Louder than it looks

Four makeup trends shaping spring 2025

KARACHI:

There's a certain irony in the way beauty has moved this season. Where last year dazzled with gleam, gloss, and conspicuous shine, Spring 2025 arrives with something altogether quieter —a mood of restraint. Colour is dialled down, lashes are softened, and brows are nearly invisible. But don't mistake subtlety for simplicity. This season's impact lies in what's withheld.

Yes, there are nods to decades past - the '90s, the aughts — but nothing here is literal. These are references reworked through a modern lens: sharpened, softened, recontextualised.

Four trends in particular are leading this tonal shift. At first glance, they may seem understated. But each carries with it a point of view, a deliberate turn away from spectacle and toward something more distilled. This is not minimalism for its own sake; it's aesthetic clarity, executed with precision.

Concealer lips

We begin with perhaps the most divisive: the return of the concealer lip. Once synonymous with early-2000s faux pas and bathroom selfies in fluorescent lighting, the nude lip has re-entered the beauty conversation.

Today's take goes beyond a pale palette and aims for sculpted and strategic. A matte, foundation-toned mouth paired with luminous skin and feathered brows registers a quiet assertion without bordering erasure. The effect is nearly cinematic: serene, austere, yet strangely captivating. A second look is inevitable.

To jump on this trend, start by tapping a hydrating balm over the lips, then press in a cream concealer that matches your foundation. Use a fluffy brush to blur the edges. Think halo, not hard line. Set with a dusting of translucent powder.

If you're worried about looking washed out, add dimension with a soft contour or brushed-up brows. And always balance a bare lip with skin that looks lit from within - not shiny, but subtly alive.

Brown mascara

If black mascara is declarative, brown is contemplative. After years of lash drama — serums, falsies, filters - a shift is underway. Brown mascara is emerging as the It-girl's ultimate rebellion: softer, less performative, and yet far from invisible.

There's intimacy to a chestnut lash that black can't match. It draws the eye closer, frames the face with an almost painterly gentleness. Think less about volume and more about intention, with the much-needed reminder that you need not retreat from beauty when you can rewrite the terms of visibility.

To achieve this effect, choose a warm-toned brown for a barely-there daytime lift or go deeper with a near-espresso for more depth. Apply one clean coat, starting at the root, and comb through with a lash separator to avoid clumps.

Pair brown mascara with a taupe or sienna-toned eyeliner for a softly sculpted gaze. Want more lift? Curl your lashes beforehand and skip heavy eyeshadow. Let the texture speak for itself.

Muted brows

When Jenna Ortega arrived at CinemaCon on April 1, clad in razor-sharp Versace, the internet noted the tailoring. But those paying attention clocked something more subtle: her brows. Lightened to the edge of visibility - not quite bleached, but close - they softened the entire face, throwing focus onto bone structure and expression.

The effect was spectral, deliberate. Not Gaga-level theatricality, but a kind of soft-focus erasure that nods to '90s minimalism without quoting it outright. Ortega's makeup - bronzed lids, toasty blush, brushed lip - balanced sultriness with restraint. Her hair, burgundy and pin-straight, made the case for total look cohesion.

But you don't need to reach for the bleach just yet. Instead, opt for a tinted brow gel a few shades lighter than your natural colour. Brush brows upward and outward, then pat a touch of concealer over the tail for a blurred edge.

This look is all about balance. Lightened brows pair beautifully with sculpted cheekbones, soft eyeliner, and warm-toned blush. Avoid overly structured eye makeup; it throws off the softness.

Neon eyes

Florence Pugh doesn't shy away from a statement, but her choices are rarely without intent. At a recent London screening of Thunderbolts, she turned heads in a striking red-orange eyeshadow that swept across her lids in a bold, angular arc. The look struck a balance between pop-art precision and runway polish, reminiscent of anime aesthetics and Alexander Wang's structured minimalism.

What kept the look refined was its restraint. Her skin was bronzed and matte, the lips a soft rose, mascara barely perceptible. Hairstylist Hyungsun Ju completed the ensemble with a sleek, wet-look bob, its ends subtly flicked outward to sharpen the silhouette without overwhelming it.

And this is the principle to hold onto as you apply a matte neon shadow using a dense flat brush. Press the pigment across the lid before softening the edges with a clean blending brush. Keep the shape graphic: a wing, a swipe, or a floating crease line. Avoid shimmer for a more contemporary finish.

Let the eyes lead. Pair bold shadow with understated skin and neutral tones elsewhere on the face. A well-matched base and a muted lip give the look space to breathe. Don't skip primer for neon pigments require a solid base to maintain their intensity.