The Top 10 Beauty Trends From New York Fashion Week F/W 26

I’d legitimately sell my soul for some sunny, balmy weather right now (Punxsutawney Phil, you’re in the doghouse), but dare I say I’m already eager for some fall beauty? Blame the breathtaking crop of hair, makeup, and nail looks at New York Fashion Week, where designers paired their rustic yet polished and “artfully askew” fall/winter collections with runway glam that subverts expectations. From the deconstructed lips at Proenza Schouler to the unexpected splashes of color at TWP, Michael Kors, and Carolina Herrera, it’s clear that beauty this year will be playful, bold, and anything but perfect. I, for one, am fully ready for it.

While the collections themselves won’t be available until fall rolls around, you can get a running start on the beauty trends poised to shape the months ahead—and trust me, they sure will. Consider the baby-doll beauty trend we saw this past autumn, which initially debuted on the Marc Jacobs, Thom Browne, and Christian Cowan runways last year, or models’ bold fringe at the Anna Sui and Christopher John Rogers F/W 25 shows, which sparked a bevy of bang trends. We can expect a similar trickle-down effect from the 10 looks below, so scroll on to get acquainted.

When it comes to hair trends, we can expect voluminous, intricate updos to make way for lower, looser twists. Consider models at Proenza Schouler, who donned “quiet” ponytails down the runway, or the next-day knots seen at LoveShackFancy. “It’s a little more romantic. It’s softer, a little more lived-in,” celebrity hairstylist Brent Lawler says backstage regarding the latter. “[Like] she loves to party, but she also loves poetry.” Even braids this season followed a similar, simple fashion—like at Tory Burch, where simple plaits hung close to the nape of the neck.

I can’t even begin to count how many bottom-eyeliner looks we saw this season. From the crisp strokes at Ashlyn and Christian Cowan to the feline lines at Sergio Hudson to the smoked-out wings at Tory Burch, it’s clear that this fall, we’ll all go heavy on the kohl pencil. It’s arguably the easiest way to add a bold statement, as tracing your bottom waterline requires a lot less effort than, say, a razor-sharp wing. It’s also gloriously retro, giving ’60s Sophia Loren (as seen at Sergio Hudson) or ’90s grunge (like the edgy looks at Ashlyn), depending on your technique.

Remember when we predicted that hair “clothing” details would take the main stage during fashion week? Well, consider us trend fortune tellers because hairstyles have officially become accessories in their own right. This couldn’t be more evident than in Evanie Frausto’s first fashion collection, Showpony—a line of “wearable hair” using materials recycled from his work as a celebrity hairstylist. You might not don a full-body wig like the models on his debut runway, but you can select outerwear that closely matches the color and texture of your own strands, as if your tresses were cascading into one continuous silhouette. If you can’t tell where your hair ends and your outfit begins, you’re doing it right.