Kleenex Is Entering the Beauty Routine
I've been waiting for something like this. Kleenex is launching Beauty Tissues, a range designed specifically for skincare and makeup routines, and the company is calling it its biggest product innovation in 30 years. Kleenex isn't trying to create a new beauty behavior. It's designing around behaviors consumers already have.
The range launches in the UK on September 1 with two versions tailored to different skin needs. One is designed for oily and combination skin, helping blot shine, set makeup, and remove excess product; Kleenex says it can absorb up to 80% of excess oil and includes niacinamide. The second is made for dry and normal skin, with a softer texture, glycerine lotion, and Japanese Hokkaido milk for makeup touch-ups and other beauty moments. There has not been an announcement yet about a U.S. or Canadian launch, but I'll definitely be watching for one.
What makes the launch feel so intuitive is that consumers have already been bringing disposable products into their beauty routines on their own. I immediately understood the need because I already use disposable towels in my skincare routine. I prefer something fresh and single-use for my face rather than repeatedly using the same towel, and I'm definitely not the only consumer who has incorporated products like this into beauty and personal care without necessarily thinking about which category they technically belong to.
That is what makes this such an interesting consumer-behavior story. Some of the best innovation doesn't come from convincing people to adopt another step in their routine. It comes from observing what people are already doing, including the products they have adapted for purposes those products weren't originally designed around, and then creating something more intentionally for that use.
I've seen a similar pattern in my doctoral research. When consumers describe their beauty and personal-care routines, they don't necessarily organize them the way brands and retailers organize shelves. They talk about getting ready, feeling clean, taking care of their skin, maintaining routines, and doing whatever helps them look and feel their best. Products from completely different categories can become part of the same routine because consumers are focused on the outcome, not the industry classification.
We are already seeing those boundaries weaken across the personal care sector. Oral care is moving closer to beauty and wellness; deodorant has expanded into fragrance and skincare; hair care is adopting scalp serums and longevity language; and body care now uses many of the ingredients and claims once concentrated on the face. Kleenex's entry into beauty fits naturally into that broader shift.
Even the packaging reflects the change. The Beauty Tissues come in pastel canisters and portable formats designed to look more at home on a vanity or inside a beauty routine than in the traditional tissue aisle. Kleenex isn't abandoning what people already associate with the brand; it is taking its existing equity in facial tissues and softness and applying it to a different consumer context.
That is very interesting for a heritage brand. Kleenex doesn't need to convince consumers that its products belong near the face because that association already exists. The growth opportunity comes from expanding when and why consumers reach for the brand, which is a much more credible extension than moving into a completely unrelated category.
The retail strategy helps too. Kleenex Beauty Tissues will launch through retailers including Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, Morrisons, Ocado, and Amazon. That means the brand can introduce a beauty-focused product through places where consumers already shop for everyday essentials rather than relying on a prestige beauty environment to teach them the behavior.
I think there is a broader lesson here for established consumer brands. Innovation doesn't always require inventing another need. Sometimes the opportunity is already visible in the small ways consumers have incorporated an existing product into their lives.
As traditional boundaries between beauty, wellness, hygiene, and personal care continue to blur, I expect more brands to look beyond the category they technically compete in and pay closer attention to the routines they are actually part of. Kleenex Beauty Tissues are a simple example of that shift: consumer behavior was already there, and now the product is catching up.
Dania Khalife
