This article was originally published in the Make-up Trend Report. Receive your copy here
After years of skin care-first beauty, the focus is finally shifting to make-up. Expressive, more playful use of colour and the return of maximalist aesthetics are moving in, yet consumers are also bringing years of skin care knowledge to the table, and this is raising expectations in terms of the formulas and benefits they are required to provide.
In 2026, make-up is rebounding, and Europe is performing particularly well in sales of prestige products with growth of 6%, while the UK was up 10% during the first half of the year, according to Circana.
But it is the soaring sales of complexion-perfecting make-up that is behind this lift.
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Sales of prestige face make-up in Europe were up 9% in the first half of 2026, “driven by the skinification that continues to reshape make-up,” says Circana’s Director of Beauty for Europe, Mathilde Lion.
This is responsible for many of the product segments that are in growth, she adds, noting that concealers are up 10% in value terms, tinted moisturisers by 15%, and blush and bronzers have grown by 11% and 23% respectively in Europe.
In the US, there were double-digit gains in bronzers and blush too during the first half of 2026.
We are witnessing consumer excitement once again for complexion-perfecting make-up as brands release innovation that promises ‘your- skin-but-better’ finishes,” explains Lisa Payne, Head of Beauty at trend forecasting agency Stylus.
“Products straddling the line between skin care and make-up provide more comfortable wear as well as longer-term benefits are as far reaching as wrinkle-reduction, tapping into demand for hybridity and formulas that do more.”
Caia’s Dewy Drops Serum Concealer is a skin care-make-up hybrid
Take concealers, for example, a segment that is seeing innovations like Caia Dewy Drops Serum Concealer.
The formula instantly brightens, conceals and smooths the appearance of dark circles, redness and discolouration while being infused with a 5x hyaluronic acid complex, ferulic acid-linked peptide, niacinamide and vitamin C.
Caia Cosmetics’ Creative Director Emelie Sundesten tells Cosmetics Business that skin care-infused formulas have played a significant role in leading concealers to be one of the segments that outperforms overall make-up sales this year, “but perhaps more importantly, they have changed what consumers expect from a concealer.
“Coverage alone is no longer enough. People want a formula that performs like make-up but feels comfortable enough to wear all day, particularly around the eye area where dryness, texture and creasing can become very visible,” she adds.
“Ingredients that consumers already recognise from their skin care routines, such as hyaluronic acid, peptides or niacinamide, also make the product proposition easier to understand. But ultimately, the formula still needs to deliver as make-up.
“The most successful products are the ones where the skin care benefits improve the actual wearing experience: hydration, flexibility and a skin-like finish, rather than simply being an added ingredient claim.”
But it’s not just its transformation with skin care that is reviving the make-up category.
K-beauty is one of the forces bringing fresh interest to make-up
According to Suzanne Scott, Associate Global Beauty Director of SEEN Group, the driving force behind the renewed interest in make-up is Korean beauty.
“We have an entire generation of women now who have been brought into beauty and skin care via K-beauty skin care innovations and now that same audience is moving towards K-beauty make-up influences.
Here, the emphasis remains on skin but also subtle beautifying enhancements like making eyes look larger, dialling up a natural flush, and making lips look lusher and plumper. And like skin care, most of these come back to an almost sensorial obsession with texture, so plumpness, juiciness, smoothness.”
K-beauty is also bringing hero skin care ingredients into make-up, with the latest example being PDRN.
The return to maximalist make-up
But while skin care’s influence on make-up development is going nowhere, this is not to say that aesthetics will be confined to pared-back ‘clean girl’ looks.
On the contrary, a more playful shift towards maximalist make-up is making its return, with LookFantastic stating that “the A/W ’26 beauty consumer is moving away from prescriptive aesthetics and towards looks that feel authentic, individual and personal by embracing colour, texture and statement details.”
The online beauty retailer says that searches for brows are up by 25.3%, eyes +19.3% and lips +11.7%, signalling renewed appetite for the features that allow consumers to define and personalise their look.
Chanel’s new Coco Mademoiselle collection taps into the return of intensity in eyeshadow with Les 9 Ombres Eyeshadow Palette for “the new smoky eye”
Lip colour is even making a comeback. According to Circana, sales are up 4% across Europe in 2026, in sharp contrast to the past five years.
Nikki DeRoest, co-founder and CEO of skin-driven make-up brand Ciele, which recently launched Lip & Protect SPF 60+, a new range of SPF-infused lipsticks, says: “I think colour cosmetics is moving into this really exciting place where we’re seeing a return to make-up as self-expression, but with a much more thoughtful approach to formulation.
“For a while, the conversation was so focused on barely-there make-up and skin minimalism, and now I’m seeing people wanting to play again.
“Blush has become such an important way to shape and bring personality to the face, and I’m also seeing the return of a strong lip. Colour is becoming exciting again.”
At the same time, consumers will not want to give up everything they have learned about skin care to participate in colour creativity, she says.
“The next generation of colour cosmetics has to balance both. People want incredible payoff and formulas that feel elevated and artist-driven, but they’re also paying attention to how those products interact with their skin and what additional benefits they can provide.”
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Trend 1: Loose setting powders, reinvented
Powder is a word that struck fear into the hearts of beauty consumers for years after the ultra-matte make-up era of the 2010s.
The baking trend, which was particularly buzzy in 2015, involved applying setting powder loose powder in heavy layers to set concealer and foundation, but with the unwanted consequence
of emphasising fine lines and leaving a flat, dehydrated finish.
It is no wonder that the pendulum then swung the other way to favour dewy, glass skin and serum-style products.
But nothing has defined the 2020s more than trends that make old new again, and now, loose setting powder is making a comeback.
With beauty leaders Charlotte Tilbury and Dior launching completely new loose powder launches, this trend explores how brands are reinventing the category.
Trend 2: PDRN moves into make-up
PDRN has been the biggest breakout K-beauty skin care ingredient trend of 2026, but its next frontier is make-up.
Popular for its ability to support hydration, tissue repair and elasticity as well as supporting collagen synthesis and skin regeneration, PDRN (polydeoxyribonucleotide) has become the hero ingredient in a wave of recent skin care launches from K-beauty brands.
Beyond skin care, PDRN is showing up in sun care and hair care, but the category that is really starting to take off with PDRN-infused launches is colour cosmetics.
Melody Yuan, founder of K-beauty retailer Skin Cupid explains: “Ingredients traditionally associated with skin care are becoming important selling points in make-up. PDRN is particularly well positioned because it is associated with hydration, skin conditioning and skin rejuvenation narratives.”
Trend 3: Lip stains and tints
From hydrating, skin care-infused versions to peel-off lip lining stains, new products to tint the pout are dominating lip make-up launches as consumers opt for easy-to-apply, hardworking solutions.
The trend for tints and stains fits under what forecaster WGSN calls make-up essentialism, “where consumers are editing down their beauty routines in favour of fewer, higher-performing products,” says WGSN Beauty Strategist Megan Bang.
She explains that tints and stains serve slightly different needs. Tints feature “softer, buildable washes of colour,” while lip stains “prioritise longevity”.
But a new breed of tints and stains is breaking away from the ‘bleeding’ lip stains of old, combining lasting colour with hydration, effortless application, and a range of finishes.
Trend 4: Eyemaxxing
Every industry has tapped into the ‘maxxing’ suffix, it seems, and the beauty industry is no different.
From hairmaxxing and tanmaxxing to scentmaxxing, the latest obsession taking over social media and beauty feeds is eyemaxxing.
The technique uses colour theory to enhance natural eye colour, pairing eyes with complementary shades found opposite them on the colour wheel.
Blue eyes are intensified with warm oranges and coppers, green eyes with reds and burgundies, while hazel and brown eyes offer an even broader spectrum of complementary shades.
But while the technique itself is nothing new, its arrival in the beauty lexicon feels indicative of something bigger: this trend explores how it taps into the resurgence of maximalist glam in make-up.
Trend 5: Lip liners: new growth from filler fatigue
Modern formulas offering plumping and defining effects as a cheaper and less invasive alternative to lip fillers, are forging a new era of growth in the lip liner category.
Dollar sales of lip liners were up 34% for the 12 months ending in May 2026 in the US, according to Circana’s Complete Beauty data.
Talk around ‘filler fatigue’ has been gaining momentum, while the ‘halo lips’ aesthetic, which uses lip liner to create feathery, soft focus effect – to give the look of fuller lips without the need for injectable fillers – has been trending in 2026.
This trend explores how new launches are embracing the plumping, lifting and contouring effects of lip liners, with modern skin-focused formulas too.
