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With each season comes a changing of the guard: different weather patterns, new runway trends that suit said weather, and the beauty looks that go with them. We felt the first signs of fall as spindly tendrils of autumn breeze cut through the summer inferno during New York Fashion Week, but we style-minded have had our sights set on the cooler months for quite some time. In fact, we haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since February, when designers and runway makeup artists gave a sneak peek into what the beauty state of the union would be when summer came to a close.
F/W 26, according to our backstage reporting, was predicted to be littered with grungy accents, playful touches, and slightly unkempt quirks. As we step fully into the season these looks were designed for, we can confirm that most beauty trends have fulfilled the prophecy—but fashion’s explosive impact from this summer (Chanel feathers! Color-clashing combos!) left an indelible mark on the beauty world today.
Keep reading for the top beauty trends that all insiders are eyeing for fall.
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Sleepy Eyes
Eye makeup backstage at Sandy Liang F/W 26.
(Image credit: Launchmetrics)
In the age of AI and “Instagram face,” makeup artists are pulling things back—and I’m not talking about “clean girl” territory. When faces have never been easier to filter, creators and makeup artists are celebrating the natural beauty of the human face. It was evident in the painterly red-rimmed eyes at Sandy Liang’s F/W 26 show, a look lead makeup artist Romy Soleimani dubbed “the sleepy girl,” which made the model look as if she’d been “rubbing her eyes.” It came up again when celebrity makeup artist Yasmin Istanbouli told WWW that Charli XCX’s only request was that she would not cover her under-eyes—the star prefers her natural hue to shine through.
It goes hand-in-hand with the black-streaked “IDGAF” eyes that peppered the runways last season, as well. Tastemakers don’t want cleanliness anymore—they want makeup that moves them. “I think we will continue to see makeup become a little more expressive and less polished,” says Chiho Omae, Global Creative Makeup Artist for Merit. The artist cites “softly smudged eyes,” cool tones, and “velvety” skin as up-and-comers as the focus fades from overdone to purposely playful. “After a long period of very blended, barely-there makeup, it feels fresh to see shape and intention again,” Omae adds. “I think people are responding to makeup that feels a little more instinctive and personal. It does not always need to be perfectly blended or overly considered.”
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Undone Crimps
Crimped hair at Christian Cowan S/S 27.
(Image credit: Launchmetrics)
Between Sandra Bullock’s whimsical waves in Practical Magic 2 and the overarching trend of crimping spotted backstage at NYFW S/S 27, it’s no long shot to say that this ’00s style will be back in a big way this fall. Whether tight and feathered like the Y2K-inspired crimped sections at Christian Cowan—fashioned by celebrity hairstylist Justine Marjan—or loose and free like the Victorian waves we saw during Margot Robbie’s press run for Wuthering Heights, these bohemian bends are à la mode this autumn. (Especially on those with long hair.)
Now, this isn’t to say that the ultra-defined crimps of yore are coming back in their entirety (though fashion houses did experiment with the look during the latest NYFW). The more wearable iteration of this trend is natural, air-dried texture—whether you have curly spirals or wavy locks. “I’ve been feeling a real shift toward embracing natural texture and working with the hair rather than trying to completely transform it,” says celebrity hairstylist and Prose expert ambassador Gregory Russell. “I think there’s something really chic about that kind of restraint,” he adds. “Fashion has been feeling a little quieter and more considered, and I love hair that has that same sensibility.”
Shop Undone Crimps Products
Wavytalk
Power Wave Hair Crimping Iron
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Pops of Purple
Zendaya at a Prada event in New York City.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Ernesto Casillas)
The color of the season, per fashion people, is undoubtedly purple. Whether amethyst or lavender, everything from tomato-and-aubergine color combinations to lilac eyeshadow has been dominating the trend cycle—and we don’t see this fascination with color slowing down anytime soon.
Ernesto Casillas, Zendaya’s longtime makeup artist, recently created a look on the Odyssey star to promote Prada’s new Wisteria collection, and we haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. The seamless cloud of lavender across Zendaya’s lids—paired with seductive, spidery lashes—suggests we consider a spring color palette for fall 2026. With the amount of internet buzz this look generated overnight, it’s clear that this trend is gaining solid footing ahead of autumn.
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Prada
Dimensions Multi-Effect Refillable Eyeshadow Palette in Portrait
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Color Story Eyeshadow Palette in Passionate Purple
Turquoise Reign
A turquoise manicure by Christiana Hooks.
A trend in and of itself this season is the fall-ification of bright colors (hence the purple of it all), and summer’s love affair with turquoise is far from over. Designers like Matthieu Blazy have incorporated varying shades of aquamarine into Chanel’s F/W 26 ready-to-wear collection, and thus retail chains are producing fall garb in the summery hue in bulk. Naturally, this shade of blue trickled down—in a Devil Wears Prada-monologue way—to our nails.
As summer gives way to fall, turquoise nails are hotter than ever. There’s something chic about an unexpected wash of bright blue amidst a backdrop of fall foliage, and it looks even better when paired with textural nail art. From Essie’s In the Cab-Ana to the slightly more muted OPI Closer than You Might Belem, there’s a bevy of aquamarine polishes awaiting your fall manicures.
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Nail Polish in In the Cab-Ana
OPI
Nail Polish in I’m Yacht Leaving
Glamnetic
Midnight Teal Press-On Nails
Rococo Blush
Rococo blush at Enfants Riches Déprimés F/W 26.
(Image credit: Launchmetrics)
Blush has been having a moment for years now, but its placement is what’s changing this fall. Celebrity makeup artist and YSL Beauty National Artist J. Brandon Correa demonstrated the “draped blush” technique for WWW in March, inspired by Rococo art and realistic redness. Modern makeup popularizes high cheekbone placement, whereas this technique involves a downward drape—starting at the apple of the cheeks and blending down towards the jaw in light, feathery swipes. Similar to “sleepy eyes,” this trend celebrates the reality of the human face—cherubic redness, sweaty flushes, rosacea flares, and all.
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Make Me Blush Powder Blush in Honeymoon
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Flush Balm in Persimmon
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Eyemaxxing
Sparkly eye shadow at Chanel F/W 26.
(Image credit: Launchmetrics)
Yes, we may be seeing a shift towards “realistic” makeup this season, but there is another eye makeup trend setting up camp in fall 2026—and that, my friend, is intense eye makeup. (Or what I’m calling “eyemaxxing.”) We’ve seen cool tones take over the beauty world in the past two years, but fall’s makeup looks are considerably more personal and bold than uniformly cold. Take, for example, the smattering of silver and purple (!) glitter splashed onto the eyelids of models at Chanel’s trend-setting F/W 26 show, or the rockstar-chic smoky eyes painted on Charli XCX during her “Music, Fashion, Film” tour.
While bold eye looks are about to be all the rage, you can tame things down a bit for everyday wear if you so choose. “For the eyes, I like a brown or charcoal eye product like Merit’s Solo Shadow in Nelson or Brun, worked close to the lashes and gently smudged,” says Omae. “It creates that lived-in quality and does not need to be too perfect.” The messier, the better this fall.
Shop Eyemaxxing Products
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