The Best Spring 2024 Beauty Trends, Straight From the Runway

Each fashion week, the most in-demand makeup and hair artists put their creative spin on designers’s runway collections. These next-level looks quickly become mainstream trends, inspiring and influencing beauty aficionados for months to come. New York Fashion Week spring 2024 was no different—from sculpted, sopping, slick ‘dos at Helmut Lang and Jason Wu to a modern update of ’90s minimalism at Proenza Schouler and Altuzarra, there were plenty of fresh looks to get into this season.

Below, we’ve curated a list of the top spring 2024 hair and makeup trends so far. Check back often as we’ll continue to add updates the rest of the month, direct from the fashion-capital catwalks of New York, London, Milan, and Paris.

Straight Edge

For Jason Wu’s spring-summer 2024 runway show, the much-in-demand editorial nail artist and beauty entrepreneur JinSoon chose a simple architectural design to play against the delicate deconstructed fabric in his collection. After shaping and filing each girl’s talons, she gave them a flash of basecoat, then drew a black vertical line on each one with a striping brush—varying the placement of the straight silhouettes from the right, center, or left. Next, using a small dotting tool, she dipped it into the same noir polish—her brand’s Absolute Black—to create create two dots on one nail, one dot on three nails, and left the rest alone with the minimal linear graphics for maximal impact. Lastly, she slapped on a matte top coat, JinSoon Matte Maker, for a modern finish.

At Helmut Lang, makeup artist Daniel Sallstrom crafted a killer gaze using a sharp liner in jet black, stark white, taxi-cab yellow or brilliant fuchsia while keeping the rest of the face bare and minimal. He first prepped skin with a hydrating serum, then used a sheer foundation to even out the complexion. He then layered MAC Acrylic Paint over MAC’s Chroma Cream Liner from the outside eye corner and dragging it straight out to give the punky look a bit of a PVC finish.

Makeup guru Diane Kendal, meanwhile, kept the eyes the main focal point while maintaining the skin’s dewiness with a hint of warm, bronze contour at Khaite’s spring 2024 show. She brushed the eyebrows up and filled them out so they were a little bit boyish—but kept them square at the base. Next, she applied mascara only at the root of lashes for a subtle effect. She then drew a very thin, straight line, about three-quarters out from underneath the arch of the eye for a striking linear effect.

Fit To Be Tied

For designer Peter Do’s debut at Helmut Lang, the hair wizard Jawara brought back that ’90s, grungy feel by using copious amounts of hair product for a greasy, slicked-back effect. For the models who sported unstudied, spiky bun knots, he prepped their locks with a thickening spray. Afterward, he blow-dried their hair to create some volume, then brushed it back back into a bun, securing it with an elastic tie and bobby pins while twisting strands into a knot with some pieces unsecured, for a slightly undone effect. He then wrapped stretchy jersey fabric—cut from the collection’s dresses at the crown—and tied it at the nape of the neck.

At Christian Siriano, hairstylist Lacy Redway conjured a corseted, braided bun to complement the sugar plum fairy confections that constituted the runway looks. Redway pulled two braids together, then wove in pink satin ribbon for a chic balletcore effect.

Control flyaways—as Redway did—without any unwanted stickiness by using an extra fine hair spray.

Bumble and bumble global artistic director Evanie Frausto integrated strips of fabric from Collina Strada’s runway designs into the models’ basketweave braids to add variation and color to their custom styles. To keep the overall effect piece-y, he used Bumble and bumble’s Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Finishing Spray and Sumo Liquid Wax + Finishing Spray.

Matthew Curtis, the lead hairstylist at Alice + Olivia, finished off his high ballroom buns with pearl or crystal-encrusted bobby pins, or wrapped a grosgrain ribbon into a bow to complete the look. Curtis used a flat iron to add some texture to the models’ manes and created a side part. He then divided the hair into two ponytails: one at the crown and one at the nape. Next, he rope-braided the two ponytails, slightly pulling them apart for a lightly undone finish, then pinned them together for a voluminous center bun, and added a playful accent.

Modern Minimalism

At Proenza Schouler, Diane Kendal did a no makeup-makeup look for a fresh effect. She used a light-coverage foundation with a little bit of concealer to smooth out the complexion. Then she applied a cream-based contour just underneath the cheekbone and added highlighter above it for a healthy glow. On the contour of the eyes, she gently pressed in a soft gray, cream-to-powder eyeshadow to add definition and dimension to the orbital area. She finished off the look with a dab of neutral lip oil for a hint of color.

Spreading Your Wings

At Victoria Beckham’s runway show, make-up artist Fara Homidi loaded the natural orbital fringes of the runway girls with Posh Spice’s new glam entry, her beauty line’s Vast Lash Mascara. Homidi then spaced out abbreviated strips of faux lashes at the far corner and center for some extra flair.

Coquettish flicks at the corners of the eyes reigned supreme at Dolce & Gabbana and paired well with the siren affair. A stroke of the brand’s Devotion Mascara Extreme Volume in Ultra Nero carried through the flirtatious gaze.

Designer LaQuan Smith is well-known for coming through with the sexy glamour. And nothing is sexier for Lancôme international make up artist Sheika Daley than gorgeous, flawless skin. Depending on the model’s skin type, she used Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24H Long Wear Matte Foundation for those who veered oily, or the Teint Idole Ultra Wear Care & Glow Foundation for those with more combo skin. She further enhanced their complexions by employing Lancôme’s new Teint Idole Ultra Wear Care & Glow Serum Concealer not only as dark spot corrector but also as a highlighter and contour.

After she was done perfecting the base, she focused on the eyes as a sensual focal point. With a crease brush, she added a smolder of silky hues from the Lancôme x Louvre Richelieu Wing palette. Bleached brows and precise swoops of raven liner on the upper and lower lash lines extending to a feline flourish further emphasized the sultriness.

Under the Sea

The legendary hairstylist Garren used surf spray to create mermaid-like locks at his longtime friend Anna Sui’s runway show. He wrapped a small wand around the strands and coiled the hair in large sections for loose, undulating waves—as if the models had just emerged from the ocean. Afterwards, he lightly pressed hair oil into the models’ manes to simulate a slightly damp, not saturated, wet luster with a glass-like finish.

At Jason Wu, Kendal carried out the designer’s sophisticated shipwreck theme by tapping lipgloss with her fingers onto the models’ eyelids and on the top of the cheeks. On select girls, she used a gray powder shadow on the contour of the eyes and underneath, topping it off with a bit more gloss for a worn-in, grungy effect. Hairstylist Jimmy Paul maintained the theme’s ebb and flow by side-parting the hair, soaking it with water, then going in section by section with copious amounts of gel to lock in the slickness. He also added a finger wave in the front to complete the distressed-in-eau coif. Lastly, aesthetician Sylwia Gorzkowska slathered body oil from head-to-toe to round out the just-dipped glam.

A daydreaming mermaid exploring the shores and collecting seashells was the inspiration behind the defining beauty looks at Sandy Liang. “Rhinestone barnacles” in the form of tiny diamanté sparkles dotted the face, hands, and nails, while hair was raked through with glistening oil and accented with flowers.

Pucker Up

For John Galliano’s latest artisanal oeuvre at Maison Margiela, McGrath’s renegade looks ranged from rogue elegance to cosmic madcap. What made the galactic frameworks especially captivating were the astral shades of silver, asteroid blue and blazing comet red that she used on the mannequins’ pouts that complemented their space-age specs and chromatic chapeaus fashioned out of laminated, garbage-like strips.

To create the spacey blue, McGrath lined lips with her line’s PermaGel Ultra Glide Eye Pencil in Blitz Blue and Xtreme Black. She then went in and created a multidimensional effect as well as highlighted the bow of the lips using the Blitz Blue and Astral White shades from her Mothership I: Subliminal Palette, in addition to the Neptunian Orchid and Noir Nebula tones in the Pat McGrath Labs Bijoux Brilliance Eyeshadow Palette: Lunar Nightshade.

Dior’s main makeup man Peter Philips beguiled us at the French house’s latest runway collection, with a bewitching lip that gave an edge to the models’ ethereal complexions and the messy, wet French twists crafted by the hair master Guido Palau. Dior Makeup’s creative and image director conjured the gothic aesthetic using the DiorShow on Stage Crayon in Black, an inky waterproof kohl that is usually reserved for the eyes, to accentuate the naturally lustful hue in the center of their pouts where their upper and lower lips meet. Next, he blended and smudged the color outwards with a Q-tip to the outer-most corners of the lips. Then, Philips selected rich pigments from the Rouge Dior Forever range—111 Forever Night, 500 Nude Soul, 626 Forever Famous, 720 Forever Icone, 825 Forever Unapologetic or 999 Forever Dior—that complemented the models’ natural hues to heighten the ombré witchy effect.

For a look that you can recreate at home that’s less intense and more wearable, Philips suggests using the Dior Contour Lip Liner in 943 Euphoric or in 959 Charnelle instead of a jet eye kohl.

Brisk, windy walks in the English countryside were the inspo for the beauty looks at Daniel Lee’s sophomore effort at Burberry. Models bore fresh faces with a whisper of a soft pink flush on their cheeks and on the tip of their nose. Lips were coated with either a sheer balm or a lush tinge of verdant-black for a more intense mood.

Swipe a balm over NYX’s inky-blue lipstick for a similar effect.

Gucci’s global color and makeup artist Thomas de Kluyver went for a head-to-toe illusion by matching lip tones with the patent berry-hued pieces in the collection. He topped the velvety Gucci Rosso Ancora rouge—specifically chosen by Sabato De Sarno, the Italian luxury brand’s new creative director—with Éclat de Beauté Effet Lumière gloss to pump up its juice.

Though Gucci Beauty’s Rosso Ancora shade isn’t available to purchase yet, the line’s Janie Scarlet hue makes for a close substitute.

A bold brown lip was the order of the day at Rachel Comey, courtesy of the makeup artist Romy Soleimani. “The makeup look was inspired by the work of Joan Jonas, and the focus is luxurious skin and brown as the new statement lip,” she said. The matte latte pouts served as a contrast to the models’s glowy skin, which Souleimani created by tapping Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Lip Oil into the high points of the cheeks and the inner corner of the eyes.

At Coach’s runway celebration of creative director Stuart Vevers’s 10-year anniversary, the grande dame of makeup artists, Pat McGrath, sent the models down the catwalk with sublime skin and luscious lips. Kissers were dabbed with a clear glossy balm or a rich ombré berry stain for a standout effect.

Undone Twist

The brilliant Guido Palau fashioned a messy, looped-through pony at Khaite that leaned into a downtown aesthetic with a tough, modern sensibility. He started by prepping strands with mousse to give hair hold while creating a touchable texture with a bit of edge, and then smoothed through a shine serum. Next, he pulled the hair halfway through using an elastic, but left the back hanging for an extra dose of cool. Lastly, he used hairpins to secure the shape, and spritzed it with a fine mist hairspray to lock in the style without any stiffness.