Makeup marketers are ready to take it up a notch for Spring 2026. According to industry experts, color cosmetics for eyes, lips and face this season are all about full pigment, improved texture and a natural glow. Plus, 2016’s daring makeup looks are back in a big way, as well as ’90s grunge and ’80s pop influences.

For consumers of all ages, it’s time to bring back bold-faced beauty. 

Eddie Duos, pro makeup artist and senior manager of pro education and artistry at Make Up For Ever, told Happi: “Step aside clean girl makeup. The bold beauty queen is back for Spring 2026! Expect a return to shimmer on the lips, inspired by an elevated take on the 80s frosted look, paired with expressive, colorful eyes featuring graphic shapes, bright liners and bold sweeps of pigment. On the face, blush takes center stage with vibrant, statement-making color and a touch of playful ‘blush blindness’ leads the way.”

Pinterest Palette—the social media platform’s annual drop of trending hues—touted “full-volume colors that are bold, bright and anything but subtle,” said the company. 

“For a long time, the safest choice was to keep things quiet and neutral. Now people are ready for more,” said Xanthe Wells, vice president of global creative at Pinterest. 

According to Wells, each hue “carries its own energy… the unfiltered joy of persimmon, the bold defiance of wasabi, the powerful mystery of plum noir. Even the softer tones have presence.”

Wells continued, “In 2026, people want color with emotional utility: colors that help them feel grounded in the chaos while staying optimistic about what’s ahead.”

In contrast, Pantone’s Color of the Year 2026 is Cloud Dancer (Pantone 11-4201), a “lofty white that serves as a symbol of calming influence in a society rediscovering the value of quiet reflection,” according to the color authority.

Dana Medema, president at North America, Revlon, told Happi that Spring 2026 makeup looks start with healthy-looking skin. 

“Consumers continue to look for products that enhance their natural skin instead of covering it up to embrace imperfections, and that’s where our tinted skin products really shine.”

Pinterest’s annual prediction report identified opalescent aesthetics, gummy glamour, vamp romantic and glitchy glam as leading beauty trends. To elaborate, Gen Z and Millennials are behind the “ASMR overload” of Gimme Gummy. In celebration of Gimme Gummy and in anticipation of NYX Professional Makeup’s new K-Beauty-inspired lipgloss, Pinterest partnered with the makeup brand to bring a Gimme Gummy Bar to Los Angeles last month. 

According to Pinterest, Gen Z and Millennials will rock Glitchy Glam in “mismatched manicures and two-toned lipstick.” Vampy Romantic is all about goth makeup with jet black nails and a smudged kohl smoky eye. Extra Celestial features opalescent eyeshadow as a contrast, said the report.

It’s officially been 10 years since 2016 and Annabelle Taurua of beauty services app Fresha noted that a nod to this era will be big in color cosmetics in 2026. She told Happi: “2016 is iconic for a reason. From the King Kylie era to the birth of the Instagram influencer, the year was truly a shift in popular culture…what I think people love about 2016 beauty, hair and make-up trends, in particular, is how committed people were to embracing bold looks, fun styles and not taking themselves too seriously.”

Taurua added that matte lips and Urban Decay Naked-inspired palettes will return to market this year. 

Tracy Allen, director of product development at NYX Professional Makeup, told Happi that Spring 2026 color cosmetics trends include: “face snatching with setting powders and sculpting products with concealers and highlighters, fluffy brows and most excitingly, color is back in eye makeup!”

For more NYX Makeup news, check out this feature here.

According to Circana, mass market color cosmetics sales in the past year inched up slowly at 1.9% to $14.7 billion for total US multi-outlet (supermarkets, drugstores, mass market retailers, military commissaries and select club and dollar retail chains) for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 28, 2025. (For a deeper look into the categories, check out the chart above.)

Makeup remained the largest prestige beauty category in 2025, growing 4%, according to Circana. All prestige makeup segments posted dollar growth, though unit softness in face and eye makeup curbed the overall momentum. Top gaining segments included makeup sets, lip liner and other lip products such as oils and balms. Value, social media and the “skinification” trend—hybrid formats that blend color and skincare benefits—anchored much of makeup’s growth. Mirroring prestige, lip was also the fastest-growing makeup segment in the mass market and also driven by products such as lip liner and lip treatments, said Circana in its latest report.

NPD in Makeup

MAC Cosmetics says it is “redefining matte with a modern expansion” of its Powder Kiss lineup. Inspired by Fashion Week, the new Powder Kiss Hazy Matte Lipstick delivers an “airy, diffused matte finish with a gel-like glide and more than 54% hydration, while the new Powder Kiss Lip + Cheek Mousse offers a whipped, weightless wash of soft-focus color for lips and cheeks,” said MAC Cosmetics Creative Director Nicola Formichetti.

L’Oréal Paris is evolving what lip lining looks like for the everyday makeup user with its new Blurfiller Blurring Lip Contour. According to the company, its “creamy texture fuses to the lips a seamless blended and blurred effect.” The formula, a balmy crème, provides lips with a soft semi-matte finish. 

Ahead of Women’s History Month, Thrive Causemetics released EmpowerGloss. The buildable serum-gloss hybrid lip product provides 24-hour moisture in eight hues, according to the company. 

Touted to “smooth like a serum and shine like a gloss,” EmpowerGloss is available in eight shades. It can be worn sheer for a fresh, hydrated look or layered for a bold, high-gloss finish, according to the brand.

The latest creation at Lancôme is Curl Goddess Mascara. Inspired by professional hair technology, its fast-setting formula instantly lifts, locks and holds each lash for a 1.5-times curl boost and up to 800% volume, said the company. The longwear formula also wears up to 30 hours. Featuring a 40-degree twisted brush, Curl Goddess wraps and loads every lash from root to tip for precise separation, dramatic lift and a wide-eyed effect, said Lancôme. 

Make Up For Ever welcomed Artist Color Cream to its cosmetics collection sold at Sephora. Featuring a 24-hour, waterproof finish, this high-pigment multitasker delivers bold color that blends with ease to create any look from smoky eyes, graphic lines and everything in between, said the company. The cream is safe for the waterline while offering sweat and transfer-proof longevity. The collection of “silky, weightless creams” is available in eight shades delivering matte and metallic payoff.

Anastasia Beverly Hills has bulked up its cosmetics portfolio with Glidr Shadow Sticks—a creamy blendable formula that effortlessly glides onto the eyelid, delivering water-resistant, smudge-proof color that lasts up to 12 hours, according to the company. Designed for minimal effort and maximum impact, each shade offers smudge-proof, water-resistant wear that lasts up to 12 hours, it added. The line features 25 shades including matte, metallic and shimmer finishes.

The ColourPop Brow Boss franchise has two new launches—Brow Boss 24Hr Lifting Brow Gel and Brow Boss Pencil. The new Brow Boss 24Hr Lifting Brow Gel is a multi-use clear brow gel that is said to be flake-proof. It is infused with rosemary extract to support growth. The Brow Boss Pencil was reformulated to now include a “creamier glide, richer payoff and a reinforced precision tip with a smooth retractable twist,” said ColourPop.

Armani also reformulated some makeup with the updated Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Foundation. Giorgio Armani’s iconic foundation, well known for its luminous glow and silky texture, has been reformulated after 25 years to deliver “new heights of radiance,” said the company.

The foundation is now enhanced with skincare ingredients that improve luminosity and firmness. The expanded range features 44 shades—18 of them are new—offering a more inclusive spectrum for every skin tone. New ultramarine and green pigments have been infused to create shades with an even more precise color match, said the company. Ultramarine pigments are designed to complement deeper skin tones, while green pigments are blended into medium, neutral and warm shades to brighten olive skin tones.

The Giorgio Armani Spring 2026 Show in Paris showcased models with “glowing skin and a soft, pastel eye look, according to Armani Beauty. 

“The makeup look for the Giorgio Armani Spring/Summer 2026 show is inspired by the exquisite colors of the collection: gem-like jade greens and dusty roses,” said Armani’s global makeup artist Hiromi Ueda. “Skin is polished and perfected. Eyes are adorned with soft green and warm peachy-pink and further embellished with champagne iridescence. Lips are tinted with a delicate wash of natural rose. The makeup complements the gilded, ornamental feel of the collection, and references the serenity evoked by jade.”

In the coverage category, Charlotte Tilbury is expanding its Airbrush family with the new Airbrush Flawless Blur Concealer. According to the company, the full-coverage, weightless formula is powered by Elastic-Stretch Technology. It targets eight problems in one: instantly airbrushing dark circles, blemishes, puffiness, texture, pigmentation, redness, pores and shadows away, it says. The line is available in 24 shades. 

Neutrogena’s Healthy Glow Blush Stick features mango butter to help strengthen the skin’s barrier and blends seamlessly into skin leaving a natural, satin finish. The shade range is suitable for all skin tones and includes Peachy Keen, Petal Pink, Rich Berry, Soft Mauve and Spiced Rose.

In fact, blush is everywhere—worn high on the cheeks, swept across the eyes and tapped onto lips. A complement to this trend is Maybelline’s Cloudtopia Cheek & Lip Blush Mousse Cloudtopia Cheek & Lip Blush Mousse. According to Maybelline, the “lightweight, cloud-soft mousse” blends seamlessly into any look. Cloudtopia’s “ultra-pigmented” formula lasts up to 14 hours and works as a 2-in-1 on cheeks and lips for a monochromatic look.

Kosas’ newest addition, Shiny Objects, is touted as a “first-of-its-kind wet-pressed powder highlighter gives a pure, skin-like glow without glitter or texture.” Shiny Objects is said to deliver the radiance of a liquid highlighter with the ease of a pressed powder. It is available in five shades. According to the brand, the silicone-free formula melts into skin, has zero fallout and won’t emphasize texture. It’s also clinically proven to improve smoothness—powered by antioxidant-rich passion fruit extract—and is safe for sensitive eyes and skin, Kosas asserts.

A Bright Future

The cosmetic pigments market is estimated to reach $960 million in sales by 2026, according to MarketsandMarkets. The global market for cosmetic pigments is driven primarily by the increasing demand for cosmetic products. 

Special effect pigments are a fast-growing segment of the cosmetic pigments market, noted the report. These are used in all types of cosmetic and personal care applications to add color, glitter, luster and shine. These pigments also help in enhancing skin tone. 

When it comes to eye looks, consumers are always looking to the next big trend to influence their purchasing decisions. Right now, the fastest growing eye makeup products, according to Spate’s new Popularity Index, are shimmer eyeshadow and brown mascara.

Shimmer eyeshadow isn’t new by any means—but its popularity is surging. The numbers tell the story: this trend has grown by 192.0% compared to last year and across platforms. TikTok owns this trend, with an 89.0% popularity share. 

On TikTok, shimmer eyeshadow views have grown by 211.3% compared to last year, averaging 6.5 million weekly views. Beauty is cyclical, so it is only a matter of time before the pendulum will swing back to matte too, the trend authority contends.

According to Spate, consumers aren’t just searching for traditional powder shadows; they’re interested in a variety of formats from palettes to liquids. Color preferences like pink shimmer and white shimmer are also emerging as key interests. 

A makeup version of florals for spring, brown mascara is the latest “groundbreaking” eye product, noted Spate in its report. Often overshadowed by black mascara, brown mascara has grown by 143.8% compared to last year, with Google Search leading the charge at 60.6% popularity share. 

Brands can differentiate themselves by positioning products as either affordable dupes or luxury alternatives. There’s growing interest in tubing formulas and waterproof options alongside brown mascara as well, said the report. 

According to Spate, both trends present opportunities for brands to consider transforming a bestseller into a new format or innovating multiple formats tailored to audiences to increase business in 2026.