Runway to Real Life: The Makeup & Skincare Trends Defining This Winter
Beauty in 2025 isn’t about reinvention, it’s about elevation. This season, backstage artists across Paris, Milan, London, and New York embraced a quieter, more intentional beauty language: skin that glows with lived-in radiance, lips painted like silk petals, and eyes defined not by drama but by precision.
Winter 2025/26 is the era of subtle statements, luxury made visible in the details. Below, Méduse decodes the five biggest trends shaping the season and shows you how to translate them from runway fantasy to real-world ritual.
1. Glass Skin 2.0: The Return of Hyper-Real Radiance
Seen at: Dior, Jil Sander, Coperni
This season, makeup artists pushed the “glass skin” aesthetic beyond mere dewiness, aiming for a glow that looks alive, not laminated. It’s all about subtle translucence: think luminosity that catches the light without revealing a hint of foundation.
Coperni: Runway Make Up
How to wear it: The secret lies in prep. Use a lightweight hydrating essence followed by a serum enriched with hyaluronic acid to create that luminous base. Then, choose a micro-fine tinted moisturizer that evens tone while keeping skin texture visible. Finish with a soft veil of cream highlighter tapped onto cheekbones and temples.
Méduse Picks:
Augustinus Bader The Serum (€345) backstage favourite for its immediate plumping effect.
Westman Atelier Vital Skincare Dew Foundation (€65) sheer coverage, maximum glow.
2. Precision Liner: The Quiet Power Eye
Seen at: Saint Laurent, Prada, Valentino
The era of smudged liner is fading. This winter’s eye statement is all about discipline: razor-sharp flicks, architectural wings, and negative-space cat eyes. It’s power dressing for your gaze refined, controlled, yet quietly commanding.
Saint Laurent
How to wear it: Anchor the look with a satin-matte base shadow in neutral taupe or soft black. Then, trace a slim, deliberate line using a felt-tip or gel liner, extending slightly beyond the outer corner. The key is restraint: the sharper and more minimal, the stronger the message.
Méduse Picks:
Tom Ford Eye Defining Pen (€65) a backstage staple for ultra-precise definition.
Pat McGrath Labs PermaGel Ultra Glide Eye Pencil (€32) for a softer, runway-inspired variation.
3. Petal-Stain Lips: A New Kind of Bold
Seen at: Chanel, Simone Rocha, Erdem
Red lips are back but not as you know them. This season’s iteration is less lacquered statement, more rose petal after rain. Makeup artists created soft-focus lips that look kissed-on and diffused, rather than painted on with precision.
Chanel EyeWear
How to wear it: Skip lip liner and apply your chosen colour with fingertips, tapping from the centre outwards. Pair with a soft balm underneath for a just-bitten texture, and avoid gloss, this trend is about tactile softness, not shine.
Méduse Picks:
Hermès Rouge Hermès Lipstick in Rouge Grenat (€70) the perfect blurred crimson.
Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil (€45) use as a base for a plumped, diffused finish.
4. Sculpted Minimalism: Skin as Structure
Seen at: Bottega Veneta, Ferragamo, Peter Do
Contouring hasn’t disappeared, it’s simply evolved. Gone are the obvious shadows and heavy bronzers of the 2010s. In their place: subtle structure, achieved through tonal layering and natural light play.
Bottega Veneta
How to wear it: Use a sheer sculpting stick one or two shades deeper than your skin tone and blend it seamlessly into moisturized skin. Add warmth with a cream blush on the apples and a touch of radiance on the high points. The effect? Cheekbones that whisper rather than shout.
Méduse Picks:
Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzing Cream (€55) for seamless definition.
Saie Dew Blush (€29) melts into skin for that “lit-from-within” flush.
5. Ritual Skin: The Pre-Makeup Obsession
Seen at: Victoria Beckham, Gucci, Balmain
The most important trend isn’t makeup at all, it’s the ritual before makeup. Artists this season spent more time on skin preparation than on pigment, proving that the future of beauty is skincare-first. Luxurious cleansing, layered hydration, and barrier-supporting treatments are now non-negotiable.
victoria Beckam
How to wear it: Invest in a three-step ritual: a nourishing cleanser, a targeted serum, and a rich-but-lightweight moisturizer. Massage techniques, cryo-tools, and LED masks are no longer optional; they’re part of the artistry.
Méduse Picks:
La Mer The Concentrate (€420) a backstage go-to for instant skin transformation.
Dr. Barbara Sturm Face Cream Rich (€170) locks in moisture without heaviness.
Méduse Verdict
Winter 2025/26 is the season beauty grows up. The trends dominating the runways are less about transformation and more about refinement skin that breathes, colour that speaks softly, and rituals that elevate the everyday into something transcendent. Makeup isn’t a mask anymore; it’s a celebration of what’s already there.
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