Make-up used to be about hiding flaws and looking perfect. Now, palettes echo feelings, tech mixes custom shades, brands break the binary and soften the mood
Blend, blend, blend. The beauty industry’s favourite mantra is all about mixing things up and blurring the edges. But for years, some ideas have stayed steadfastly separate. Red lips signified the femme fatale; pink was for the demure. Beige was some kind of universal neutral. Men and women needed different beauty products. Non-binary folks? Who knew what they wanted?
Brands are reformulating classic red shades to be worn as a soft stain or full-on bold. (ADOBE STOCK)
YSL’s Rouge Sur Mesure is a handheld device that uses AI to custom-mix lipstick shades. (YSL)Makeup trends such as the soft-girl aesthetic are about emotional storytelling. (ADOBE STOCK)Brands are expanding product shades to include diverse and varied skin tones. (ADOBE STOCK)The soft-girl aesthetic combines pastels with glossy lips. (ADOBE STOCK)