Beauty Trends We Caught On The AW23 Runway

Looking for a change come autumn? Maybe it’s time to update your beauty routine. Here, we round up the most exciting beauty trends coming up this season, as told by the AW23 runway.

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The Biggest Beauty Trends For AW23

Beauty is bigger and bolder than ever this season, with a huge emphasis on vibrancy, drama and performance. Whether you prefer a pop of colour or a monochromatic palette, a graphic makeup look or a fresh face, there’s something for everyone to try. Below, we outline some of the biggest beauty trends for AW23:

Top Trends at a Glance

1. Gothic Glamour
2. Bleached Brows
3. Colour Pop
4. Bold Liners
5. Gold Dust
6. Hairy Situation
7. Red Lip
8. Fresh Faces

1. Gothic Glamour

With Gothcore out in full force, models strutted the runway in black lace, leather and sweeping ballgowns – so, naturally, hair and makeup had to follow the trend too. Think a bold, black lip paired with beauty spots and dark, brushed-out brows, as well as smokey eye shadow verging on a more grungy effect. When it came to hair, designers sent their models out with dark, free-flowing locks either laying naturally around the shoulders or slicked back for a more polished look.

(L to R) Mark Fast AW23, Bora Aksu AW23, Munthe AW23

2. Bleached Brows

One of 2023’s most derisive beauty trends, bleached brows also made an appearance on the runway this season. While most commonly paired up with a clean face and matching bright blonde hair, these white-gold brows also came to life when contrasted against dark hair (most notably at the Gucci AW23 show, where for one model bleached brows peeked between sunglasses and crimson hair) and bold makeup.

(L to R) Stella McCartney AW23, Paul & Joe AW23

3. Colour Pop

Some designers this season ditched black and white completely, however, and instead opted for vibrant splashes of colour on the eyes and lips. Colours typically contrasted with the clothing, creating that fun ‘pop’ that helped both garments and makeup stand out. Some of the most common colours we noticed were purple, blue and yellow.

(Clockwise) Richard Quinn AW23, Helmsted AW23 (photo: Tine Beck), GANNI (photo: James Cochrane)

4. Bold Liners

Much of this colour was channelled into graphic liner, shaped into sweeping curves, jagged lines and soft illustrations. GANNI took this one step further with the addition of glitter, dusted around the eyes in patches of colour to create a rainbow effect.

(L to R) Clockwise: GANNI AW23 (photo: James Cochrane), RIXO AW23, Carolina Herrera FW23, Yuhan Wang AW23 | Paul & Joe AW23

5. Gold Dust

Fashion’s move towards metallics was also replicated in eye shadows, liners and hair oils – but where designers played multiple coloured surfaces and textures, beauty stuck to its golden hour. Glittering hold on the runway, models walked decked out in the precious metal from head to toe, topped off with a shimmering gold dust decorating their eyes, cheeks and hair.

(L to R) Harris Reed AW23, RIXO AW23

6. Hairy Situation

A slightly more bizarre trend to take over fashion month was the incorporation of hair pieces. Moulded into sculptural shapes, draped in a curtain over the face and applied to the eyes and cheeks, many models found themselves in quite the hairy situation on the catwalk. This is not the most practical beauty trend to come out of AW23, but it’s certainly one of the most eye-catching…

(L to R) Simone Rocha AW23 (photo: Daniel Sims), P.L.N AW23 (photo: Tonya Matyu)

7. Red Lip

As for the classics, the AW23 runway showed us that a bold, red lip never goes out of style. With becoming the dominant colour for many collections this season, designers who took to column dressing (putting models in an outfit made up of entirely one colour) chose to extend the scarlet takeover with a pop of red on the face. The best place for it? The lips, of course.

Eudon Choi AW23 (photo: Jason Lloyd Evans/Stefan Knauer/Hiro Ohara)

8. Fresh Faces

And while many designers did push the boat out when it came to partnering their designs with artsy hair and makeup, many stuck to a ‘less is more’ approach. The focus here was on dewy skin, lightly flushed cheeks and a glossy lip, with hair pushed back from the face to show off the neck and chest – leaving more space to show off the garments below.

Molly Goddard AW23 (photo: Jason Lloyd Evans)

Featured image: Ganni Backstage At CPHFW AW23 (c) Tonya Matyu