The Top Beauty Trends for Spring 2016

We all have our go-to looks. Some have mastered the perfect blow out, others like to flash meticulously manicured fingers, while a few have come to rule a signature lip hue. It’s good to have hair and beauty comfort zones, but 2016 really beckons us to step out from behind our beauty shields. With 1970s everything dominating the retail landscape, you might find your usual hair and beauty habits aren’t translating as well as they could against 2016’s bombardment of retro color and texture. While updating your hair and makeup to suit runway trends is terrifying to some (Ahhh!! Bangs and bronzer stay back!), there are ways to morph the throwbacks into something that’s modern, interesting, and slick. And that’s where the fun begins—2016 is about rejuvenating the Woodstock stuff, not mimicking it braid for braid.

So if you’re feeling a bit vanilla trotting along on the same morning hair and makeup routine, these ideas could just save you. Peace out.

Dramatic Dolly Eyes

You’re going to need a steady hand for this one. Statement eye makeup in 2016 is bold, theatrical and at times just plain extreme. Referencing both punk and Twiggy-esque glamour, black is back as a major trend for peepers in 2016.

Runway to everyday: Focus on either a clean graphic line in the corner of the eye, or a slightly messier smudge of shadow across the top of your eyelid. Strip everything else back, defining eyebrows only slightly, choosing a natural, dewy finish for skin and add a faint stain of blush across cheeks and lips. To amp up the volume for evening, a few well placed feather lashes on a clean face will really make eyes pop.

I-Don’t-Care Hair

If you’ve never really bonded with your hair dryer, now’s the time to give it the boot. Natural texture will rule 2016, so you can let your curls, waves or ringlets have their way.

Runway to everyday: Opt for products that will assist your hair to air dry, providing some control while allowing the natural texture to take center stage. Try sea salt sprays, mousse, serums and hairspray. If your hair is on the finer side, experiment with drying damp hair in braids or a bun to help boost movement.

Just-So Brows

Strong eyebrows have come to define modern beauty in the last few years, and perfectly framed faces still rule in 2016. While really OTT brows were always more of a runway favorite than an everyday look, backstage beauty looks have recently shown a slightly more low-key approach to brows. They’re still structured and edgy, but not necessarily overdone.

Runway to everyday: Try using an eyeshadow in a shade on-par, or slightly darker than your brow color, instead of a brow pencil. Use an angled brow brush to lightly sweep color into sparse areas, starting from the bottom arch and using upward strokes to fill and define your natural shape. Give the tweezing a miss as well—2016’s au naturel hair trend extends into the beauty space with bushier brows that will allow for more than a few stray hairs.

Bust Out the Luster

The upsurge in Bowie fever, combined with fashion’s existing disco fascination, created a sort of glitter bomb that exploded all over editorial in early 2016. Basically the attitude is, if it ain’t sparkly, I don’t want to know about it. Fair enough.

Runway to everyday: While this might remind you of your 16-year-old self’s approach to glamour, don’t be afraid of bringing back a little fairy dust. To get your shimmer on without resembling a Christmas tree, keep it either light and sparse, or go denser and restrain it to a small area—say the outer or inner corner of the eye. If you’re game to get into this trend, experiment with different formula weights, from powdery and translucent to chunkier, slightly gritty granules.

Terrific Talons

Got some time on your hands? You’re going to need it, literally, as the best place to hang out in 2016 is at the nail bar. Manicures are getting longer and fiercer by the second, while nude and french polishes are almost foreign concepts in the beauty world now.

Runway to everyday: There’s no holding back when it comes to pairing length with wacky designs, but to make the look more wearable, try decorating just one or two of your nails while keeping the rest a solid color. Autumn this year saw deep reds, mulberry and black dominating nail shades, but lightening things up with pale blues, stark white and mint for summer will take some of the edge off.