Twice a year, I stuff myself like a sausage into a tiny room filled with 5'10" models, a zillion corded hair tools, and a swath of makeup-filled suitcases in service of one thing: uncovering the up-and-coming trends. Going backstage at New York Fashion Week is a rite of passage as a beauty editor. I’m interviewing makeup artists, getting a first peek at the looks before they walk on the runway, and tying up throughlines on what actually will be the biggest trends of the upcoming seasons. For spring, this meant graphic eyeliner, rosy blush, pastel-colored lids, and more.
While the fashion trends are always a full six months ahead, beauty isn’t so bound by the same seasonal rules, meaning whatever we’re seeing backstage right now can immediately be implemented into our daily routines. So although these looks might have been paired with fur coats and boots, they’re all totally suitable to wear with your light jacket and open-toed sandals.
Below, check out the top spring makeup trends we saw backstage at New York Fashion Week (trust us: they’re DIY-able) plus tips on how to get it yourself.
Bronze Wings
We’ve been poised for an eyeliner comeback for a few seasons, particularly focused on sharp and graphic wings. Right now, a soft way to reintroduce these strong looks is opting for a bronze shade instead of black. At the Anna Sui show, Pat McGrath used eyeshadow to draw these out (this is way easier than opting for a highly pigmented pencil or liquid), then defined the lines with PermaGel Ultra Glide Eye Pencil.
Even if you’re not going for such an exaggerated wing, consider swapping your usual black for a bronze this spring. It’s a universally flattering eyeliner shade that works on every single eye color, but it feels like a sensual, subdued upgrade.
Rosy Flush
At ALTUZARRA, makeup artist and Bobbi Brown global artistic director Hannah Murray wanted to create a “painterly, handsome beauty,” she said, with softly flushed lips and cheeks. Try dabbing on a cream blush (she used Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge Velvet Matte in shades Soft Plum and Claret) with your fingers, then blend out with a dense brush. This will help focus the pigment exactly where you want it. And blush placement is important here: The apples of your cheeks and just below give a true flushed look rather than a snatched blush.
The sculpt in this look, instead, came from skincare, and it was the first step before makeup. Every model had their face prepped using the NuFACE Trinity+, a microcurrent device that lifts, tones, and contours skin immediately. (I actually watched a model get this done backstage, and it’s truly like magic—a great first step in any routine where you want to look your best.)
Vinyl Vamp Lips
Stacy Bendet, founder and CEO of Alice + Olivia, called these lips at the brand’s presentation “opulent.” Consider these the upgraded version of the soft tint we saw in Wuthering Heights, with a bolder color and wet-like finish. Makeup artist Flynn Pykkonen used Westmore Beauty’s Pout Perfector—a high-shine, vinyl gloss—for this glazed effect (and it’s an added bonus that it hydrates lips, too). There were two lip looks here: one that featured the gloss against natural lips and another that paired it with a lip liner for a bold finish.
Macaroon Lids
A perfect example of fall/winter trends that blend seamlessly with spring makeup? These pastel lids at Cult Gaia. Reminiscent of an Easter egg or macaroon served at high tea, this eyeshadow moment features a mix of pinks, peaches, and greens for a soft spring eye. I’ve been reporting on the eyeshadow resurgence for the last two NYFW seasons, and this trend proves it’s just heating up.
Pastels can seem a bit daunting, but they really just require a bit of prep. Smooth on an eyeshadow primer or concealer all over your lids first. If you have deep skin, consider choosing a pigmented base that’s lighter than your skin tone to help the color show up better. Then use a dense shader brush to pack the shadow on your eyes. Clean and blend any edges with a fluffy brush, ideally one that doesn’t have any product on it already to really diffuse the shadow. Another tip: A shimmery pastel eyeshadow typically has more initial opacity and will blend a bit easier than a matte formula. Or go with a liquid or cream eyeshadow, like Ilia Eye Stylus Shadow Stick.
Golden Grunge
After seasons of sooty, gray looks, this take for the Bronx and Banco show feels fresh. There’s a smokey element, sure, but it’s gilded and bright. Makeup artist Romero Jennings called it “roaring 2000s energy,” comparing it to “’90s supermodel glam reworked with effortless cool.” It’s like if Gabbriette’s smokey eye went on vacation to the Caribbean.
Jennings used MAC’s Dazzleshadow Liquid Eyeshadow in Everything Is Sunshine, a shimmery champagne, and smudged out MAC Eye Kohl Eyeliner in Coffee and Smolder for a smokey effect. To give the lids that glossy effect, he tapped on a liquid highlighter mixed with moisturizer.
Meet the experts:
- Hannah Murray is a makeup artist and the global artistic director at Bobbi Brown.
- Romero Jennings is a makeup artist and the global director of makeup at MAC.
Why trust Cosmopolitan?
Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan with more than seven years of experience researching, writing, and editing makeup stories.
Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers skincare, makeup, hair, nails, and more across digital and print. She can generally be found in bright eyeshadow furiously typing her latest feature or hemming and hawing about a new product you "have to try." Prior to Cosmopolitan, she wrote and edited beauty content as an Editor at The Everygirl for four years. Follow her on Instagram for makeup selfies and a new hair 'do every few months.
