Bold & Wild: Summer 2017 Makeup Trends

Last year was the year of natural and subtle makeup. This year's summer trends, however, are coming in with a bang! It's the year of boldness and creativity.

Color took the central stage during many of the global Fashion Week events last year. The bright red lips, the sparkling eyes and the bold cheek colors were there to impress, striking a huge difference from last year’s toned-down tendencies. This year, it’s all about ditching the “I-must-follow attitude” and concentrating on actually having fun with what you’ve got.

Without further ado, here are the top makeup trends for this summer.

Daring Blush

During Paris Fashion Week last year, Kenzo went extra wild with the blush, and this is something we’ve already seen around Tokyo’s streets — and globally, too. For this trend, take out you blush brush and have fun with it. The traditional — blush only on the apples of your cheeks — is over. Stretch it further with a nice fade into your temples and make sure to go bold with the colors. To make your cheekbones pop even more, don’t forget the highlighter — it gives a nice glow. 

Japanese lolita Rumina (@lunadzuki) on the street in Harajuku wearing a Chinese collar corset dress from Atelier Creme Brulee with Metamorphose temps de fille platforms and accessories from Alice And The Pirates, A Closet of Alice, and Route 9.

A post shared by Harajuku Japan (@tokyofashion) on Jun 15, 2017 at 8:31am PDT

Recommended products: Canmake Cream Blush (¥580) combined with their Matte & Crystal Blush (¥650). Buy at all local drugstores and cosmetic stores.

Bold Lips

This year’s trend moves a step further from the signature Taylor Swift red lips, with different vivid colors equally dominating the stage —  electric orange, purple-gray, peach and fuchsia are only several of the many on this year’s list. Rather than matte lips, try semi-matte or glossy lips, investing in a nice gloss, such as Mac’s lip gloss and Mac’s dazzle-glass. If you feel intrigued by this trend and feel like going that extra mile, go for an ombre lip as Jason Wu did for Fashion Week.  

Recommended products: Mac Lipstick Fruit Juicy (¥3,456), Kate Color Wrapping Rouge (¥1,400), Shiseido Lacquer Gloss  (¥3,000). Buy at Shiseido stores, Don Quijote and local drugstores.

Extra Glow

The glow is always a must even when doing semi-full face or full-face makeup. Not only does it make you look fresher and radiant (as if you’ve just returned from a relaxing vacation), but it also pops out your features. This season, don’t just stick to the traditional beige or white, but mix it with a nice hit of color, such as purple or other iridescent tones, and “glow to the gods” — like Rupaul would say. (Yaaasss Queen!) You could also go for a metallic look, highlighting the inner corners of your eyes with a metallic liner.

Recommended products: Excel Shiny Powder (¥1,944), Makeup Revolution Ultra Pro Glow (¥1,414). Buy at Alta, Don Quijote and local drugstores.

Pop of Color

The most exciting trend this year is definitely the “pop of color” look. While 2016 went for the natural look, only presenting earthy colors, during Fashion Week in Paris, brands like Jill Stuart, Victoria Beckham, Anna Sui, Marc Jacobs, and Top Shop Unique, surprised us with different shades of yellow, purple, pinks and more. The palette range was huge.

This year’s makeup trends have taken a bolder approach, giving us a chance to experiment with more unique styles. For this trend there’s no limit — do one color, two, or even more, and just spread it across your lids. The designer Tadashi Shoji even went for a glossy topcoat on the eyelids, and you gotta agree, glossy lids have never looked this good.

Recommended products: Makeup Revolution Ultimate Eyeshadow Collection 2017 (¥2,830), Majolica Majorca Open Your Eyes single shadows (¥850). Buy at Lumine, Don Quijote, Alta.

Smudged & Smoked Eyes

Eyeliners can certainly be a struggle to apply, but this year we’ve got a solution: rather than having your eyeliner being on point, make it smudged and smoked. In other words, it’s okay to be imperfect. For this trend you don’t have to necessarily stick to the classy colors like black, grey or brown. Go for a more varied palette, because the whole point of this trend is to do the smudged and smoky effect. Trace the waterline and smudge it, or smoke out the lid — or even do both. 

Recommended products: Kate Gel Eyeliner N (¥1,500), Lancome Ombre Hypnose Stylo (¥3,800). Buy at Don Quijote, local drugstores & Lancome (Isetan)

Glitter

Last year the world acknowledged the importance of some small traces of glitter, but most brands were still rather cautious. Well, things change fast in this field. This year glitter is here to stay, at least for another season. The fun part of this trend is that it’s not limited to the lids this time — we see it on eyebrows, lips, cheeks and other facial parts.

And did you know that it was nothing but anime that inspired makeup artists to apply glitter on the lips? They were striving for the anime girly look, proving that once again Japan’s subculture delivers new trends to the international stage. Surprised?!

Recommended products: L.A Splash Glitter Liner (¥980), K-Palette Glitter Liner (¥1,026). Buy at Don Quijote, Alta & local drugstores.

What Summer 2017 trends are you trying out? Share in the comments!   

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