If Autumn/Winter 2024 beauty trends have taught me anything it's that the catwalk is king once more. Throughout my long career as a beauty editor, I have committed my every waking minute for two months of the year, every year, to fashion month. Throughout the months of February and September, from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep, I analyse beauty looks on the catwalks. It has, historically, been this insight that qualifies me to call upcoming hair trends, make-up trends and nail trends before they become, well, trends.
And yet, in recent years I have been feeling as though the catwalk is less and less influential on the beauty trends I was seeing fabricate. As catwalk beauty got more avant garde, we started turning to social media for our inspiration—I became worried that the catwalk was losing its power. But this season? Just as we started to become collectively fatigued by the short-lived, overhyped, fast beauty trends of TikTok, the Autumn/Winter 2024 catwalks showed us that classic beauty is making a comeback.
The autumn/winter beauty trends you're about to witness mark a new dawn. Forget lipstick microtrends named after foods, [insert any adjective here]-girl blusher looks and glowy skin 'trends' inspired by marine life, this season we're going back to the looks we have always known and always loved. The best bit? There's a real movement towards an anything-goes aesthetic. I'm talking leave-it-be hair, shiny (not glowy) skin and worn-in make-up.
Ignore anyone who tells you this season will be all about 'graphic liner' and 'colour pop accents'. Autumn/Winter 2024 is about wearability, elevated basics and anything that makes you feel like your very best self. Here are the Autumn/Winter 2024 beauty trends every single one of us should take inspiration from before the year is out—I promise, you'll feel a whole lot better for it.
SMOKE SHOW 2.0
The smokey eye is back, people—and I could not be more thrilled to report this. It is my opinion that a smokey eye is the make-up confidence booster. Wear a smokey eye and feel as though you can do anything. And there is no set way to embrace it, either. A finger-smudged, grungy look at Helmut Lang delivered a dishevelled, low-effort effect, while super-glam wings at Cavalli tapped into the 'out-out' aesthetic of the noughties we all know and love. My favourite of the bunch? The refined, blocky eye showcased at Tom Ford—a modern, refined take on the classic trend.
ALL THINGS CHLOÉ GIRL
I can't remember the last time a single show had quite as much influence as Chloé AW24. Back in February we saw Chemena Kamali's first ready-to-wear collection—and it did not disappoint. While wardrobes far and wide are already brimming with boho ruffles, the Chloé-girl beauty looks have also had a widespread impact.
The Chloé girl is all about seemingly bare-faced make-up. And this isn't just another super-polished 'no-make-up-make-up trend', either. She embraces skin texture, fine lines and her true natural state. Lean on smoothing moisturisers, subtly tinted balms and creamy blush for a lived-in look.
ROYAL BLUSH
In 2024, there is no reasoning with those who say blusher is not for them—it has, in fact, proved itself to be the single most effective, radiance-boosting, versatile beauty product of recent times. For Autumn/Winter 2024, we're set to see blusher have its moment in the spotlight. At Chanel, preened, polished and glowing complexions were accented with a natural-looking flush of colour on the apples of the cheeks, while at Louis Vuitton we saw blusher used to sculpt the face, dragged down the pads of the cheeks and precisely applied to cheekbones to contour.
BROW BLINDNESS
TikTok would have us believe that 'brow blindness' is something to be embarrassed by. The concept is as such: at certain times in each person's past, we have become blind to the state of our own brows when influenced by trends and can only see them with 20/20 vision in hindsight. But this season, brow blindness is in.
The catwalks have proved that there is no such thing as good or bad brows—they are simply what you make of them. At Anna Sui, models showcased bleached brows that blended with a seamless matte base, while at Lacoste they were kept lightly pencilled but soft and minimal. My favourite of them all? Marni, where untamed and seemingly product-less brows reigned supreme.
CLASSIC GLAM
How good it feels to see a return to Old Hollywood glamour after years of supposedly low-maintenance (but actually very high-maintenance) 'natural' looks. Moschino, Chanel and Richard Quinn championed crimson red lips, lined to perfection and foundation-covered skin, powered to perfection—a classic pairing that has proved the single most timeless make-up look in history.
REAL SHINE
You don't need me to tell you that a natural-looking glow isn't all it's cracked up to be. We spend hours prepping our skin, mixing our foundation and delicately painting on highlight as though we are Monet reincarnated, all to strike the perfect balance between shiny and matte. We have spent years trying to master this look—and I for one still have not been successful.
If you can relate, I come bearing good news. Strategic glow is gone, and this season it's all about proper shine. Models at Dior, Miu Miu and Zimmermann had radiant, juicy, glowing skin all over—as though they had slathered on moisturiser and let the skin do its thing. It looks natural, it looks healthy and it requires minimal effort.
LAISSEZ-FAIRE HAIR
For years I have written about the trend of 'embracing your natural texture', which in hindsight, is really quite silly. Embracing your natural hair texture is, of course, not a trend. The semantics of 'embracing' our natural anything implies that it requires some sort of brave action to make it 'on trend'—which is categorically wrong. I would like to apologise for ever having written those words.
So, let me take what I have meant to say in the past and apply it to Autumn/Winter 2024: laissez-faire hair is in. That means natural texture, minimal styling and generally leaving it well alone. At Victoria Beckham, sleek ponytails still let flyaways fly, and Ferragamo championed movement while leaning into natural texture. 'Tis officially the season to roll out of bed, run a comb through your strands, slather on some styling cream and head out the door.
