SOUTH COAST, UK. September 28th, 2026 – Nearly half of Britons who buy a Halloween costume this year will wear it just once, according to new research commissioned by unel, the UK face gems and Halloween accessories brand.
The study of 150 UK adults found that TikTok has overtaken personal imagination as the single biggest influence on how Brits dress for Halloween and that the trend is directly linked to the nation’s growing one-and-done costume habit.
The findings point to a shift in how Halloween is planned and worn: rather than costumes built around personal taste or family tradition, a fast-moving cycle of short-lived social trends is increasingly dictating the look and, with it, how disposable that look becomes.
Asked what most influences their Halloween costume or makeup look, more respondents named TikTok (21%) than any other single answer, narrowly ahead of “my own ideas and creativity” (19%) and Instagram (18%). Taken together, TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest now shape almost half (47%) of all UK Halloween looks, well ahead of the influence of friends, family, films and TV combined.
The research also uncovers a clear link between TikTok-driven dressing and disposable costume culture. Among people whose look is most influenced by TikTok, 55% say they’ve bought a Halloween costume and only worn it once, compared with 45% of everyone else surveyed.
The survey also shines a light on the cost and waste behind the UK’s Halloween habit. UK Halloween spending is forecast to approach £780 million this year, and unel’s research suggests a significant share of that outlay is going on costumes that end up worn for one night and then discarded.
44% of respondents said they have bought a Halloween costume and only worn it once, while just 14% say they’ve reused the same costume across multiple years.
35% said they’ve spent more on Halloween than they intended to. UK shoppers spend an estimated £50 on average on their complete Halloween look, rising to £100 or more for 8% of respondents.
It isn’t just the cost and waste that frustrate Halloween dressers — it’s whether the look survives the night. Almost half (47%) of respondents say they’ve had makeup or face paint smudge or wear off, and 29% have had face gems, stickers or accessories fall off part-way through the evening. A further 31% have experienced an uncomfortable or painful costume, and 31% have had a costume break or tear.
These pain points appear to be feeding demand for simpler, more durable alternatives to a full costume. Nineteen per cent of respondents say they’d now rather build their Halloween look using face gems, makeup or accessories than commit to buying an entire outfit. When asked what would encourage them to buy face gems specifically, affordability (27%), staying in place all night (19%) and quick, easy application (15%) topped the list.
Matt Ridout, founder of unel said: “What this data shows is a real shift in how Halloween looks come together. A single TikTok trend can spread to millions of people within days, but that same speed is what makes the look feel disposable — worn once for the video, then forgotten.
“We built unel around the opposite idea: a look that’s quick and affordable to put together, stays put all night, and doesn’t need to be replaced every time a new trend appears.”
ENDS