Bag charms have become the new luxe flex

Once upon a time, beauty products lived quietly in pouches and drawers, used in private, reapplied in bathroom mirrors, concealed until needed. But in 2025, we’re in the era of beauty bag charms. Your lip balm has a key ring, and your sunscreen dangles from your tote like a souvenir. Beauty has entered its accessory era, and it’s not going back in the pouch. Display is part of the design now; subtlety need not apply.

What started with Rhode’s viral phone case-meets-lip-balm-holder hybrid has snowballed into something far more visual. Call it charmcore, call it dopamine dressing’s natural progression, call it the Y2K revival’s final boss—beauty bag charms are now a category all their own. The line between function and frivolity? Erased, glossed over, then clipped to your backpack.

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Fenty Beauty’s Gloss Bomb oil is now housed in a keychain-ready case, turning your lip routine into a flex. Kaja’s Jelly Charm lip and blush tints come with loops that clip onto belts and backpacks. Victoria Beckham bottled scents into a gold pendant you can wear around your neck. Chloé’s solid fragrance pendant is all sleek lines and quiet luxury.

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Benefit miniaturised its cult Benetint and High Beam into snap-on-ready keychains. Closer home, Gush Beauty’s Invisible Sunscreen Stick comes with a charm-style holder you can lock onto your bag, Dot & Key has a clip-on sunscreen option, and Korean brand Yepoda’s Pinky Promise hand cream is beaded like a retro friendship bracelet. Every product is now also a proposition: not just ‘use me,’ but ‘look at me.’

Wearable beauty products aren’t new. Dior sold its Gourmette Lip Gloss as a chain bracelet in the early aughts. Diptyque’s twisted friendship bands were quietly infused with scent. These weren’t merely gimmicks, they were early hints that beauty didn’t want to live in drawers forever. It wanted to accessorise. To get out in the world. To catch the light.

The charm trend itself has been bubbling away for a while. It began with keyrings and nostalgic knick-knacks. Then came enamel pins, plushies, and gummy trinkets that turned handbags into moodboards. Luxury fashion followed with logo-drenched charms from Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Fendi. The beauty industry spun the trend in its own playful direction.

Because these charms aren’t just cute—they’re clever. They blur the lines between utility and ornament. That lip balm on your keychain? You're not losing that any time soon. The perfume pendant? A style statement that also freshens up your pulse points. In a post-minimalist moment where the ‘clean girl’ is giving way to maximalist chaos, these beauty-meets-accessory hybrids are like quiet luxury’s cheeky cousin—louder, shinier, and far more fun. They whisper practicality, but they shout impulse buy.

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There’s nostalgia in the mix, too. For Gen Z, they’re collectable. For millennials, they echo mood rings and Tamagotchis—those first, fumbling attempts at self-expression through stuff. For luxury beauty consumers, it’s another way to show allegiance. A status symbol with shimmer.

But before we get too carried away clipping blushes to belt loops, it’s worth asking what we’re really buying into. These charms are capitalism’s tiniest Trojan horses. They dangle like joy, but they’re also driving the next micro-wave of hyperconsumption. No one needs a highlighter on a keychain or a sunscreen with a carabiner. The packaging won’t outlast the product. The novelty will fade. But in a world that keeps nudging us toward practicality, efficiency, and beige minimalism, these beauty charms offer an exit hatch. A little silliness. A little sparkle. A reminder that fun can still be functional.

Original article appeared on Vogue India