The Top 28 Makeup Trends of 2025

First, here’s a look at the fastest-growing makeup topics of the past year:

Now, let’s move beyond keywords to explore the top makeup trends that our analysts have identified will shape 2025 & 2026.

Makeup and skincare converge

Makeup is becoming less about covering flaws and more about maintaining skin.

The rise of skincare-infused makeup reflects a broader shift toward natural aesthetics and functional beauty. Products like tinted sunscreens and serum foundations aren’t just offering color correction; they’re positioned as extensions of a skincare routine, promising hydration, protection, and even long-term skin benefits. It’s a response to a consumer who expects more from every step of their regimen—and who increasingly values skin health over heavy coverage.

Part of the shift is cultural. Minimal, dewy finishes have overtaken full-matte looks as the aspirational standard, especially among younger consumers raised on the idea of “your skin, but better.” Daily SPF usage has also become more normalized, thanks in part to social media campaigns and dermatological guidance. Tinted sunscreens have emerged as a practical solution: a way to integrate sun protection without adding an extra layer.

Technology and ingredient literacy play roles too. Today’s shoppers are fluent in buzzwords like niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, and they expect to find them not just in serums, but also in their foundations and concealers. The result is a growing expectation that beauty products should multitask—enhancing appearance while actively supporting skin health underneath.

This isn’t simply a temporary trend. It’s a redefinition of what makeup is supposed to do: not just hide, but help. As skin health becomes a visible part of beauty culture, the future of cosmetics looks less like transformation—and more like optimization.

Realness replaces full glam

When everyone’s face is in 4K, there’s less room—and less appetite—for looking overly made up.

Subtle enhancements like freckle pens and brown mascara have gained traction as beauty fatigue quietly sets in. Maximalist looks—bold eyeshadow, contouring, lash extensions—are still very much alive, but there’s growing parallel momentum behind softer, lower-effort alternatives.

Part of the shift comes from Gen Z’s preference for “realness” over perfection. Raised on unfiltered TikToks alongside heavily edited Instagram posts, they’ve pushed beauty culture toward celebrating individuality and small imperfections rather than masking them. A few drawn-on freckles or a swipe of brown mascara feels like a nod to natural beauty, not a rejection of makeup altogether.

High-resolution cameras have played a role, too. The same technology that popularized heavy glam also made its flaws more obvious. Under the scrutiny of Zoom meetings and selfie culture, thick, cakey layers became easier to spot—and easier to question.

Subtle enhancement products don’t erase the influence of full-glam trends. Instead, they represent an expanding beauty spectrum, where consumers are increasingly tailoring their look based on mood, occasion, and medium—whether that’s a meeting, a night out, or simply their front-facing camera.

Portability drives effortless eye routines

Not every product in your makeup bag needs a brush—and increasingly, that’s the point.

Effortless eye makeup, including cream sticks and eye tints, has become a go-to category not because it delivers dramatic results, but because it fits into a faster, more flexible routine. These products require no tools, no precision, and no mirror-intensive application—qualities that mirror the broader growth of vanity bags and on-the-go beauty. Portability isn’t an afterthought; it’s built into the product design.

While multitasking products have gained popularity across categories, effortless eye makeup reflects something more specific: a reframing of eye makeup as part of an everyday baseline, not just a statement look. A single swipe of shimmer or tint isn’t replacing bold liner or shadow palettes—it’s carving out a new, more casual space alongside them.

This evolution reflects the changing context in which makeup is worn. With more people working hybrid schedules, commuting less, or applying makeup in nontraditional settings, products that reduce friction—both literally and figuratively—are gaining ground.

Just as skin tints have replaced full-coverage foundations for many, eye tints are becoming the default for consumers who want polish without complexity. The appeal isn’t just ease—it’s the growing expectation that beauty products should match the pace of daily life.

Glow goes full-body

Shimmer used to be a finishing touch. Now, it’s part of the foundation.

Glowy, light-reflective makeup has become a defining feature of modern beauty routines, not just for the face but for the entire body. The rise of body glow oils and shimmering blushes reflects a broader shift: beauty is no longer confined to the face, and radiance has become shorthand for health, vitality, and self-maintenance.

This isn’t about glitter. It’s about achieving a “healthy glow”—a visual cue tied more to wellness than glamour. As body care has expanded from utilitarian moisturizers to full-on beauty categories (think body serums, exfoliating treatments, and SPF oils), shimmer has followed naturally. Products like body highlight oils now sit alongside facial highlighters, signaling that the same level of care and curation is being extended below the neckline.

Celebrity brands have helped set the tone. Fenty Beauty, Rare Beauty, and Rhode have all leaned into glow-centric formulas that frame shimmer as skin-enhancing rather than costume-like. These products are rarely bold on their own—but they catch the light in just the right way on camera, especially during golden hour or in event settings.

Shimmer has been recontextualized: not as sparkle for its own sake, but as part of the broader wellness-beauty blur, where looking luminous is a form of looking well.

Simple, long-lasting lips

In a beauty market crowded with options, lip stains gained ground by offering something rare: simplicity that lasts.

Unlike traditional lipsticks or glosses, stains deliver soft, lightweight color that sinks into the skin—and stays put. As daily routines shifted during the pandemic and beyond, many consumers moved away from high-maintenance products that needed constant reapplication. Lip stains fit the moment: once applied, they mostly disappear from the wearer’s mind, leaving behind just enough color to feel polished without effort.

The trend also taps into a broader aesthetic shift. Heavy, hyper-glossy lips often read as too formal for hybrid workdays, casual outings, or even the culture of “just woke up like this” social media. Lip stains, with their blurred edges and muted tones, match the preference for a more lived-in, less curated look.

K-beauty’s influence helped normalize the idea of a tint rather than a full coat of color, but the appeal has widened far beyond early adopters. Today’s stains often double as cheek tints, further aligning with the growing consumer desire for fewer, more versatile products.

In the end, the success of lip stains says less about abandoning bold beauty—and more about the growing value placed on products that work quietly, effectively, and all day long.

Clean girl backlash goes glam

When minimalism becomes the norm, maximalism becomes the rebellion.

The resurgence of Gyaru and bold makeup styles—defined by heavy eyeliner, dramatic lashes, sculpted lips, and bright blush—isn’t just a nostalgic revival. It’s a deliberate pushback against the “clean girl” aesthetic and the dominance of bare-faced, dewy beauty that has saturated social media over the past few years.

While minimalist skincare and makeup are still widely celebrated, a growing subset of consumers, especially Gen Z, is gravitating toward louder, more constructed looks. Platforms like TikTok have made global subcultures more accessible, introducing younger audiences to Gyaru’s playful exaggeration and Harajuku’s unapologetic self-expression.

High-resolution phone cameras have only sharpened this divide. Where once the goal was to appear effortlessly flawless under scrutiny, bold makeup offers an alternative: an intentional, obvious, and joyful artifice that doesn’t try to hide the work behind it.

Lip liner plays a crucial role in this aesthetic revival. Heavily defined lips, often overdrawn for a doll-like effect, anchor the look just as much as spiked lashes or contour-heavy cheekbones.

In the broader context, Gyaru’s return isn’t about abandoning modern beauty ideals—it’s about expanding them. The trend reflects a beauty culture that’s increasingly comfortable cycling between extremes rather than committing to one vision of “natural” or “glamorous” perfection.

Men enter the makeup aisle

While makeup is strongly associated with femininity, there's an ongoing cosmetics trend where male consumers are increasingly buying makeup products. The shift started in skincare: it was only a few years ago when men's moisturizer was looked upon as taboo, yet now there are dozens of men's skincare brands.

Now, that shift is expanding to new makeup trends, with men increasingly experimenting with products once considered exclusive to women.

In contrast to women's makeup, marketing for men's makeup mainly focuses on utility. A product description on a male cosmetics site reads, "Your eyes tell a story. Don't tell a tired one. Use our Wake Up Eye Stick with Caffeine to help de-puff the bags under your eyes."

These brands also push back against the stigma by using models with highly masculine features - thick beards and defined facial features. They also typically use masculine branding, black and red colors alongside bold and all caps text.

Gen Alpha enters makeup early

In 2023, Sephora reported that the number of its customers aged 9 to 12 had doubled over the past five years. Social media's role in shaping this trend is undeniable, with over 80% of teenagers reportedly watching beauty tutorials online.

This growing focus on beauty among (pre)teens has fueled the explosion of brands like E.L.F., a frontrunner in current makeup trends, which saw its revenue surge by a staggering 77% in 2024 to $1.02 billion and now commands 35% of the female teen market.

Kids’ beauty products typically consist of gentler, more hypoallergenic formulas to reduce the risk of irritating younger, more sensitive skin.

Some argue that beauty routines offer kids an opportunity for self-care and personal expression. But others are concerned that introducing complex beauty routines at a young age can send the message that looking good requires constant effort—and spending. This not only fuels self-consciousness as kids begin comparing themselves to curated ideals, but also normalizes costly habits that may be more about pressure than play.

“Non-toxic” becomes beauty baseline

The European Union bans over 1,600 cosmetic ingredients. The U.S.? Fewer than 40.

The rise of non-toxic makeup reflects a widening trust gap between consumers and regulators—a gap that’s been filled not with facts, but with suspicion. As awareness of ingredient safety grows, many consumers aren’t just asking if a product works—they’re asking if it’s safe to use at all.

Brands moved quickly, not just to meet that concern, but to reshape it. Clean makeup lines like ILIA and Kosas didn’t position themselves as alternatives—they positioned themselves as upgrades. “Non-toxic” became shorthand for premium: not just effective, but ethical, transparent, and modern. Purity replaced pigment as the first mark of quality.

Legal battles and media coverage around talc, PFAS, and endocrine disruptors added fuel, reinforcing the idea that even familiar products could hide potential harm. And with platforms like TikTok and YouTube turning ingredient literacy into a social currency, label scrutiny became mainstream—no longer niche, but expected.

The result is a shift in how credibility works in beauty. Less about celebrity endorsements or payoff in a single swipe. More about what’s left out, what’s explained clearly, and which standards a brand holds itself to—regardless of whether the government does.

Hybrid work reshapes beauty storage

The beauty bag is no longer just a pouch—it’s a portable status symbol built for a mobile, image-conscious generation.

Over 40 million Americans now work hybrid jobs, more than double the number in 2019. As daily routines stretch across offices, gyms, airports, and hotel rooms, vanity bags have evolved from a travel convenience into a tool of personal infrastructure. Today’s beauty consumer isn’t rooted in one place, and their products aren’t either.

But this isn’t only about practicality. Fashion trends have pushed the aesthetic of beauty bags closer to that of luxury handbags, with quilted exteriors, monogrammed collabs, and archival fabrics drawing on the same “quiet luxury” cues found in the broader rise of old-money fashion. A well-designed vanity case can now signal taste as much as it does preparedness.

There’s also more to carry. As skincare routines expand and personal care spending rises, consumers are investing in full systems—serums, tools, supplements—not just a single lipstick or compact. Beauty bags offer a way to house those rituals on the move, and brands have taken notice, increasingly bundling them with product kits or using them to anchor limited-edition drops.

What was once a purely functional item is now a reflection of shifting consumer priorities: mobility, routine, personalization, and presentation. In that sense, the beauty bag isn’t just following trends—it’s packing them.

Self-tanners bypass stigma

Consumers are increasingly able to avoid embarrassment. We can now get drugs online without facing a doctor, work out online without being seen in the gym, and ask someone out online without leaving our house.

Meanwhile, terms like "gym anxiety" have exploded in popularity with over 44M views on TikTok: gyms are a wide open space with lots of mirrors and many opportunities to do the wrong thing, or simply to get unwanted attention.

Tanning is the latest place some consumers are feeling more anxious. They don’t want to get caught at a tanning salon because some increasingly see it as “cheating” and unhealthy. In fact, the U.S. government also doesn’t want consumers going to tanning salons. Similar to cigarettes, the U.S. government instituted a 10% tax on all tanning salon revenue as a result of the health ties to cancer, partly as a way to discourage usage.

There’s also increasing concern about being seen at tanning salons, as more and more beauty salons try to post photos of their clients on their social media pages. Thousands of threads on Reddit and other forums center around how salons increasingly take photos of clients, for marketing purposes, without asking. Others offer a discount in exchange for letting them take before and after photos.

Home tanning solutions are consequently on the rise and self-tanning products like those from Bondi Sands are surging in popularity and sales.

Try-ons go virtual

The key purchases for consistent makeup users like foundation or concealer involve experimentation and so have traditionally been bought in-store. Online instead serves mostly as a replenishment channel in the beauty industry once a customer knows what they want. In fact, for female teens, a demographic that spends more time online than almost any other, 90% prefer to make beauty experimentation purchases in-store rather than online.

However, companies like Il Makiage are capitalizing on merging technology trends with the latest makeup trends to match users with the right shade of these products, making it easier to find a perfect match.