Every six months, the world’s major cities—from New York to Paris—send innovative beauty and fashion trends down their runways during fashion month. And, this fashion week, we’re looking at what’s going to be trending during spring-summer 2026, starting with the first stop: New York.
“During New York Fashion Week, the approach to beauty concepts is typically sleek and minimal,” lead hairstylist Lacy Redway tells ESSENCE. Last spring, for example, we saw quiet grunge, ultraviolet skin, and club kid hair.
But, this season, hair and makeup leads are expecting a transition into textures, more defined skin trends, and wearing beauty as an accessory. Below, New York’s leading artists predict what we can expect for spring-summer 2026.
Skin
“Skin is in and trending, and some recent faves are mannequin skin, cloud skin, [and] glass skin,” says director of artistry at MAC Cosmetics Romero Jennings, who will be reaching for products like the Hyper Real Serumizer, Strobe Cream, and Fix+ Hydrating Vitamin Mist this season. He predicts “skin remains central, complemented by references to futurism and 1990s trends, such as cold gray tones in new textures.”
The 1990s has long been a reference in beauty, especially now with skincare-first products—like skin tints and artistry masks—replacing heavy foundation and contour. But, it’s difficult to differentiate the trends: what separates glass skin from mannequin skin? What about cloud skin from ultraviolet skin? This season will give the answer.
Makeup
A couple weeks ago, makeup artist Pat McGrath predicted “blurfection” as the next beauty trend (which means the less pores the better). But, the truth is, makeup can help achieve a perfect, pore-free skin look just as much as skincare. Using blurring under eye powders and setting sprays, “you’ve brought the skin alive,” she said earlier this month.
In addition to using makeup to refine your skin’s appearance, “this season, makeup will serve as both an accessory and a vibe setter, with blush as one of the standout features,” adds Jennings. He says using a lightweight liquid blush adds color and structure to skin-centric looks, which he organically applies with his fingertips. To compliment the blush, “expect larger, organic eyeshadow shapes paired with muted lips and sculpted skin.”
And, despite red lips having a transseasonal moment—McGrath just launched her red lip-heavy Louis Vuitton La Beauté collection—and black lipstick trending last spring-summer, Jennings predicts lips will be much less prominent this time around. “The lip moment might be either barely there, mannequin-lips or high gloss patent shine,” he says. “The timing is perfect for it since many are looking to pare down and simplify makeup looks while celebrating DIY.”
Hair
For Black women, fashion week hair almost entirely consists of straight-back cornrows or short afros. But, with hair shows like Black Hair Reimagined showing the full extent of textured hair, Redway is looking forward to more dimension this season. “I hope to see many creative updos and short grunge-inspired cuts,” she says. “I think playful texture will have a moment backstage.”
To execute her looks, TRESemmé A-List Collection All-in-One Hair Style Primer, Workable Hairspray, and Lacquer Shine Spray will be the foundation of her hair kit backstage. As for what she doesn’t want to see? “I don’t love seeing trends that existed in the past spin the block and be renamed or reclaimed as if they never previously existed,” she says. “I think we have to start doing research on the origin stories of styles and whether they held significance to them in the past. If we expand on the ideas, we should always pay respect to the start.”