The Biggest AW26 Makeup Trends To Know, According To The Experts
Autumn is a time to get excited about cosy knits, candle-lit evenings and a fresh excuse to reinvent your makeup bag. And every season, a handful of new trends surface and this one's no different. We went straight to our buying team, the people with a front-row seat to what's selling, what's launching and what's quietly taking over everyone's makeup bag, to find out what's really defining beauty this autumn/winter. The answer? A season of contradictions in the best way: skin that looks like skin, eyes that don't hold back, and lips doing double duty as both statement and skincare.
Think of it as the follow-up to summer's Y2K makeup revival, only this time we're trading butterfly clips for something a little more grown-up. Whether you're stocking up on makeup essentials or giving your skincare routine a seasonal refresh too, our expert buying team breaks down what's worth knowing this AW26.
MEET OUR EXPERTS:
Abigail Routley, Cult Beauty Senior Buyer
Polly Yeung, Cult Beauty Buyer
Lindsey Whiteford, Cult Beauty Buyer
AUTUMN/WINTER 26 MAKEUP TRENDS
Beautiful Real Skin: The New Base Rules
If there's one trend our buying team keeps coming back to, it's this: skin that looks like skin. Not matte, not masked, just softly blurred using targeted concealing, lightweight tints and blurring powders that let your actual complexion do the talking. It's the opposite of a full-coverage face, and honestly, it might be the most requested finish of the season.
According to our buying team, this isn't a passing moment either. As customers grow savvier about what's actually in their makeup bag, they're after products that complement their skin rather than mask it, which is exactly why this feels less like a trend and more like the new baseline.
How To Get The Look
Start by concealing only where you actually need it, rather than committing to full coverage across your whole face. Follow with a lightweight, blurring base that melts into skin rather than sitting on top of it, so your natural texture stays visible underneath. Then blend the barest flush of colour into the cheeks using fingertips rather than a brush, for something that reads as a natural flush rather than a deliberately painted one. The trick is restraint: less product, placed with intention, blended until you can't tell where it starts and your skin begins.
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Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Gel Concealer for spot-treating exactly where you need it. ICONIC London Super Smoother Blurring Skin Tint or the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser Blurred Matte SPF 30 for that soft-focus finish without ever tipping into cakey territory. Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Blush or anything from our cream blusher edit, for a barely-there, skin-like flush.
£26.00
£29.00
£39.00
£22.00
Glass Lips Get a Skincare Upgrade
If glass skin had a sibling, it would be this. Glass lips are all about that glossy, hydrated, almost mirror-like finish, and TikTok and Instagram have a lot to answer for in accelerating just how fast it's taken hold. But this season, it's evolving beyond a simple gloss.
How To Get The Look
Swap a traditional lipstick for a hydrating, high-shine formula, applied straight onto bare or barely-tinted lips for the most reflective finish. Build coverage in a couple of light layers rather than one heavy coat, and look for something with treatment benefits built in underneath the shine, since the aim this season is a gloss that looks after your lips, not just one that sits on top of them. It's especially worth it in winter: cold air and central heating are no friend to lips, so a hydrating formula holds up far better than a straight, non-conditioning gloss.
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Danessa Myricks Beauty Glosswork 4D Ultra Shine Plumping Gloss for plumping, hydration and peptides alongside the shine. Kosas Wet Lip Oil Plumping Peptide Gloss and the Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Peptide Gloss Balm, both of which treat lips while they shine. Versed Silk Slip Conditioning Tinted Lip Oil for colour and comfort in one swipe, ideal for everyday wear. Browse the rest of our lip oil edit for product inspo.
£29.00
£20.00
£26.00
Centre Stage Eyes: Bold Is Back
After a few seasons of soft, barely-there eyes, this season brings the drama back. Holographic metallics swept across the lid, shimmer, glitter and bold colour, think lilacs, purples, deep ports and sage greens, are all taking centre stage.
How To Get The Look
Sweep a high-shine, metallic shade across the lid rather than blending it out entirely, so it catches the light instead of disappearing into the crease. Lean into colour with confidence: one bold shade, worn well, reads as considered rather than overdone, especially against the softer, more minimal base covered above. If you want to take it further, pair your statement eyes with a deep, berry-toned lip: a combination that would have felt like too much a year ago but now reads as confident rather than costume-y.
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Charlotte Tilbury Charlotte's Palette Of Beautifying Eye Trends in 'Digital Lilac' is an easy way into the trend. NYX Professional Makeup Cult Beauty Exclusive Holographic Halo Eye Tint for reflective, wet-look shimmer in one step. Huda Beauty Color Block Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette in 'Blue and Green' for the sage-and-jewel-tone end of the spectrum. Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick in 'Melted Berry' to complete the look with a deep berry lip.
£49.00
£27.00
£19.00
Tweakment Makeup: The Non-Surgical Face
This is the trend our buying team describes as makeup designed to mimic subtle aesthetic treatments: plumping, sculpting, lifting and blurring the face without ever looking obviously "done". Think of it as the makeup equivalent of a very good night's sleep and a great skincare routine, minus the appointment.
How To Get The Look
Add subtle plumping to the lips before colour goes on, rather than relying on colour alone to create fullness. Swap a heavy, structured contour for a softer, warmer-toned sculpt, applied with fingertips or a damp sponge so the edges melt into the face rather than sitting as a hard line. For brows, build definition in short, upward strokes to mimic individual hairs, rather than filling in with one solid block of colour. And for the lips again, use a soft liner as a gentle shadow just outside your natural lip line, blended rather than sharply defined, for a fuller, more effortless result than an obvious overline.
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LAWLESS BEAUTY Forget the Filler Lip-Plumping Line-Smoothing Tinted Lip Balm, for the plumping step. Milk Makeup Sculpt Stick or the NARS The Multiple Sculpting Stick for soft, warm-toned definition that looks like bone structure, not bronzer. Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Pen, from Anastasia Beverly Hills, for a hair-stroke effect without a single appointment. Natasha Denona I Need a Rose Lip Liner soft enough to blend for the viral "Nina Park lip" technique, a soft shadow around the lip rather than a hard, bright border.
£25.00
£24.00
£33.00
Suede Skin: The New Texture To Know
Suede skin has taken over from glass skin and dewy, glowing finishes as the complexion trend of the season. Think super-soft, blurred texture: a diffused, velvety complexion with just a hint of radiance rather than out-and-out shine. Skin looks healthy, natural and soft rather than polished.
How To Get The Look
Build your base in thin layers rather than one heavy application, blending well past the jawline so there's no visible edge where it stops. Focus on evening out texture rather than adding shine, and set only where you need extra longevity, using the lightest possible dusting so the velvety texture underneath stays visible. The result should look like your skin on a very good day, not a filter.
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Laura Mercier Tinted Blur Balm for that diffused, velvety base. Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Liquid Blurring Balm Setting Spray to lock the finish in without adding shine. PATRICK TA Transition Blurring Blush Duo for a soft-focus flush that melts into the finish. KOSAS Cloud Set Translucent Loose Setting & Blurring Powder for a final blur that never tips into matte.
£39.00
£25.50
£25.00
£35.00
Toasted Neutral Eyes
Dramatic smoky eyes are having a moment off, replaced by softly blended, warm, earthy neutrals which create definition without ever looking heavy. Think diffused edges over harsh lines, and matte or satin finishes rather than glitter or shimmer. It's a quick, low-effort look that appeals to anyone after a more uncomplicated routine, and cream formulas make it even easier to master.
How To Get The Look
Warm the eyelid with a single toasted neutral shade, blending outward with fingertips or a fluffy brush so the edges diffuse rather than stop in a hard line. Keep it to one or two tones at most, layering for depth rather than reaching for a full palette. Cream and stick formulas are the easiest way in, since they blend quickly with minimal tools and don't need setting for the look to hold.
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MAC Multi Sculpt Liquid Eye Shadow in a soft grey-taupe shade for easy definition. VIEVE Eye Wand in a warm espresso tone for a quick, one-swipe wash of colour. RMS Beauty Eyelights Cream Eyeshadow for a warm, blendable base shade. SUQQU Mono Look Eyes in Satin or Matte for soft, diffused definition in a single sweep.
£22.00
£25.00
£30.00
£26.00
Terracotta Hues: The Ultimate Seasonal Reliable
Bronzer took centre stage over summer and shows no sign of slowing down as the weather turns cooler. Expect the shades to deepen with soft oaks, ash and mahogany, alongside muted mauve and rosewood tones that read effortlessly sophisticated. Pocket blushes, sculpting sticks and bronzers are all being worn across lips, cheeks and eyelids this season for an easy, one-product-does-it-all look.
How To Get The Look
Pick one warm, terracotta-adjacent shade and use it everywhere: dab it onto the cheeks for colour, sweep it along the eyelid for definition, and press a little onto the lips to finish. Blend with fingertips rather than brushes wherever possible, since the warmth from your hands helps the formula melt in for a more natural, your-skin-but-warmer finish. It's designed to be fast and foolproof, so resist the urge to overthink it.
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ISAMAYA Sculpting Stick in any of its warm shades. ICONIC London Soft Touch Bronzer for buildable, blurred warmth. Anastasia Beverly Hills Smooth Blur Contour Stick for softer, warmer definition. MAC Glow Play Blush for a wash of terracotta across the cheeks. Saie SuperSuede Radiant Blush Powder in a warm rosewood tone to finish.
£35.00
£26.00
£32.00
£28.00
£26.00
What We're All Investing In This Season
Ask our buying team where customers are putting their money and two answers come up again and again: lip care with colour, and makeup that does double duty as skincare.
On the lips, the appetite is for a hybrid that can survive UK winter conditions and still deliver a glossy, glassy or matte finish, which is exactly why tinted balms, lip oils, overnight masks and treatment lip colours are having such a moment. Elsewhere, customers are increasingly reaching for one product that treats skin while creating the natural finish covered above, rather than layering skincare and makeup separately.
Our buying data backs up where all this is heading, too. Three categories have driven growth ahead of the season:
- Bronzers and sculpt sticks, up 19%, thanks to that shift towards softer, warmer definition.
- Brows, up 19%, driven by genuine at-home innovation aligned to the shift towards achieving a softer, more authentic-looking makeup.
- Lip liner, up 3%, largely off the back of the Nina Park technique giving an effortless result.
