For many of us, spring is the most exciting time of the year. We finally come out of hibernation from a long winter cooped up indoors. We pack away the all-concealing parkas and winter boots that could be hiding the sexiest runway worthy ensemble, or the schlumpiest of all loungewear- who’s to know? In spring we finally don the colorful spring florals and brand-new trends of the rising season. But no look, and no spring, is complete without the accompanying makeup trends and styles that will mark the season officially. These are nine of the top trends we’re looking forward, and how to create them to fit your own aesthetic.
1. Veri Peri Everything
Image: Nykaa
So shall it be written so shall it be done. Pantone has officially called it, and “Very Peri” will be the color of the year. The color is a dynamic peri(winkle) blue, with strong violet-red undertones; which, if you ask me, seems like a match made in heaven for iconic spring beauty. You can basically add “peri” to any of the following trends in this list to create a chic makeup look to test out this spring. We’re seeing the purple hue adorning lids, lashes, cheeks, and lips all over the runways and red carpets this award season.
Image: Beauty Crew
2. Matching Colors
Image: Vogue Arabia
Whether monochromatic or writhe with spring colors, matching makeup hues with outfit patterns is one of the biggest attention grabbers this season. Throw out every visceral reaction you have when you hear “matchy-matchy”, because this spring, it doesn’t matter if it's bold reds, seafoam greens, or Very Peri purple, we’re not coloring inside the lines anymore. We’re seeing navy evening gowns paired with deep blue eyeshadow, coral jumpsuits with corresponding lips, and well, Veri Peri everything. Don’t worry about a perfect match, just pick a color, and let the inspiration flow.
Image: Rolling Stone
3. Heavy Blush
Image: Popsugar
A well-executed blush never goes out of style. It can be a cheeky way (pun intended) to add a bit of extra color to your look and give you that sun-kissed appearance, even if it may feel like we’re still living out those six additional weeks of winter. Whether you’re matching your various peri tones, or just going from a summer bronze look with a bit of “tan-touring”, a strategic blush can draw all the focus to your cutting cheekbones or play complimentary ensemble to your true statement items.
Image: WhoWhatWear
4. Frosted Tips
Image: Elle
Spring weather may be thawing flower beds, but frost-tipped eyelids and eyelashes will be the last to go the way of the snow caps. In the continued resurgent wave of Y2K trends, we’re seeing shades of light blues, silvers, and whites ornamenting not just eyes, but lips, cheeks, and even hair in such a way that would warm even Elsa’s frozen heart.
If black is your standard look and you’re not quite ready to Let It Go completely, a navy liner is a great option to add a splash of color without drawing excessive attention if the occasion doesn’t call for it. Like most of the looks on this list, be careful not to go full abominable snowman by choosing one frosty feature at a time.
Image: Elle
Image: Refinery29
5. Light Lipsticks
Pictured: Verie, Mama Necklace
With such bold designs and colors on the top half of the face by way of bold liners and heavy blush, it can be easy to carry the trend throughout the face leaving you with a chaotic palate with no real focal point. Avoid this faux pas by muting down the lips with nudes and “barely there” tones to contrast the bolder eyes. If you’re matching makeup with outfits, a bit of hushed space between colors is the type of tactical styling to make the trend really pop.
Pictured: Verie, Leia Heart Necklace
6. Faux Freckles
Freckles seemed to be a polarizing topic growing up. You either had them and wanted nothing more than to cover them up with caked-on concealer, or you wanted them with every fiber of your being, like dimples or a Cindy Crawford beauty mark. Thankfully freckles are being fully embraced and appreciated this season. If you have them naturally, own your spots and accentuate what you’ve got; and if your face is a freckle-less canvas, have at it.
We love this trend because it’s a branch off the no-makeup beauty tree where we put our natural features on full display. Strategic dots with a liner pencil can add an air of dimension to the face, but with this trend really catching steam, beauty brands are actually starting to release their own specialized freckle placement products - so we don’t see freckles going anywhere anytime soon.
7. Inner Corners
Pictured: Verie, Wren Huggie
With cat eyes, Cleopatra-winged liner, smoky eyes, and double liner, the outer eye has certainly had its day in the sun. But this spring it's finally time for the inner corners to take center (wink) stage. With so much untapped potential, we’re not quite sure how we’re going to see the soft tear ducts garnished beyond the look of balanced yet bright hues of eyeshadow that has taken over red carpets this year, but we’re excited to find out. Because the inner eyes are typically our darkest corners of the face, we’re seeing illuminating accoutrements like dazzling jewels, white liners, and iridescent high-lighter applied to the inner corners in what is surely just the beginning of this seldom ventured area of the face. If there is one place from which to draw inspiration for this exciting new trend, it's with our next tip and the dazzling artist behind the movement.
8. Euphoria Eyes
Bold eyes but we like to call them Euphoria eyes. Graphic liners a la Doniella Davy have made a huge splash on the international beauty scene and although Euphoria season 2 may be finished, our obsession with the show's inspired bold eyes and graphic liners isn’t going anywhere. If you read our article on recreating the hit show’s makeup looks, you’ve already got a head start on this trend. It’s all about opalescent liners, shimmering shadows and an overall theme of attention-grabbing eye makeup artistry.
9. Thin(ner) Brows
Image: Harper's Bazaar
Nowadays, makeup trends are influenced by TikTok, and right now users (Gen Z primarily) are all about the ‘90s and Y2K inspirations. You may be one of those among us who plucked and waxed their eyebrows off the face of the earth during the “thin brow” craze of the ‘90s and are now, understandably, cringing at the return of this trend. You can rest assured that we won’t be seeing any Marlene Dietrich or Josephine Baker arches strutting the runways anytime soon. (Though eyebrows, like fashion, seem to be cyclical so never say never!) This revival of the thin brows is more subdued than some of its predecessors and can be achieved without any plucking at all. As we saw in 2021 and now still in 2022, these brows are all about highlighting the natural arch, rather than trying to carve out an entirely new shape, which is a welcomed change from the life-long commitment our younger selves unknowingly signed off on. Strategic brushing to bring the upper hairs down to the center line and lower hairs up, give the illusion of a thinner brow but don’t condemn you to rock the look for decades to come as your hair grows back; not to mention you’ll be in a good place for when thicker brows undeniably come back around as the leading trend.
