’s new limited-edition summer collection, for instance, draws inspiration from a Mediterranean water garden. Victoria Beckham has been promoting her Portofino fragrance, and the haircare brand Ouai, which has been expanding its body care range, has launched two destination-inspired scents – Santorini and Ibiza – for its hair and fragrance products.
Rowse perceives an opportunity to further cultivate the spirit of Mediterranean rituals, particularly communal gatherings, which have become a significant pillar for the brand, according to Salord. Rowse’s flagship store frequently hosts workshops and events, including makeup tutorials, astrology sessions, meditation, and somatic writing workshops. "Many of our clients have become friends and asked us to put them in touch with each other," Salord shares. "When people ask what differentiates Rowse from the thousands of other natural brands that exist today, we always say it’s the experience and the work that we’ve done. Having hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram is not a community. Community is about human connection, and in an era of everything-digital and AI, that matters more than ever." This emphasis on genuine human connection and shared experiences offers a compelling alternative to the increasingly digitized and performance-driven aspects of modern life.
