If you think pastel makeup looks only work in the springtime, think again. Yes, pastel makeup looks full of colors like baby blues, lilacs, and whitewashed pinks can lean soft and feminine—which we love—but they can also be playful or incredibly edgy. Exhibits A and B: Dua Lipa and Maude Apatow (more on them below).
Ready to expand your pastel makeup horizons? We pulled 16 of our favorite celebrity pastel makeup looks that work 365 days a year. Keep scrolling and get ready to screenshot. Trust us, you’ll want to add these pastel makeup looks to your glam inspo Pinterest board immediately.
1. Baby Blue Liner
Not quite ready to jump head-first into the pastel makeup look deep end? Camila Mendes’s baby blue cat-eye liner is like dipping your toe into the pastel makeup waters to test the temp. To recreate the sharp, precise lines, we recommend using a liquid liner. If you’re intimidated by liquid eyeliner, just remember, a Q-Tip and some makeup remover are your best friends. Just take it slow—you got this!
2. Watercolor
On the complete opposite end of the pastel eye makeup look spectrum lives Maude Apatow’s pastel watercolor work of art. The theme behind her look: more is more. Load up on all of the pastel colors, layering them across both your lids and lash lines for an epic eyeshadow look that belongs in a museum. Don’t worry about traditional eyeliner in this case—let the shadow be the star of the show—but add a few coats of volumizing mascara to get that definition. We love CHELLA Good Drama Mascara.
3. Minty Highlight
Chances are you’ve heard of an inner corner highlight. In our opinion, no eyeshadow look is complete without it. But have you heard of an inner corner pop of color? Thanks to Lucy Hale’s minty green eye makeup, this might be one of our new favorite ways to wear pastels. Bonus points if it matches your dress, too!
4. Buttery Blend
Margot Robbie’s buttery yellow lids have us rethinking this often overlooked eyeshadow color. The key to keep your makeup looking fresh like Robbie’s and not washed out or sallow is to brighten up the rest of your face with a wash of pink blush and a flattering pink lip.
5. Floating Crease
Leave it to style icon Lupita Nyong’o to make this edgy floating crease look totally wearable. The swipe of metallic baby blue gives all the eye-catching definition we love from a neutral matte eyeshadow through the crease but in a fun, unexpected hue. Trace the blue end of CHELLA Dual Liquid Eyeliner Pearl in Pearl Black and Pearl Blue right above your natural crease following the shape to create a base, then pack on a matching eyeshadow right over top to boost the color and the longevity.
6. Cinderella Lids
As Shawn Mendes would say, Laura Harrier is giving Cinderella. It could be the blue sweetheart neckline gown, bejeweled necklace, and classic updo, but her baby blue lids definitely add to the princess appeal. Harrier knows the pro trick to making any eyeshadow color wearable: keep it below your crease. This way you get just a peek of pastel blue while keeping makeup understated. To align with the subtle vibes, swap your black liner for a softer shade, like EYEKO Black Magic: Cocoa Edit Liquid Eyeliner in Brown.
7. Monochromatic Pink
Lily Collins is known for her red carpet makeup looks (seriously, a quick Google will deliver the ultimate makeup inspo!), but this monochromatic makeup look might be one of our favorites. You can’t go wrong with a wash of pink across your cheeks, lips, and lids, and we love the way these pastel shades complement her earth-toned dress.
8. Lilac Lids
Name a better combo than Madelaine Petsch’s gorgeous red hair and lilac eyeshadow… we’ll wait. While you don’t need to win the red hair genetic lottery like Petsch to rock this soft purple shadow, we love the contrast. If you want to get a similar effect, bump up the pink lipstick to something a bit deeper, like a berry or a red lip color.
9. Pastel Glitter
We don’t know what to fawn over first: Lucy Boynton’s dream of a pastel unicorn gown, her pastel pink glitter makeup, or a combination of the two. Regardless of where your eye goes first, this look is one for the books. Create a halo of pink around your eyes, then pack on a matching glitter along your lower lash line. To get her doe-eyed look, reach for a spiky pair of falsies and really layer on the bottom lash mascara.
10. Blank Slate
Rowan Blanchard is bringing all the ‘60s makeup vibes, and we’re here for it. To recreate her look, start with a white cream shadow from your lash line up to your brow bone, the dust the lightest blue matte eyeshadow you can find over top. Swipe on a black winged liner, then load up on volumizing mascara, like SOPHIA + MABELLE SMALL + MIGHTY Extreme Volume Mascara.
11. Under Liner
Lana Condor’s look is subtle pastel makeup at its finest. Stick with shimmery neutrals all over your lids (try the FORMULA Z COSMETICS So Pretty Palette) and a peachy pink over your cheeks and lips. This is where the fun happens. Instead of a black or brown eyeliner on your lower waterline, opt for baby blue shade. The pop of color is so understated yet fun, it will have everyone doing a double take.
12. Peach Wash
Not to disagree with our girl Elle Woods, but orange might just be the new pink—at least when it’s this stunning peach shade seen here on Lili Reinhart. Like the other Lily’s (Lily Collins) monochromatic look above, you can’t go wrong with picking a flattering shade and sticking with it on your eyes, cheeks, and lips. Lili took it a step further and matched her dress, too, which we love.
13. Sky Halo
What, you thought pastel makeup could only be soft and subtle?! Dua Lipa proves that any color can be edgy. It’s all in the application. Start with a pastel blue, like the stunning shade in the FORMULA Z COSMETICS Cosmic Glitz Eyeshadow Palette, and really blow out your upper and lower lids, blending the blue shade out and down more than you think you should (once you add mascara it’ll look less harsh!).
14. Creamy Cat Eye
Meet your new favorite winged liner shade: pastel yellow. Sydney Sweeney kept her cat-eye shape soft and delicate, focusing the color right along her lash line. If you’re looking for a little more definition but don’t want to mess with the soft yellow shade, try tightlining your upper lash line (lining the underside of your lash line, a.k.a. your waterline). Just make sure you’re using a waterproof liner, so it doesn’t make a mess.
15. Lavender Smoke
Unlike Madelaine Petsch’s matte lilac lids above, this lavender look from Gemma Chan is bringing all the dimension thanks to her shimmery inner corners, defined outer-V, and deeper lower lash line. Not only does this spectrum of purple eyeshadows take Chan’s makeup to the next level, they are also extra flattering on her brown eyes.
16. Graphic Periwinkle
Pastel makeup, meet graphic eyeliner. Somehow Zendaya was able to combine these two makeup trends into a homogeneous look that we’re obsessed with. Worn with her severe side part and twisted bun, she’s giving futuristic glam we haven’t seen before.
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