The Nixed List: Humblebrag Edition
Patty Carroll - Anonymous Women
Some words and phrases work so perfectly in beauty and lifestyle branding, they become ubiquitous. They start showing up everywhere: on billboards, in socials, in articles and blog content, product descriptions, you name it.
Overused to the point of parody, these are great words that need a break. Some well-deserved time off, away from us, to reflect and restore.
The Antonym team keeps a running list of these stale words and clichés, a sort of cautionary no-fly zone of language. We want to share some of these nixed words in a running series, starting with a few you’ll know, love, and learn to let go.
Authenticity
The star cliché of 2025, and we all know why. In a deluge of social and ad content, it's a performative announcement and an easy shortcut to trust. It's superficial, doesn't require any backup, and so, so vague. And, like all the words on our list, there can be a kernel of truth in there.
For brands truly committed to their products, processes, and community, we seek ways to showcase this commitment through compelling storytelling and copy, backed by substantial evidence and verified claims.
Luxury
Beauty has been in love with this word forever, but our travel, real estate, and hospitality clients can't get enough of it.
40 years ago, there was probably a more monolithic implication of exclusivity and quality. Now, luxury expectations are different for different people, so using it as a catchall is meaningless.
It's SEO bait designed to get you in the same search results with the Ritz-Carltons of the world, used to describe everything from airport shuttles to mid-tier vacation packages to glamping tents.
Iconic
Marketing copywriters really did a number on this one. Any celebrity, fashion designer, musician, actor, artist, or athlete in partnership with a brand gets the label slapped on immediately.
Ditto for products, buildings, logos, or half-memorable video clips. It flash-fries nostalgia, falsely inflating (and flattening) cultural significance.
Serena: iconic. Converse Chuck Taylors: sure. Influencer with 350k followers: let's wait a moment, shall we?
Elevated
We're guilty of using this, but we've done some therapeutic work on it. Sounds fancy and upscale, but what does it mean exactly?
One of the interesting points critiquing "elevation" in product copy is the implication of hierarchy. You're instantly comparing one thing to another. What were you before, not elevated? What if we focus on merits and originality, and let competitors do all the comparing?
Wellness
We're all going to have to pitch in on a solution for this one, because it is everywhere.
Look, wellness is great, we should all be well. It's become snake oil, with fuzzy promises and iffy payoffs. Beverages, hotel spas, mental health apps, skin care routines … the catchall nature of the word is overwhelming.
There's also a whiff of morality? (i.e., if you don't use our product, you're doing something wrong). That worked well for a while, and now there's a salesy exhaustion around it.