People say that nothing beats Paris in the spring. Yes, flowers are blooming, but it’s still cool enough to start your day with a warm croissant and a café au lait before going to a lot of museums in the afternoon. In this case, you’ll also find a lot of great ideas for spring 2026 makeup looks.
Smudged Lips
Thanks to a rise in sexy romance media, it’s not only okay to show up to any event like you’ve just had a hot makeout session in the back of a cab (or a hockey locker room, or a gothic Yorkshire estate…), it’s also encouraged for any event. What could be a better reason to be late?
This is the kind of perfectly imperfect look that makes you want to color outside the lines if you don’t get your smudgy lips the old-fashioned way. “It’s matte instead of shiny, and the edges aren’t sharp like a machine,” says Sage, a makeup artist in New York City. “It’s great for anyone who wants to make their lips look fuller,” says Alex Scoffell, a makeup artist and brand manager for Kevyn Aucoin in New York City.
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You will need a matte lipstick or lip stain. For a romantic look like in Wuthering Heights, use a blushy pink color. For a more Twilight or Anne Rice vampire look, use a deep berry color. Ashley Rebecca, a makeup artist in New York City, says that Violette_FR Plume Lip gives lips a diffused whipped texture that looks like they’ve been kissed. Christian Briceno, also a New York City artist, likes the cushiony stain of Dior Addict Lip Tint. “Put the color in the middle of the lips and tap out,” he says. “Use a fingertip or a dense brush to blur the edge.”
Watercolor Blush
If you put just one drop of lily pink watercolor paint on a wet canvas, it would dance blur and spread out into a cloud of blush. It would be thick in the middle and thin at the edges. It would move like the skirt of an Edwardian woman in a John Singer Sargent painting.
Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs used this dreamy effect on cheekbones on the spring runways. Stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Hailey Bieber, and Priyanka Chopra have also worn the look on the red carpet.
Keep the watercolor medium in mind when you put on your blush. Rebecca says, “Watercolor paint is see-through, so you can sheer the color out or add more strategically to make it more saturated.” “To do this with blush, start with soft cream blushes or gels on the apples of your cheeks. Then, add silky powder blushes on top to make a watercolor flush.” She suggests mixing Dear Dahlia Petal Drop Liquid Blush and Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush. Joseph Carrillo, a makeup artist in New York City, likes to use the Patrick Ta Major Headlines Double-Take Duo to layer cream and powder blush.
Golden Hour Skin
If Venus de Milo left the Louvre, gathered her skirt, and became a beauty influencer this bronzy look that glows from within would be her trademark. Everyone would say, positively glowing every time they saw it. “Please stop taking care of your skin!”
Of course, it always takes some work to make something look natural and easy. To get this look, you need to bronze in a certain way. Drita Paljevic, who is in charge of artistry at Kevyn Aucoin, says, “Using a product with a little bit of luminosity and glow is key here.” She suggests the brand’s Sensual Skin Bronzer. You could also use Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Creamy Bronzing Powder here. “Put a lot of it around the outer edges of the face, on the cheeks, and on the eyelids to get that beachy fake sun-kissed look.”
Sarah Walsh, a makeup artist from Dallas, says that you can make it easier by adding a bronze illuminator like Iconic London Instant Sunshine Bronzing Drops to your moisturizer or primer. Then, if you want to make it even better later, she says to sweep a powder bronzer like DIBS Duet Baked Bronzer across your forehead, under your cheekbones and jaw, the collarbone and tops of your shoulders, and even across the bridge of your nose.
Micro Liner
Sometimes, art is all in the wrist. For example, a very subtle painterly flick of micro liner, like Picasso’s simple pen-and-ink drawings. These should be in MoMA just as much as more complex works, but they are more of a modernist whisper than a shout.
Fine-line flicks also quietly but noticeably appeared on the runways for Giorgio Armani Prive, Jovana Louis, and Prabal Gurung. You might have needed to zoom in three times to see the detail, but it’s still a load-bearing line that gives every look a little lift and wink. Carrillo says, “It’s very close to the lashes, very precise, and almost invisible at first glance.” “It gives the eye shape without becoming a look, and it feels modern and easy to wear.”
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Paljevic says to first tightline the water line on the upper lid with a very small pencil. The extra-fine tips on the Soshe Waterproof Precision Eyeliner or CoverGirl Perfect Point Eye Pencil would be great for this. “Then, she says, use the pencil to make a very small wing from the outer corner of the eye.” “Putting the product only on the outer corner and leaving the inner corner mostly bare will give you a beautiful lifted fox-eye look.”
Ballet Slipper Lips
If you leaned in and kissed one of Monet’s ballet-class paintings (which is not okay, believe it or not), your lips would turn this pastel ballet slipper-pink color.
MarQuis Ward, a makeup artist in Los Angeles and the head artist at LYS Beauty, says, “This color feels romantic and easy but still put-together.”
But you don’t have to go to jail to get the look: “I like to prep my lips with lip oil put on a pink lip color, and then use my finger to blur the edges so they look soft and lived in,” he says. The goal is a satin pink pointe shoe.
Ward suggests the LYS Beauty Speak Love Glossy Lip Treatment to help your canvas stay soft and moisturized. If you want to keep things simple, Summer Fridays Dream Lip Oil in Pink Cloud already has a soft ballerina tint. Next, put on a smudged, rosy color like Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Satin Shine Lipstick in Icon Baby or MAC Lustreglass Sheer-Shine Lipstick in Syrup.
Want something that will work once and for all? Try the L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche Lipcolour in the shade Ballerina Shoes, which went viral on TikTok and started this trend.
Colorwashed Lids
Mary Cassatt used pastels, while Georgia O’Keeffe used oil paints. But for those of us who are better at fingerpainting, a bold, all-over wash of one color on the eyelids can be just as exciting.
Briceno says that to make this look last, you should keep the color a little see-through finish. He says, “People want something that feels lived in and expressive.” “Softly blended pastels or mineral tones across the lid look like they were airbrushed.” The finish stays cloudy and diffused; it never becomes opaque.
Briceno goes on to say, “Choose one color and slowly build it up with a fluffy brush then blend the edges until there is no clear start or stop line.” “Keep the lower lash line clean or softly blended with the same tone.” If you’re using a sheer cream blush, your fingers will be your best art tool for blending and spreading the color across the lid.
Ilia Eye Stylus Shadow Stick in Nymph and Anastasia Beverly Hills GLIDR Shadow Stick in Ultraplum are great for the pinks and purples that are popular on the spring runways. Walsh, on the other hand, likes a one-and-done sweep of punchy blue like Marc Jacobs, for which she suggests Half Magic Chromaddiction Eye Paint and Liner in Sky Juice.
