The Australian Beauty Trends Hiding At A Witch Market

I had a witchy long weekend. If you didn't know, I'm quite the woo-woo girly, and over the past 12 months (aka since I joined the dead dad club), I've been leaning into this side of me more and more. Coping mechanism? Probably. Nice to have a hobby that isn't reconciling my Xero? Absolutely. My journey to talking to the dead is a conversation for another day and a buttery chardonnay.

I visited Melbourne's Mind Body Spirit Festival and the Hawthorn Witch Market, and because my brain never fully switches off from beauty (surely an occupational hazard at this point), I noticed some things worth sharing.

Consider this your Australian beauty trends intel, sourced from the woo-woo world, delivered by a copywriter in leopard print who may or may not have purchased three new crystals she didn't need.

Balms and salves were having a moment

Not all tallow, although there was plenty of it, but combinations of shea, cocoa, jojoba, and hemp across multiple stalls.

Simple formulations, short ingredient lists, tactile products you're encouraged to touch and smell before you buy. The appetite for this kind of skincare isn't slowing down. If anything, this audience is doubling down on it.

It's worth paying attention to. Consumers are actively seeking out skincare with ingredient lists shorter than a grocery receipt. That's not a niche preference anymore. It's a sentiment that's crossing over into mainstream purchasing behaviour. Whether you stock products that align with this or not, understanding why your clients are drawn to it gives you a better conversation in the treatment room.

Saffron kept showing up

This one surprised me. Saffron was popping up across moisturisers and masks at multiple stalls. Not just for the colour (if butterfly pea powder has taught us anything, it's that a pretty shade is reason enough).

I asked one of the brand owners why saffron and learnt that's been used for skin health longer than we've been alive. We're talking Cleopatra-era usage. It's recognised for its antioxidant properties, protection against free-radical damage, and role in reducing hyperpigmentation, fine lines, and signs of ageing.

What struck me wasn't the ingredient itself; it was the fact that multiple brands are building product categories around it. It's showing up in places where ingredient-savvy consumers shop, which usually means it's about 12 months away from showing up in your clients' questions.

Internals were loud and proud

Creatine gummies, new greens and reds powders, and medicinal mushrooms gave bone broth a run for its money this weekend. The standout for me was a supplement specifically created to go in coffee without turning it into compost caffeine.

I bought it. Will report back. My expectations are cautiously optimistic.

The ingestible space keeps expanding and the brands getting traction are the ones meeting consumers where they are. At the coffee machine at 7am, not at a wellness retreat they can't afford.

Case in point: the supplement that sold me was pitched as "add it to your coffee and get your omegas, vitamins, and adaptogens without changing a single thing about your morning." That was it. That was the elevator pitch. I could keep drinking my golden bean juice of life whilst getting my insides sorted. Sold. I'm the person who writes these pitches for a living, and I was handing over my card before she'd finished her sentence.

If your clinic or brand has any touchpoints in the internal health space, the messaging that's landing right now is convenience-led rather than aspiration-led. "This fits into your life as it is" converts better than "transform your wellness routine from the inside out."

Something to think about in how you talk about any ingestible products you stock or recommend.

Ritual oils were going off

Not overly surprising considering the target audiences, but what caught my eye wasn't the oils themselves, it was the specificity of the blends. These weren't your standard "calming" and "happy" labels. The people in the business of blending are thinking way beyond the stereotype and leaning into consumers who are searching for easy gateways to wellness.

There were blends called things like "Anxiety," "Menopause," "Clearing Negativity," "Focus," and "Sensuality."

Names that speak directly to what someone is going through, not a vague mood they might be in. That's copy doing its job. It takes the product from "nice smelling oil" to "this was made for what I'm dealing with right now."

Rituals in general were having a moment, which again, is not shocking, but it's worth noting that businesses well beyond the big beauty brands are taking notice of consumer patterns.

I kept picturing that specificity translating into the treatment room. For therapists who use essential oil inhalation, selection, or massage as part of their protocols, there's something here about how you name, describe, and position those rituals in your treatment experience and your content.

People are chasing a bit of bliss in their chaotic lives. If your treatment menu or client experience doesn't acknowledge that desire for ritual, intentionality, and a moment of genuine calm in someone's week, someone else's will.

What does a witch market have to do with Australian beauty trends?

More than you'd think. The patterns showing up at a market on a long weekend in Melbourne are the same patterns showing up in consumer behaviour across the beauty industry: simpler ingredients people can understand and trust, specific formulations with intention behind them rather than marketing buzzwords on the label, rituals over routines and wellness that fits into real life, not a fantasy version of it.

I'm not going to pretend every one of your clients is spending their long weekend at a witch market buying tallow balm. But based on the traffic I saw in the beauty sections of these events, there is genuine intrigue and purchasing behaviour from consumers you wouldn't expect.

These weren't just the Wednesday Addams cosplay crowd (respect to them, incredible commitment to the aesthetic). I personally ran into four people I know from the professional beauty industry browsing the same stalls.

The consumers showing interest in Ayurvedic skincare, ritual oils, and ingestible wellness aren't a niche demographic you can write off. They're your clients, wearing different hats, bringing those preferences and expectations back into your treatment room and onto your website. The brands and clinics that pay attention to where their clients shop outside the professional beauty space will connect with them on a level that goes beyond a list of services.

Worth paying attention to, even if you don't own a crystal.