A look back at the top make-up trends of 2022

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As 2023 is nearly upon us, we thought now would be a good time to look back on all of the make-up trends that took centre stage in 2022. We’ve seen some practical trends and some out-there ideas that we wished we gave a miss, but, all in all, this year has been full of make-up looks that have carried us through the seasons looking gorgeous as we go from daytime to nighttime. 

There are definitely some trends that we will be leaving in 2022- we won’t name names- but a lot of these tips and tricks have become a staple in how we do our everyday make-up and will continue to use them in 2023 (until something new comes up of course!).

Now, get ready to feel nostalgic and think, ‘Wow was that from THIS year?’, because honestly, we thought some of these trends were from a lot longer ago but let's not talk about it… Check out the list below and try to imagine what beauty trends 2023 has in store for us. 

Blusher, blusher and more blusher

Blusher has taken over make-up routines this year with it being seen as more important than contouring in most cases. Liquid blush in particular has been added to everyone's make-up bags. Forget just adding a bit of rouge to the apples of your cheeks though, 2022 saw make-up artists applying blush to the cheeks, across the nose, and up onto the temples to give a cute sunkissed look. We love it and will be carrying this on into 2023!

Bleached brows

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Kendall (@kendalljenner)

Kim K, Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, the list goes on… A lot of people have given this daring trend a go at risk of losing their eyebrow hairs from the chemicals but in a lot of instances it paid off. We may have given it a go, instantly regretted it and dyed our brows back brown before anyone saw… but we don't bleach and tell! We're going to leave this trend in 2022 but have loved it in more high-fashion settings.

Soft contour

Gone are the days of heavy contouring that you could see on someone's cheeks and forehead a great distance away, and instead, 'barely-there' contour, and make-up in general has taken over. Very light liquid contour or bronzer has become more popular as most people focus more on using blusher for a youthful, soft glam and rosy look.

Ice pop lips

This lip trend has carried through from summer right up into the winter months and we love it. It's simply subtle lip look created using a lip stain or gloss to make it seem as if you've just eaten an ice pop. Matte lips are usually a fan-favourite especially in autum/winter but this stain look is much less maintenance and more wearable everyday. 

‘Clean girl’ make-up

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Gigi Hadid (@gigihadid)

If you use TikTok, you've definitely seen the 'clean girl' make-up trend on your FYP. In summary, you use as little make-up as possible, mostly liquids so it doesn't look cake-y, to make it seem like you're not wearing anything at all. We like this look as it's much quicker to apply and matches more outfits as there's no bold eye or lip looks. We'll be glad to continue this trend into the New Year and beyond.

Bold eye colours

For a while, bright and bold eye looks were very popular, with everyone giving oranges and purples a go. This may have been outside of our comfort zone, but spending extra time on our eyes definitely made them pop and helped to jazz up an outfit. Using bright colours under the eye also became a trend and we were here for it, so let's see if we will see more of this next year.

Gems

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by FKA twigs (@fkatwigs)

As Y2K fashion came back in recent times, 90's beauty trends made their mark in 2022 with tooth gems and eye gems making a come back. Runways saw gems added around the eyes instead of just for festival looks, and we saw many influencers getting temporary gems added to their teeth to add some sparkle when they smile. Even though we didn't hop on this trend, we still think it's super cute!

Out-there eyeliner 

We'd rather not admit how many times we tried to give bold eyeliner looks a go and failed but it's the trying that counts, right? Drawing little designs at the edges of wings, adding double wings and colourful liner were just some of the eye looks we saw this year that we wish we had more artistic skills to master. Maybe next year?

Faux freckles 

Luckily, we've been blessed with a face full of freckles so didn't have to hop on the faux freckle trend but 2022 saw people drawing freckles with eyeliner or henna ink to achieve that youthful and sun-kissed look. We liked this trend as we saw more people embracing their natural freckles and others doing their best to fake it 'til they make it.

Dewy everything 

The dewy-look has been possibly the most popular trend of this year- with everybody being obsessed with Charlotte Tilbury's liquid skin tint, bronzer and blusher in particular. Skin illuminators and primers that have a glittery look have been applied to faces all over the world instead of a heavy matte foundation to make the skin almost look like glass. We're not going back to overly baking anytime soon and hope this trend lasts for another while.

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