Perfection and the “clean girl” had a good run. Then came the era that BeautyMatter dubbed the “messy girl,” but where is beauty now?
Somewhere between the glitter-streaked tears of Euphoria, the Taylor Swift–approved chrome freckles of Fazit, and the high-impact glam of pop stars like Zara Larsson—with blown-out blush, “glass skin,” and hyper-glossed lips pushed to camera-ready extremes—beauty has quietly shifted away from the pursuit of polish and towards something far more intentional: visibility.
At this year’s Met Gala, the shift no longer felt like a digital trend cycle but rather an industry-wide inflection point, in which makeup moved beyond its traditional role as an enhancement and became central to a look's narrative. Faces were not simply refined but constructed, with graphic liner cutting across lids in sculptural shapes, chrome finishes catching light like reflective surfaces, and lashes extending into something closer to ornamentation than correction. Makeup, in this context, did not complete the look; it carried it.
For much of the 2020s, the beauty industry has been optimized around the idea of effortlessness. The rise of the “clean girl” aesthetic offered brands a clear and commercially viable framework: streamlined routines, skin-first messaging, neutral palettes, and the promise that the best makeup would look like nothing at all. It was aspirational, scalable, and above all, easy to market.
But in a content landscape that increasingly rewards distinction over conformity, that same model is beginning to show its limitations. Hyper-curated perfection, once synonymous with aspiration, now risks reading as repetitive and, more critically, as disconnected from the way consumers actually want to express themselves.
What journalist Jessica DeFino described in her 2026 trend predictions as “the rise of clowncore” offers a useful lens for understanding this shift. Rather than rejecting beauty outright, clowncore embraces exaggeration, visible artifice, and emotional expression, challenging the long-held assumption that beauty should appear seamless, natural, or invisible. In that context, maximalist makeup does not signal excess for its own sake but is rather a form of resistance to the pressure to look effortlessly perfect.
While the data clearly points to a resurgence of maximalism, the cultural context suggests something more nuanced. According to market research platform Spate, the search term “maximalist makeup” is up 96% year over year from 2025-2026 across platforms, yet consumer awareness remains relatively low outside of social media, as its popularity on Spate's tracking system remains shallow, with most of the traction coming from TikTok. This creates a dynamic that indicates the trend is still in a formative state rather than fully mainstreamed, and is more popular among TikTok’s core user base of Gen A and Gen Z.
“We’re witnessing a powerful resurgence of full glam, maximalist makeup looks trending across TikTok,” Emily Caine, Head of Beauty at TikTok Shop UK, told BeautyMatter. “What’s particularly interesting to see is the 'clean girl’ aesthetic stronghold in skincare routines, but now being paired with the fun, playful expression of full glam makeup.”
This distinction is critical. What is emerging now is not a return to the precision-led, highly structured glam of the mid-2010s, but a more fluid, intuitive version of maximalism. One that allows for imperfection, embraces experimentation, and prioritizes expression over technique.
Perhaps the most commercially significant shift is not the rise of maximalism itself, but this coexistence with minimalism. “Traditionally, beauty trends positioned ‘glam’ and ‘clean’ as opposing aesthetics,” Caine explained. “But our community has discovered you can absolutely embrace both.”
This hybrid behavior is already reshaping how consumers approach their routines. Skincare remains firmly rooted in function—barrier repair, inflammation management, long-term results—while makeup has become the space where creativity can take over. At a recent Beauty Crush Collective event, Frances Leonard, Senior Manager of Social Commerce UK + EMEA at Deciem, articulated this divide clearly, noting that while skincare is focused on calm and control, makeup is increasingly defined by expression and maximalism.
The result is a new kind of beauty logic: clinical below, creative above.
If maximalism is gaining traction, it is in part because it performs, both culturally and commercially. “Maximalist makeup has become a broader expression of identity and confidence,” added Caine. “It can be vulnerable and unfiltered, or loud and over the top.”
In an ecosystem where content is currency, subtlety often fails to translate, while visibility travels. Zara Larsson’s makeup, created by Sophia Sinot, offers a clear example of this dynamic in action, where blush is deliberately placed high and saturated across the cheekbone, skin is luminous to the point of reflection, and lips are overlined and glossed to catch light with every movement. The effect is not understated but engineered to be seen, shared, and remembered. Makeup, in this context, functions as both product and content architecture.
The role of TikTok in accelerating this shift cannot be overstated. As a platform built around visual immediacy, it inherently rewards boldness, experimentation, and recognizable aesthetics.
“As a visual-first platform, TikTok empowers both brands and creators to experiment creatively, push boundaries, and go bigger and bolder,” said Caine. “TikTok Shop's discovery-first model means users are constantly discovering new creators, techniques, and trends that suit their taste.”
With over 109.5 million posts under #Makeup and continued growth across tags like #Glam and #Maximalist, the platform has created an environment in which discovery outpaces adoption, allowing trends to feel culturally dominant even before they reach full commercial maturity.
If visibility is the driver, color is the mechanism. Where maximalism once relied on technique, contour, cut creases, and precision, its current iteration is increasingly defined by color as a form of communication. Not just what looks good, but what feels right.
“Color has always been one of beauty’s most powerful tools,” Naureen Mohammed, Director of CPG at Pinterest UK, told BeautyMatter. “In 2026, expressive makeup is taking center stage as consumers move away from minimalist beauty ideals and use color as emotional storytelling, signaling mood, identity, and intention through the shades they choose.”
This shift is reflected in the Pinterest Palette 2026, which highlights tones such as Persimmon, Wasabi, and Plum Noir, and leans less neutral, more directional, and firmly rooted in individuality. Crucially, the shift is not just visual, but behavioral.
“On Pinterest, people are moving from product-first inspiration to mood-first discovery,” Mohammed explained. “Users build boards and palettes around an aesthetic, save striking looks, and then adapt them, until they find a version that feels personal.”
For brands, this signals a fundamental repositioning of color within the product strategy. It is no longer enough to launch a shade. It has to exist within a narrative.
“Color lands best when it is built into the product experience and brand story, not added as a gimmick,” said Mohammed. “Prada Balm is a great example. Shades like Astral Pink use a pH-reactive formula that adapts on the lips to create a personalized rosy glow, making the color story feel experiential, scroll-stopping, and highly shareable.”
In an environment where discovery is driven by emotion and aesthetics rather than function alone, color becomes more than an attribute. It becomes the entry point.
“Limited editions and social-first launches can also be a smart, lower-risk way to test bolder shades,” Mohammed adds, “because color naturally creates conversation and can even become the heart of the campaign.”
If TikTok and Pinterest signaled the shift, the Met Gala confirmed it. Under the “Costume as Art” theme, Doja Cat leaned into exaggeration, pushing contour and shine to near-caricature levels, while Keke Palmer’s smudged, red eyeshadow blended into blush offered a counterpoint to precision glam. Meanwhile, Emma Chamberlain extended art-based maximalism from her face to her nails.
Across the carpet, makeup was less about refinement and more about interpretation, reinforcing its role as a central storytelling device rather than a finishing touch.
For MAC Cosmetics, this moment reflects a long-standing philosophy rather than a sudden pivot. “From the runways of the ’90s to our current Brand Ambassadors, we embody the bold and the bare and everything in between,” Chantel Miller, Global Director of Artistry Strategy at MAC Cosmetics, told BeautyMatter. “Beauty is not a ‘one size fits all’ recipe.”
The brand’s recent alignment with Chappell Roan makes that positioning explicit. Roan’s aesthetic leans fully into theatricality, with high-saturation pigment, exaggerated blush placement, and visible construction that sits somewhere between performance and parody. Through the lens of DeFino’s clowncore framework, this approach becomes less about shock value and more about transparency, a willingness to make the artifice of beauty visible, rather than conceal it.
While beauty has always moved in cycles, oscillating between minimalism and excess, this moment feels less like a reversal and more like an expansion. “We already see maximalist makeup as a lasting, evolving category within beauty,” says Caine. “It’s less about one aesthetic and more about the freedom to showcase different looks creatively.”
That freedom, more than any single trend, defines where beauty is heading. Maximalist makeup is not simply back. It has been redefined. Alongside the rise of messy beauty and the influence of clowncore, it reflects a broader cultural shift away from perfection and toward visibility, individuality, and emotional expression.
For an industry that has long relied on aspiration, the challenge now is not to define a singular ideal, but to support multiplicity. Because beauty is increasingly about looking effortless. It is about being seen.
