Bold makeup is in this party season

From sequin eyeliner to blue eyeshadow, bold makeup has made a comeback.

Sequined eyeliner at the most recent Chanel runway show in Paris. Picture: Getty Images

Of all the trends to take in from the most recent runway seasons in Paris and Milan, a relatively approachable one is that bold makeup is back. Think space age winged eye makeup and glitter lip liner. Meanwhile celebrities such as Where the Crawdads Sing’s Daisy Edgar-Jones have brought back the impossible – blue eyeshadow.

Easily approachable, mind, comes down to how one feels about a deeply pigmented eyeshadow or a bold lip after the enduring social media-invented “clean girl” trend; (dewy skin, minimal makeup) or the eternal “French girl” obsession, which in part is about possessing perfectly mussed hair and barely-there makeup. Harder to achieve is the nonchalance, especially when you’re trying so hard to get it.

Indeed, according to social media platform Pinterest’s trends for 2025, it’s out with neutral makeup and earthy tones, and in with high voltage, majorly saturated hues.

One key trend the platform predicts for 2025 will be “Aura Beauty”, which sounds like a swell thing to cultivate in a new year. Another is “Goddess Complex”, which is exactly as it sounds – think bronzed cheeks and molten eyeshadow.

It fits with the trickle-down effect, still, of shows such as Gen Z favourite Euphoria – which ended in 2022 and launched dozens of glittery and colourful makeup brands capitalising on the aesthetic of the show in its wake.

The Chanel holiday collection is appropriately colourful.

One prime example of bold makeup, and the kind that is ideal for party season, was the sequined eye makeup at the Chanel spring/summer 2025 show during Paris fashion week in October.

Models wore strips of sequins along the eyeliner in unequivocally party-ready fashion.

Valentina Li, one third of Chanel Beauty’s Cometes Collective – the trio of makeup artists tasked with creating the fashion house’s beauty collections – says she thinks people are more open to experimenting with makeup than ever.

It’s good timing, given the Chanel “holiday” collection this year includes such wonders as hot pink and orange eye shadow, deep plum lipstick and golden-flecked bronzer.

The launch fits with the luxury French maison’s reimagined approach to beauty following the departure of long-time creative director Lucia Pica. The Cometes Collective is intended to foster a community of emerging and eclectic beauty creatives to work across its creation of colour cosmetics and campaigns. First formed in 2022, the Cometes will eventually expand to include more members - and perspectives.

The Chanel makeup collection is about bold colours for the party season.

“Nowadays, people are definitely more open to colours and new things. Thanks to social media, everyone has a public platform to express themselves. And I like how makeup is such a good tool for this use,” Li says.

Her fellow Cometes member Ammy Drammeh agrees.

“I think people want to be included in the conversation. Social media (has) helped with voicing what the public is hungry for, and makeup has transcended to a form of self-expression beyond fashion sets, red carpets and traditional beauty,” she says.

Basically, the rules no longer apply.

Cecile Paravina, who works alongside Drammah and Li, says there’s something meditative to be found in applying makeup.

“I love how makeup celebrates beauty in its fleeting nature – it’s ephemeral, and that’s what makes it special.

“The act of applying makeup is grounding for me, almost like a meditation,” she says.

So if not Aura Beauty for 2025, or sequined eyeliner, then finding equilibrium in our makeup application seems an excellent option too. Blue eye shadow optional.