8 Beauty Trends To Watch for SS26

Runway beauty has a reputation for bringing subversive trends to the forefront of fashion month. While the editorial details don't always translate to our everyday routines, there's no better place to look for the season's most impactful trends across makeup, hair and nails. Above all else, Spring/Summer 2026's beauty details emphasize lived-in makeup and maximalist touches. Whether its bold, extra long nails or rainbow hair accents, brands like Kim Shui and  Chopova Lowena are making deeply intentional beauty looks a staple of fashion month.

Ahead, we outline the most noteworthy beauty trends of SS26.

Alien Eyes

Both Rick Owens and Matières Fécales Spring/Summer 2026 utilized pitch black contacts for an unearthly eye look. While models at Matières Fécales walked the runway with the brand's signature white face paint and bold winged eyeshadow, Rick Owens opted for bleached brows and smokey eye looks.

Candy-Colored Lips

There were a multitude of playful lip looks on the Paris Fashion Week runway. At Chloé, August Barron and Louis Vuitton, vivid lip combos rounded out the natural glam. With just a simple pop of color, even the most subdued makeup looks take on that avant-garde, editorial flare that fashion month has become synonymous with.

Undone Waves

Milan Fashion Week is delivering a plethora of messy hair looks. Moschino, The Attico and MSGM all championed undone waves at their SS26 shows. Categorized by fluffy flyaways and varying curl patterns, the bedhead look is the epitome of that low effort, cool girl beauty aesthetic.

Colorful Lashes

At Anna Sui, Eckhaus Latta and Collina Strada, natural-colored lashes were nowhere to be found. Making use of both custom Lashify extensions designed by Isamaya Ffrench and colored mascara, the brands used lashes as a blank canvas for the shows' color palettes. While Anna Sui and Collina Strada leaned into the bright hues, Eckhaus Latta relied on white lashes to complement a subdued, fresh face.

Maximalist Nails

At New York Fashion Week, the nail looks were far from subtle. From Grace Ling's "futuristic relic nails" dreamed up by Coca Michelle to Luar's carnival feather extensions by Naomi Yasuda and Kim Shui's bedazzled "K" nails by Sojin Oh — bold, maximalist nail silhouettes were especially prevalent on the runway.

Rainbow Hair Details

Just like lashes, hair is another medium to explore playful textures and pops of color. While Theophilio brought dreamy wigs with intricate hair paintings to its SS26 runway, Chopova Lowena and Ashley Williams incorporated tinsel extensions and neon hair pieces into its beauty looks. While the collections themselves delivered a multitude of hues, fashion month's hair looks are just as loud.

Smudged Glam

For Elena Velez and Dilara Fındıkoğlu, messy makeup looks ruled the SS26 runway. Rather than relying on carefully-applied glam, the two shows referenced the lived-in, smudged look with touches of dirt and grime. While the clean girl aesthetic runs rampant on TikTok, fashion month's dirty beauty looks are in direct opposition of the status quo.

Skincare Accessories

Ritualistic skincare routines are popping up everywhere in the beauty world. While beauty fans have always relied on their favorite eye masks and pimple patches to answer their skin concerns, Ashley Williams and Eckhaus Latta are bringing skincare directly to the runway. By tapping cult-favorite brands Starface and Dieux, the fashion houses are redefining skincare's role in fashion month.

While you're here, read about the best beauty moments of SS26.

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