BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL
New makeup trends celebrate the individual, with a fresh, upbeat approach that prioritises ease and speed and with maximalist colours on the style agenda.
Makeup trends can sometimes feel a little out of reach – something to admire from a distance perhaps, before you reach for your faithful mascara, or a little foundation. Good news then, that this year’s common denominator is ‘easy’.
Perhaps that’s little wonder, when we’ve become so familiar with our own four walls and a more casual aesthetic than in times past. Yet that doesn’t mean we’re forgoing our cosmetic routines altogether.
New arrivals still offer a sense of excitement and innovation, and for those that enjoy the embrace of a new eye shadow colour or lipstick texture, there’s plenty to love. It’s just that meticulous application and required expertise have mostly been left behind in favour of what works for you. We’re all in. It’s why we’ll find optimistic, expressive colour alongside kind-toskin formulations that are easy to apply, and feel-good textures at the top of the trend list in 2022.
BARELY THERE FOUNDATION
It’s not just the way it looks, but the advanced ingredients that will turn our heads when choosing face makeup this year. Foundations are becoming sheerer, and more akin to serums, with hybrid skincare-and-colour formulas delivering light-to-medium coverage that looks healthy and relaxed; a reflection the time spent at home has had on our cosmetic desires.
Gee Pikinga, NZ Makeup Director for Maybelline, says two words encompass the relaxed new approach to revealing and celebrating reallooking skin: ‘embracing texture’.
“Alicia Keys challenged the status quo some time back when she stripped back her makeup to reveal a bare, fresh-faced complexion,” says Pikinga.
“We seem to be shaking off this idea of perfection and everyone needing to look digitally retouched in full, matte coverage. Mediums that allow the skin the ability to breathe while giving very natural coverage are becoming more popular.”
A LITTLE MORE CAMOUFLAGE?
Top British makeup artist Lisa Eldridge says it’s worth reconsidering not just what we use, but how we use it, suggesting what she calls a ‘patchwork approach’. “We’ve had years of applying layers and layers of foundation all over and it means everyone looks very homogeneous.” She says applying makeup one way doesn’t always work for different faces.
“Clever patchwork application is the way to go now – applying concealer and foundation just where you need it and letting your natural skin show through where you don’t need coverage.”
Expect to see new makeup arrivals that work harder for your money. For example, Charlotte Tilbury’s glowy new Beautiful Skin foundation contains hydrating hyaluronic acid, brightening rose complex, and Bix’Activ, a natural extract that helps to decrease sebaceous gland activity, minimising oiliness and visible pores.
“We’re seeing a huge shift in brands launching hybrid beauty products,’’ says MECCA’s Creative Director, Marita Burke.
“These multi-use products often contain the skincare ingredients that most people would use in their morning routine, such as niacinamide and Vitamin C, and incorporate these with makeup products like skin tints or foundations and primers. This means greater benefit and less effort for the customer, which is ultimately what we’re all in search of.
“An upcoming launch that I’m particularly excited about in this space is the Mecca Cosmetica Weekend Skin Glow Serum – think our top-selling Weekend Skin Hydra Skin Tint mixed in with your morning skin serums.”
PURPLE REIGNS
While it’s fair to say minimalist skin is the overarching trend, maximalist colour is also very much on the beauty radar. With Pantone announcing ‘Very Peri’, a “dynamic periwinkle blue hue with a vivifying violet red undertone” as its colour of 2022, and trend forecasting firm WGSN and colour specialist Coloro naming ‘Digital Lavender’ incoming as the colour of the year for 2023, purples are influential everywhere this year, including in makeup. Pikinga
“CLEVER PATCHWORK APPLICATION IS THE WAY TO GO NOW.” LISA ELDRIDGE
confirms that while warm-tone hues have had a moment, they need to make way for playful and expressive cool-toned makeup – especially when it comes to the eyes.
“We’ve seen a wave of popularity of tones from the ‘gold-orange’ spectrum the past few years, with terracotta, coral and marigolds inspiring eye collections, followed by reds, plums and red-browns having their moment,” says Pikinga. “Most neutrals were warm, and many still favour this colour palette. But cool tones are definitely coming back into fashion ... sultry blues in navy and ink tones and playful use of purples. Silver metallics are being favoured over the golds and champagnes of the past few years, and even shades of green – whether it be khaki, sage or emerald – are adorning eyes.”
MECCA’s Burke says bright pastels are still on trend and are easier to adopt than you might think. “We expect coloured liners to continue to rise in popularity. Unexpected colours of lavender, baby blue and canary yellow, similar to those in the MECCA MAX Zoom Liner range, will be big.”
ERA INSPIRATION
Natural-looking makeup and individualism will lead the way we wear makeup each day, but there are still trends to look to.
For a little escapism from the here and now, many are calling on throwback elements, as well as reaching for futuristic new ones in a thoroughly modern mash-up.
The late ’90s and early 2000s are the key periods to mine, with #Y2Kbeauty looks everywhere – from vinyl-look gloss to thinner brows, lip liner, icy eyeshadow and body shimmer. But with the digital world becoming a key influence in beauty as well, futuristic ideas and looks are also emerging from trend incubators like fashion runways and creative fashion and beauty editorials as well as
– you guessed it – social media. The idea manifests in unique tones, like the aforementioned Digital Lavender, as well as an increase in luminosity (rather than glitter) and iridescent shades that reflect two or three different colours.
HYDRATED, SHINY LIPS
When it comes to lips, the majority of new and imminent launches prioritise one thing: hydration. It’s an extension of the aforementioned hybrid approach within colour cosmetics, that leaves skin in better condition after use, rather than worse.
Pikinga says the overall trend is undeniable.
“It’s about all things hydrating and gloss. Matte lips will never go out of style, and liquid matte lipstick has revolutionised a perfect lip line that wears all day long, but the kissable pout that is all glossed up is back, with lips looking plumper, fuller and absolutely delish!” the makeup artist says.
Unlike previous shine and gloss options, new formulas are super nourishing and reparative, using oils to create a gorgeous high shine that isn’t sticky at all. There are also plenty of options with a smoother texture more akin to a lip balm that wears off evenly without that annoying ‘tide line’ of colour around your lips.
MECCA’s Burke says that there are a couple of different formulas she expects to see more of.
“The first is a glossy, juicy, bouncy formula, leaning more towards a tint or a stain than lipstick, and the second is a full matte lip. The colours we anticipate seeing people embrace are red, pink and plum – these give the look a certain type of playfulness.”