2025 Rule-Breaker Awards

Celebrating the Rule-Breakers of Beauty

In 2025, TheTease.com is spotlighting the industry’s fearless innovators—the brands that dared to defy the norm and reshape beauty as we know it.

With the launch of PRINTED by TheTease.com, we’re kicking off a year-long celebration of rule-breaking brilliance. In Vol. 1 (June 2025), we’ll unveil the five finalists in each of our ten game-changing categories, honoring the disruptors, visionaries, and risk-takers who have left their mark on the industry. But we’re not deciding the winners alone—the power is in our readers’ hands. Readers will cast their votes via our exclusive online voting portal to determine who truly reigns supreme.

Finalist brands have the exclusive opportunity to showcase their rebellious spirit in a 4-page advertorial spread, offered at a deeply discounted $1,800 (a special finalist-only rate, slashed from $4,800). This is their moment to tell their story, own their rule-breaking status, and stand out in front of the entire industry.

Then, in December 2025, Vol. 2 of PRINTED will reveal the winners—the true trailblazers who defied expectations and came out on top.

This isn’t just another industry list. This is a movement. A statement. A legacy in the making.

Who broke the rules best? You decide.

CATEGORIES:

• PR/Marketing Powerhouses: These brands don’t just launch products—they launch movements. With jaw-dropping campaigns, viral moments, and disruptive storytelling, they’ve redefined how beauty brands connect with professionals and consumers alike.
• Distribution Disruptors: Forget the old playbook—these distributors and retailers tore it up. Whether by redefining pro-only distribution, challenging salon exclusivity, or finding new ways to get products into the hands of stylists, they’ve changed how beauty is bought and sold.
• Education Boundary Breakers: For these innovators, education isn’t just a service—it’s a revolution. Whether through cutting-edge digital learning, radical hands-on experiences, or by challenging traditional beauty school methods, these brands are rewriting the rules of professional education.
• Eco-Activists: Sustainability isn’t a trend—it’s their mission. These brands go beyond greenwashing, taking real action with groundbreaking formulations, sustainable sourcing, and game-changing packaging that prove beauty can be both high-performing and planet-friendly.
• Tool/Tech Titans: From rethinking hot tools to engineering futuristic salon tech, these brands are shaping the next era of professional beauty. With innovation at their core, they’re turning science fiction into salon reality.
• Branding Badasses: These brands are impossible to ignore. With unmistakable aesthetics, unforgettable voices, and identities so distinct they’ve become icons, they’ve transformed branding into an art form that professionals and consumers can’t resist.
• Nail Tech Trailblazers: Nails are more than just polish—these brands proved it. By pioneering new formulations, pushing the limits of nail art, and making bold self-expression the standard, they’ve cemented themselves as leaders in an often-overlooked sector.
• Skin Savants: These brands broke the rules of skincare to build something better. From pushing ingredient boundaries to developing treatments that challenge industry norms, they’re proving that great skin doesn’t have to follow the status quo.
• Guerrilla Hair-fare: The rebels of haircare and color, these brands took texture, performance, and results to an unexpected level. Whether through radical formulations, offbeat color concepts, or rule-defying application methods, they’ve changed the game from behind the chair.
• Cosmetic Cosmonauts: Makeup is already an art—but these brands turned it into a revolution. By exploring never-before-seen finishes, breaking formula boundaries, and pushing color beyond the limits, they’ve launched beauty into an entirely new dimension.