Ana Ospina
While it may look like social media is king when it comes to the beauty industry, it's important to realise that the trends all have one point of origin: the runway. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have gone a long way towards democratising beauty, but it is on the catwalks of Paris, London, Milan and New York that the world's most renowned and innovative make-up artists, hair stylists and session manicurists come together to set the agenda for the upcoming season.
For a beauty editor, there's nothing more exciting than being amidst the hustle and bustle (read chaos) of being backstage at shows; when models are being made-up and preened over to the quarter millimetre. I have always been partial to summer beauty and this 2025 season served as a reminder that even amongst the endless churn of viral trends, beauty really lies in the simplest of details... From a pop of bubblegum pink on the lip to the addition of a fresh bloom in the hair.
In fact, there's a real sense of ease about spring/summer 2025. The hair isn't fussy, and actively embraces natural texture in the guise of something that is incredibly salty, wavy and sun kissed. And when it comes to make-up, one perfectly executed statement is more than enough, whether that be pairing a barely there eye with a blurred, terracotta lip or a clumpy lash, with nothing else at all...
Pastels
While pastels for spring aren't the most revolutionary concept, we haven't seen it in quite some time. Its absence has been lacking—pastels possess a certain playful optimism and joie de vivre, which is, of course, intrinsic to the spring/summer season.
There was a vibe of 60's retro during Sandy Liang's New York show, which saw models don frosted lips in shades of pale bubblegum pink, lavender and off-white. Make-up artist Romy Soleimani mixed white pigment with Estée Lauder's Pure Colour Whipped Matte Lip Colour in Social Whirl and Air Kiss, before topping the lip with a light sprinkling of metallic eyeshadow. Elsewhere, at Chet Lo, models sported eyebrows that were coloured a variety of shades; including pastel blue—another hue that was seen swept across models' lids at Harris Reed.
Understated eyes
Across most of the runways, one staple make-up item was missing: mascara. While many of us consider it to be a desert island product, this look certainly has legs: it adds a fresh-faced, editorial innocence to the face.
At SS Daley, the emphasis was on clear, radiant, and tawny skin and lips, while eyes were left completely bare. And at Versace, models had a sweep of contour through the socket and a few swipes of mascara, to let the lips do the talking—where they wore bold, warm-toned browns and burgundies.
Blurred lips
On that, bold, colourful blurred lips more than made up for a lack of eye make-up. At Simone Rocha, models wore an inverse, over-lined ombré, which started as a true, pillar box red and faded into something vampy in the centre.
Meanwhile, at Versace, Pat McGrath gave models a soft sweep of brick-red, terracotta, and garnet, which looked as if it had been pressed onto the lip, rather than being applied traditionally, with a lip liner and lipstick.
And at 16 Arlington, while there was little colour, the lips were still a standout. Soft, glossy and with a whisper of 90s nostalgia, the brown lip line faded softly into the centre—as if models had worn their lip combo into the night.
Sea siren hair
Over the past few seasons, bombshell hair has been the name of the game: so, perfectly sleek and glossy waves. There's not much room for error here, or for natural texture. Luckily, though, frizz and unruliness are thoroughly embraced in SS25. At Dreaming Eli, models sported tousled hair, which fell across the brow bone and cascaded down the shoulders—it looked like they had just woken up after spending the day in the sea.
Similarly, at Roberto Cavalli, the hair was overwhelmingly natural; there was little volume, just very natural, crimped-looking waves. Echoing the sea siren vibe was the addition of some natural highlights running through the hair—this is nothing close to a balayage, mind, it's more reminiscent of the natural bleaching that happens to the hair when you spend too much time in the sun.
Nail jewels
Last summer, it was all about nail art, and this time around, it's even more avant-garde, according to Simone Rocha.
Session manicurist Ama Quashie created these incredible black and red hand-sewn adornments, which were added to the tips of the nails. They're highly impractical, sure, but they signal a return to statement nails after a season of minimalist manicure looks.
Pinched lashes
Continuing the retro referencing was the proliferation of pinched lashes on the runway. This look is slightly messier than the Mod-style “Bambi” eyes that were worn in the 60s by the likes of Twiggy and Shelly Duvall. Here, the mascara is applied messily and larger clumps of lashes are pinched together, leaving some hairs askew.
At MAINS, the lashes resembled spikes and extended to the lower eyelid, while at Bottega Veneta, make-up maestro Pat McGrath painted the clumps a metallic silver, adding a chunky finish to the eyes. Then, at Harris Reed, Sophia Tilbury dialled up the drama by adding false lashes, and lashings of the brand's Exagger-Eyes Volume Mascara.
Updos
Updos are having a serious moment. Even across recent awards ceremonies, all manner of updos, from chignons to structured 60s-inspired looks, dominated the red carpet. This, of course, was hinted at during the SS25 runways, where the look trumped traditional Hollywood waves and bouncy curls.
At Richard Quinn, models wore more casual, tousled chignons, with side-swept, waved bangs. But otherwise, the looks skewed highly sleek, polished and glossy. At La Quan Smith, hair stylists channelled "back to the office" vibes with traditional, pulled-back chignons, while at Carolina Herrera, it was more romantic. Models wore their hair middle-parted, in low chignons or coiled buns that hit at the nape of the neck and accessorised with colourful flowers.
90s-inspired cool tones
We've already seen a few nods to the '90s revival, which continues to proliferate across both the fashion and beauty spheres. But while we're seeing a gradual shift towards thinner eyebrows, it's cooler tones that have firmly embedded themselves within the coming season's trends.
At Alaia, models were super sculpted using cool-toned contour, especially around the eye sockets, jawline and cheekbones. This was paired with an ashy, lined lip, and greige-y, taupe-y browns on the eyelids. We've seen variations of this before with "dead girl glam"—a look made popular by the likes of Lily-Rose Depp, Gabbriette Bechtel and Amelia Gray Hamlin.
At Erdem, models channelled the look by wearing very little to no blusher—the emphasis remained on sculpted, and almost hollowed, eyes and cheeks. Over at Kim Shui, the lips were super pouty and thickly lined in a greige coloured liner, reminiscent of 90s era M.A.C editorials. There's not much gloss here, apart from a little balm on the centre of the bottom lip.
Hair accessories
Perhaps it's not the hair itself, but what you adorn it with that matters most. All around, humble accessories spanning from clips to flowers made their return. The bright, sunflower-coloured flowers at Carolina Herrera, which were tucked into the buns, screamed beach vacation. Likewise, at Prada, there was no shortage of bright purple silk bandanas, which obscured the bobs underneath. Other models on the runway wore tasselled, iridescent visors.
And at Richard Quinn, there was a touch of the gothic, with black, netted veils that were canonical in shape.
