The Biggest Beauty Trends From London Fashion Week
As the catwalks of London Fashion Week S/S25 unveiled the latest in fashion, it wasn’t just the garments stealing the spotlight. Beauty looks were equally showstopping, pushing boundaries and setting the tone for the coming months. This season, boldness reigned supreme, with eye-catching purples, daring haircuts, and gothic details shaping the aesthetic. The message? Beauty is about self-expression, individuality, and a touch of drama.
From vampiric nails to sleek fringes and high-shine lips, the trends embraced both minimalism and maximalism, allowing for endless personalisation. Iconic makeup artist Ruby Hammer MBE and leading hairstylist Jason Collier offered their expert insights into how these trends can work in everyday life. This season, beauty isn’t about playing it safe—it’s about embracing the unexpected, the bold, and the edgy.
Here’s a closer look at the key beauty trends that ruled the runway and how you can channel the high-fashion energy from London’s iconic week into your everyday style and get the look.
Bold Purple Makeup
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Bold Purple Makeup 〰️
Makeup by @sofiatilbury for @harris_reed S/S 25
Purple dominated the runway, offering a vibrant, playful twist on classic looks. Whether in soft lilacs or deep, rich plums, purple was a versatile player in the beauty looks this season. Designers embraced the colour’s ability to create both soft, ethereal vibes and bold, dramatic effects. Many models sported monochromatic purple eyeshadows, blending different shades of the hue to create depth and dimension. The use of metallic purples added a futuristic edge, perfect for evening glamour, while matte lavenders offered a fresh and wearable day look
For those not ready to commit fully, makeup artist Ruby Hammer MBE suggests starting small: “If you aren’t quite ready for a full-on purple smokey eye, pay a nod to the trend by using an accent of the shade. Applied just to the outer corner of the eyes in a V shape, it will lift your look without feeling overpowering.” This versatile shade can be as subtle or as striking as you like, making it accessible to all.
Huda Beauty Cheeky Tint Blush Stick in Baddie Berry
This is a creamy, buildable blush that delivers a natural-looking flush of color with a dewy glow. The medium-dark berry shade has cool undertones and provides a subtle, satiny sheen that dries down to a matte finish while still retaining some luminosity. Infused with lychee extract and vitamin E, it hydrates the skin for up to nine hours, making it ideal for a long-lasting, fresh-faced look.
Available at Huda Beauty for £23.
Arooba Extrovert Visionnaire Signature Eyeshadow Dips
A bold and vibrant palette designed for those who love fearless self-expression through makeup. Each shade is carefully curated to deliver high-impact color while nourishing the skin, as the formula is infused with skincare ingredients like jojoba oil, passionflower oil, and vitamin E.
Available at Arooba Beauty for £60.
Heavy Blacks
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Heavy Blacks 〰️
Makeup by @lynseyalexander for @tovestudio
Eyeliner was a major feature this season, particularly in deep, dramatic blacks. Whether it was smudged around the eyes for a grungy, lived-in look or crafted into sharp, graphic wings, black eyeliner was used to enhance and define the eyes in striking ways. Makeup artists favoured everything from soft, smudged lines to more structured, precise designs, allowing for a variety of interpretations.
Ruby Hammer advises enhancing eyes for maximum impact: “For Eyes That Pop 'til You Drop, nothing enhances like eyeliner. For a subtle look, tight line the eyes or sketch out a more graphic wing before going over with a liquid liner for a more dramatic effect.” The classic smokey eye also made a comeback, with Hammer recommending combining blacks with deep jewel tones for a modern update: “Smokey eyes don’t just have to be black or grey, grab a deep jewel like purple and apply over your darker smoke shade for a gorgeous pop of colour.”
Huda Beauty Creamy Kohl Longwear Eye Pencil
The Huda Beauty Creamy Kohl Longwear Eye Pencil is a versatile, highly pigmented kohl eyeliner designed for precision and long-lasting wear. Its creamy, gel-like texture allows it to glide effortlessly, making it easy to apply without tugging. It offers up to 24-hour smudge-proof, waterproof, and transfer-resistant coverage, making it ideal for tightlining, smoky eyes, or graphic lines.
Available at Huda Beauty in two shades for £19.
Ruby Hammer Precision Eye Pencil
The ultra-fine 1.7mm tip in this eye pencil provides precise application, making it perfect for intense looks like tightlining or creating dramatic lash lines. The pencil glides smoothly with its soft, creamy formula, delivering rich, deep black pigment that enhances any heavy makeup look. For a bolder, smoky eye, you can build up the line or smudge it slightly for a more diffused effect.
Available at Ruby Hammer for £18.
Flawless Base
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Flawless Base 〰️
@terrybarberonbeauty for @richardquinn SS25
This season saw a return to impeccable, flawless skin as the canvas for every bold beauty look. The flawless base was not about heavy contouring but a natural, radiant finish. Dewy skin with minimal texture, achieved through expert blending and skin-like foundations, allowed other elements like bold eyes and lips to take centre stage. Makeup artists focused on fresh, hydrated skin, applying sheer foundation and concealers to create an even tone while enhancing natural features. The key to this trend is skincare prep—plenty of hydration and a great primer to ensure your skin glows all day long.
To achieve this look, makeup artists used lightweight, skin-like foundations that even out skin tone without looking heavy. Radiant finishes were favoured, often applied with sheer layers to give a lit-from-within glow. Luminous concealers played a crucial role in brightening the under-eye area and adding a soft, diffused look to the face. The goal was to highlight and reflect light naturally, rather than using harsh highlighters
By Terry Hyaluronic Serum Concealer
Infused with hyaluronic acid, this serum concealer hybrid hydrates the skin while providing buildable coverage that brightens, blurs imperfections, and reduces signs of fatigue. Its lightweight, creamy texture glides smoothly, making it ideal for concealing dark circles and fine lines without settling into creases. The finish is a luminous matte, offering a radiant yet natural look.
Available at By Terry in 12 shades for £39.
Kiko Milano My Beauty Secret Face Perfector
Available in Porcelain, Warm Almond or Hazelnut shade to create a canvas for the rest of your look, work with the cream to powder texture for a natural blurring effect. Easy to apply, it gives a radiant finish with a velvety-soft coverage and a “light as a cloud” texture for a flawless make-up look.
Available at Kiko Milano from 26 September for £18.99.
Micro Hair Styles
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Micro Hair Styles 〰️
Hair by @adamgarland__ for @erdem
Sleek, micro hair styles were everywhere, offering a sharp contrast to more voluminous trends of previous seasons. One of the standout looks was the closely-cropped pixie, which dominated the runways. These ultra-short cuts drew attention to facial features, highlighting the eyes and cheekbones while offering a clean, polished aesthetic. The precision of these styles, with their sharp edges and tight finishes, created a powerful contrast to the voluminous, loose hair trends seen in previous seasons.
The "micro mullet" also made an appearance, with shorter layers through the back and sides while maintaining some length on top for an edgy, modern vibe. Designers paired these cuts with high-shine textures, often using gel or pomade to create a smooth, almost wet look, perfect for bringing a touch of avant-garde edge to everyday styling
Wet Lips
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Wet Lips 〰️
Makeup by @mata_marielle for @ahluwalia
This high-shine look, reminiscent of early 2000s beauty, has evolved with a more modern, polished twist. Models flaunted lips that shimmered with gloss, from sheer neutrals to high-impact colours like bright reds and deep berries. The effect was plump, hydrated lips that exude a youthful glow, complementing everything from bold eye looks to minimalist, natural makeup.
The wet lips trend is all about maintenance. Ruby Hammer emphasises the importance of preparation: “For gorgeous glossy lips, the key is in the maintenance. Exfoliate gently and hydrate with a nourishing serum balm. Finesse the lip liner using a shade the same as or darker than your natural lip colour, then fill in with gloss or balm.” This high-shine look is glamorous yet understated, requiring regular touch-ups to keep lips looking their best throughout the day.
Sculpted by Aimee Line & Shine - Lipliner & Gloss Duo
This duo combines a creamy, easy-to-blend lip liner that defines and shapes the lips with a clear, scented gloss that delivers an ultra-shiny finish. The gloss is designed to moisturize your lips with nourishing ingredients like rosehip oil and shea butter, ensuring your lips stay hydrated while looking plump and reflective.
Available at Sculpted by Aimee for £17.
Ruby Hammer Lip Serum Balm
A hybrid between lip care and subtle color, this serum balm offers hydration with a glossy finish. Infused with nourishing ingredients like cannabis sativa seed oil, meadowfoam seed oil, and cocoa butter, it provides a soft, smoothing effect on the lips. Available in shades like Nude, Red, and FX (a pearly highlighter), the balm delivers a dewy, lightweight finish while enhancing lips without feeling sticky. Its twist-up format makes it convenient for on-the-go touch-ups.
Available at Ruby Hammer for £18.
Masculine Brows
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Masculine Brows 〰️
Makeup by @lynseyalexander for @jw_anderson
Brows made a bold return, with a distinct shift towards more masculine, structured shapes. The trend embraced strong, full brows, combed upward and outward for an untamed, natural look that balanced the softness of other makeup elements. At the JW Anderson show, lead makeup artist Lynsey Alexander explained the inspiration behind the look, describing it as “elegant, handsome beauty. This is a simple yet considered look—there is a toughness in the eyebrow which we're bushing up to make it bold and masculine, balanced by a feminine sweet pale pink lip.”
The masculine brow trend is about embracing a fuller, more natural shape, moving away from overly sculpted or precise arches. Brows were deliberately styled to appear thicker and less controlled, using brow gels and pencils to fill in sparse areas while maintaining a raw, bold texture. This rugged aesthetic added a toughness to otherwise soft or minimal makeup looks, creating an interesting juxtaposition between masculine and feminine elements
Merit Brow 1990
The MERIT Brow 1990 Sheer Gel Pencil is designed for precise, natural-looking brow definition with a soft, buildable finish. Its ultra-fine 0.9mm tip, one of the thinnest available, allows for smooth application without the stiff, harsh lines typical of other micro-pencils. The soft gel formula creates a shadow effect rather than hair-like strokes, making it easy for beginners and pros alike.
Available at Merit in 4 shades for £26.
Benefit Gimme Brow+ Volumizing Pencil
This pencil combines fibers and powder, which adhere to both skin and hair, helping to create depth, texture, and dimension, making it ideal for creating bold, masculine brow looks. It adds lightweight volume without looking overly drawn on, offering a natural but pronounced finish. Its buildable formula and natural finish make it easy to achieve a more rugged brow without it appearing overly stylized.
Available at Benefit for £26.
Bold Lips
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Bold Lips 〰️
Makeup by @dominic_mua for @roksandailincic
Bold, dark lips made a powerful statement at London Fashion Week, with rich shades like wine red, deep plum, and even near-black tones taking centre stage. These dramatic hues added a gothic edge to otherwise minimal looks, creating a striking contrast against flawless skin and subtle eye makeup.
The key to mastering this trend is precision—sharp lip lines and a flawless finish. Pair a dark lip with a subtle eye or dewy skin for a modern take on this vampy look. For extra depth, opt for a matte finish or layer with a gloss for added drama. This season, dark lips are the ultimate way to channel effortless glamour with a rebellious twist.
Mavala’s Lip-Shine Lipstick in 309 Babylon
This lipstick features a creamy, comfortable texture that glides smoothly over the lips, providing intense color and a glossy finish. Formulated with nourishing ingredients such as candelilla wax, shea butter, and aloe vera, it helps keep lips moisturized, making it particularly suitable for dry or sensitive lips.
Available in pharmacies nationwide for £18.
MACximal Silky Matte Lipstick in Smoked Purple
Perfect for creating a bold, statement lip. This shade, known for its deep, vampy purple hue with smoky undertones, offers intense pigment that makes it stand out in any look. The new MACximal formula enhances the traditional matte with a silky, smooth texture, making it more comfortable to wear while still delivering the dramatic, full coverage that bold lips require.
Available at Mac Cosmetics for £25.
Something Blue
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Something Blue 〰️
While traditionally associated with bold, editorial looks, this season's use of blue was surprisingly versatile, offering both subtle accents and striking, high-impact statements. Designers used shades of blue ranging from soft baby blues to bold cobalt and deep navy, making it one of the most adaptable trends of the week.
On the runway, blue was used to enhance the eyes in various forms. Some shows featured washes of pastel blue eyeshadow across the lids, offering a dreamy, ethereal quality that was delicate yet impactful. In contrast, other designers embraced vibrant, electric blue liners that added a graphic, modern twist to more classic looks. Makeup artists played with negative space, using blue to create floating liner or geometric shapes, adding an avant-garde touch to the beauty looks
The versatility of blue allowed for both bold statements and more understated, playful touches. For a more wearable version, try adding a blue eyeliner along the lower lash line or a light sweep of shadow on the lids. This trend is all about injecting a hint of cool sophistication into your look, giving a modern edge to otherwise neutral makeup.
Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Palette in Super Blue
This palette includes four shades: a deep navy matte, a bright metallic blue, a champagne gold, and a rich bronze. These shades allow you to create various eye looks, from subtle to bold, making it perfect for the trend's vibrant and daring aesthetic. For a striking blue smokey eye, use the navy shade in the crease and the metallic blue on the lid to make your eyes pop. The champagne and bronze shades can be used to soften the look or add depth and highlight.
Available at Charlotte Tilbury for £46.
Isamaya French Industrial Colour Pigments 2.0
This 14-shade palette features richly pigmented blues, including cobalt and navy tones that create bold, statement-making eye looks. The shimmering, velvet metallics and crystalline pearls can be applied dry for a soft sheen or wet to intensify the pigments, making them ideal for creating dramatic blue eye looks.
Available at Isamaya French for £95.
Bangs, Bangs, Bangs
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Bangs, Bangs, Bangs 〰️
Image by @bbpro_amyconway
Fringes were a key hairstyle across the board. Jason Collier, A-List stylist and Key Opinion Leader at Jerome Russell Bblonde, highlighted how versatile bangs are right now: “Fringes are all the rage right now, whether that's paired with a choppy bob cut or a long-layered hairstyle, everyone's eyeing up the fab fringe and considering the chop.” Collier also stressed the importance of consulting a professional before committing to the look, ensuring the style suits your face shape and lifestyle. For instance, “Round faces benefit from side-swept bangs or longer, wispy fringes that elongate the face, while square faces can be softened with layered, textured bangs.”
