2023 has just begun, bringing with it a fresh start for all things—including our makeup. With the proverbial palette cleaned, recharged takes on existing trends and entirely original approaches have room to shade, delineate, and contour the coming months, filling it with all of the color and sparkle that a new year demands. Blush will continue to provide buildable warmth, eyeliner is going the way of the statement-making seductress, and refractive details will allow you to channel the vibes of mermaids and robots alike. A common thread exists in a continued want of play—a means of combatting darker days with rampant (and striking) self-expression. Here, five beauty trends that will be taking over in 2023.
Statement Lips
Lips are set to be bolder than ever in the new year—so bold, in fact, that they may be ready to work alone. “This is a model-off-duty/off-the-runway type look that can look amazing from day to night,” says makeup artist Tobi Henney, who recommends centering the lip by keeping skin clean and lightly grooming brows and lashes. She also notes that a resurgence of lipliners that are deeper than lipstick hues are on the rise, which work better to keep the focus on your natural pout. “It can help achieve the perfect lip shade and enhance lips by giving the illusion of more fullness.”
Futuristic Metallics
Alloy-inspired shimmer can veer whimsical or robotic, depending on how you play it. Mermaidcore ruled the spring 2023 runways, and the collective conversation around AI—and an influx of new technology—is bound to elicit futuristic beauty. “Blame it on our obsession with AI, fairies, and everything extraterrestrial, but whatever the reason I’m so here for it,” makeup artist Jenna Kristina. She recommends starting with Pat McGrath’s on-point palettes, including those from the legend’s Star Wars makeup collaboration. “It’s our meta selves in the real world.”
More Blush
Blush has been experiencing a renaissance in recent years, with blendable cream options and more-is-more application methods making cheeks (and eyes and the bridges of noses) romantically rosy. “There was a moment when it was only about bronzer and highlighter, but blush is back and bolder than ever,” Kristina says. “Adding blush is like adding life back to the skin.” The trend already has legs, having served as the main factor in several of 2022’s most memorable TikTok beauty looks—think sunburn blush, cold girl, and crying girl makeup.
Face Embellishments
The Euphoria effect shows no signs of stopping. “We’ll continue to see more experimental looks incorporating gems, pearls, glitter, and other accents that’ll cover not only the eyes but other parts of the face and body,” makeup artist Jaleesa Jaikaran says. Invest in an arsenal of flat-backed rhinestones and the like in all shapes, sizes, and shades to be secured with clear lash glue—if you can find self-adhesive options, even better.
Longer and Sharper Cat-Eye Wings
Kittenish flicks and TikTok’s alluring and elongating siren eyes will gain in popularity (and ease) with the help of an upgraded guard of liners. “With so many brands developing high-technology eyeliners that do not budge and are smudge-proof, the graphic feline liner look will be one to wear for a fun night out,” says Henney, who recommends focusing on pulling the eye shape upward and outward. Dark femininity is sure to be a major 2023 trend.
While there are some straightforward styles, every expert that was interviewed said that the big theme for 2022 will be individualized beauty. So long are the days of contouring our faces the same way and doing our eyeshadow in traditionally “pretty” blends. Nowadays, they say makeup application is all about doing it in a way that makes you feel good.
“It’s so evident that [makeup] is about feeling it and an emotional connection to color,” says Lisa Eldridge, celebrity makeup artist and Lancôme’s global creative director. She notes that she’s seeing people wear several colors on their face without necessarily blending it the way we’ve traditionally been taught to: “It’s just color for color’s sake — there’s something so nice and playful about it.“
Welcome to Artist Spotlight #74 series on my blog.
“In 2022, we will see unconventional explorations of self through experimental makeup looks that are more about individual expression than achieving perfection,” predicts celebrity makeup artist Robin Black. To create this type of makeup look, she says to let your mood take control. “Try anything that pops into your mind,” she says. “It doesn’t need to be flawless, you don’t need to watch a tutorial or spend hours painstaking creating it — no rules, no ‘how-tos.”
Face-Lifting Techniques
Thanks to viral social media videos, people have learned techniques to make their makeup give their faces a lifted look. On TikTok, for example, we saw users apply concealers on the outer corners of their eyes up toward the edges of their brows to give the illusion of wide-awake eyes.
Another example is a technique shown by Eldridge above, where she applies lip liner tactfully to give the illusion of fuller, more lifted, happier-looking lips. To copy, she suggests first applying concealer to the outer edges of your lips to act as a guide, then over-lining the center of the bottom lip, and when drawing up toward the corners, she says to bring the liner into the natural lip and avoid the very edge.
HBO’s Euphoria planted the seeds of rhinestone-heavy makeup into our minds, and Pinterest predicts that the dazzling trend is here to stay. On its platform, it reported seeing a 110 percent increase in searches for crystal eye makeup over the last year, indicating that we’ll be seeing more sequins, glitter, pearls, rhinestones, and more in 2022.
As Serena van der Woodsen once famously said, “Lipstick lasts longer, but gloss is more fun.” Thankfully, celebrity makeup artist and founder of Makeup by Mario, Mario Dedivanovic, predicts that high-shine lips are expected to make a major comeback in 2022.
“It’s a look that’s playful and pouty, but can also have benefits when infused with skincare to treat lips,” he adds. To recreate, simply add your favorite lip gloss to either bare lips or over your favorite lipstick for an even bigger lip moment. Dedivanovic suggests his Pro Volume Lip Gloss ($22, sephora.com).
Instead of channeling a blast from the past, launch yourself to the future with this style of makeup. “This trend is all about making a statement,” says Black. “The best thing about this look is that faux tattoos, face stickers, and foils are easy to remove so there is no commitment.”
We recommend Paintlab’s Eye Stickers ($10, urbanoutfitters.com) to add some easy drama to your eyes.
We’ve all contoured, but strongly defined cheekbones and harsh contrasts are a thing of the past. “There’s a big difference between camera-ready contouring and real life, and I think the beauty world exhaled knowing there’s an easier way with products created to look natural, effortless, and do the work for you,” says Dedivanovic, adding that that’s why he launched his brand’s Soft Sculpt Collection. “I’m confident we’ll be seeing more of it and in gorgeous, skin-loving textures and formulas.”
Eldridge predicts that this baby cat liner will dominate makeup looks in the new year. “It’s very youthful, because it’s less heavy and less pulled-back than a heavy cat-eye,” she says.
Danielle Kimiko Vincent, celebrity brow artist and founder of KIMIKO, agrees that this trend will be everywhere. “Rather than very heavy tails, eyeliner will be more narrow, begin in the middle of the eye and be drawn outwards to create a natural lift — think slimmer tails with a subtle flick,” she says. To recreate, Eldridge suggests using a powder in the same color as your liner to give the tip a nice shadow.
Last spring, lipstick saw a surge in popularity as many of us removed our face masks in light of loosening COVID restrictions. Should the pandemic lessen in severity, Eldridge predicts that bright, bold lipsticks will come back with even more celebration than before.
“That’s what I’m looking toward — really fresh, summery-spring makeup that screams of us being able to get out in the world and just have fun,” she says. She predicts that shades such as bright pink, purple, and orange will have their moment in the new year and recommends the Lancôme L’Absolu Rouge Lipsticks in shades Rêve Toujours, Rose Cocktail, and Paris S’eveille ($32 each, lancome-usa.com) to be on-trend.
“The brow lamination look is sticking around as lifted brows that open up the eyes are flattering,” declares Kimiko Vincent. “However, this trend will take on a softer form than a lamination or soap brow, which have maximum vertical hairs throughout the brow that lay quite flat and can appear two-dimensional.”
“I feel that because most of our faces have been partly covered with the masks, that putting extra TLC in eye makeup application is where the rise of ’60s makeup trends comes from,” celebrity makeup artist Dominique Lerma previously told InStyle. “It only makes sense that the ’60s would make a comeback being as that there are so many creative ways you can use lashes and liner to express yourself.”
There’s no reason to have an eyelash-growth serum and a mascara when you can have a two-in-one product that does it all (such as the Talika Lipocils Mascara, $35, amazon.com) — and the beauty industry has taken note.
“We’ll see more color formulas across foundation, eye makeup, blush, lips, and even nails to incorporate treatment ingredients as consumers want to treat their skin 24/7,” predicts clean beauty chemist Krupa Koestline.
Blush placement is a topic that’s been front and center on TikTok, and in 2022, Eldridge predicts that it’ll be found in an unexpected spot. “In a lot of vintage portraitures, you see that blush came down a little bit lower than we’re told we should, but it actually looked pretty fresh on the skin,” she says.
Eldridge says that splashes of unexpected, bold colors are going to be everywhere this year. “I’m seeing so much more yellows, purples, pinks, blues, greens — colors which traditionally have are considered quite out-there are becoming a lot more mainstream.”
This goes in hand with Pinterest’s predictions, which indicate that vibrant, feel-good looks are going to be a go-to trend. For newbies who want to step out of their comfort zone, Eldridge suggests applying a tad bit of color to the inner or outer edges of your eyes for a subtle, yet impactful, bang of color. “It’s always looks so nice and fresh,” she adds.
Kassy Rose Makeup Artistry 