Natural and minimal make-up for next summer

Like every year, the Milan Fashion Week spring-summer 2026 shows, which have just ended, also launched new trends through beauty looks. The real protagonist remains radiant skin, which looks as if it has been made up but perfected thanks to new technologies that make this make-up easy to achieve. "I believe there is, this season, a return to a certain rigour, perhaps also as a reflection of the historical moment we are living through," explains Luca Mannucci, international make-up artist who has curated a number of fashion shows. Already in New York and London, the same trend has been perceived: that taste for excess, for an exasperated aesthetic, has waned in favour of a more essential beauty. Perhaps it is a silent, unspoken response, but one that invites greater awareness, almost a step back from the display of colour. Colour remains a symbol of freedom, life and beauty, but on the catwalk the focus was on the skin: flawless, luminous, with a natural glow. In some cases, a radical, almost bare nude was chosen, which even allowed a glimpse of dark circles under the eyes. Even on the eyes imperceptible eye shadows, apart from a few marked smokey eyes. In most of the fashion shows, however, the skin was the real star, enhanced by a soft and sophisticated light.

On radiant skin, blush is back in the spotlight, reinterpreted in different ways by different maisons. Max Mara has taken nude make-up to a new level. The models' skin appeared even, but without excess shine: no glassy effect, just a natural radiance obtained with the illuminant spread in a "3", from the temples to the jawline. To complete the look, blush applied only where the skin would blush after a pinch. At Ferragamo, the focus was always on HD skin, with attention to the smallest detail. At Prada, on the other hand, lipstick was applied to the cheeks, as our grandmothers used to do, to give a delicate hint of colour and brightness. For the Missoni fashion show, make-up artist Diane Kendal for Kiko Milano focused on a luminous and dewy but never glassy complexion, enhanced by light contouring and strokes of blush on temples and cheekbones. At N°21, the skin was as natural as possible, with a sun-kissed touch that recalled the light tan of the Italian summer. The effect was achieved with the boyfriend blush technique, applied low on the cheeks in 90s style, on a clean and minimal face. Antonio Marras chose a hydrated and luminous, almost wet complexion: on the cheekbones, earth was mixed with Swarovski micro pearls to create a three-dimensional effect. The Emporio Armani fashion show recounted the sensations that accompany the return to the city after a journey: an evanescent moment, poised between the desire to escape and the memory that remains sharp. And this was how the first catwalk after the death of King Giorgio could only present itself. The make-up, by Hiromi Ueda, Armani Global Makeup Artist, built a perfect complexion with cheekbones sublimated by a light blush. The face was sculpted with warm tones such as bronze and coppery orange, which harmonised with the cool greys, blues and lilacs of the dresses.

Eye make-up went from graphic minimalism to dramatic intensity, to the return of blue mascara and the light shades of pastel eyeshadows, such as the Dusty mint green eyeshadow seen on the models in the Alberta Ferretti fashion show: a soft, dusty mint green, illuminated by pearly reflections, which gives the eyes a light and impalpable effect. Blumarine focused on shaded make-up in shades of brown and green, designed to move with the model and avoid rigidity. The bright touch of green recalled the iridescent reflections of beetles and dragonflies, in line with the imagery of the collection. At Luisa Beccaria, the make-up reflected the dreamlike atmosphere of the collection, with pink iridescences on the face and blue mascara instead of black, which will be very trendy next spring, as explained by Michele Magnani of MAC. Vivetta, on the other hand, chose a marine imagery: matt skin against the trend and eyes emphasised by coloured mascaras recalling the 1960s aesthetic. At Diesel, make-up artist Inge Grognard confirmed her radical approach to anti-make-up, tracing the upper lash line directly with the mascara brush, used as if it were a brush. The make-up was deliberately imperfect, almost improvised, but with a strong visual impact, especially when the line lengthened outwards to give a seductive look.A similar line was also seen at Marco Rambaldi's, where Maurizio Calcagno created a graphic anthracite smokey with a grunge allure on some models. A different register was chosen by Dolce & Gabbana, which evoked the Mediterranean femininity inspired by Tornatore's Malèna with Monica Bellucci: here the eyes became the absolute protagonists. At Missoni, finally, the make-up looked to the 1960s: fresh and natural, with luminous cheeks, nude lips, eyes lengthened by pencil and thin eyeliner and a light touch of mascara.

At Ferragamo, the team led by Virginie Moreira with Enzo Varca for Wella and Sebastian Professional proposed medium hairstyles with ponytails twisted back on themselves. Max Mara revisited the Madame Pompadour style in high backcombed ponytails, fastened with black bands to amplify the volume. The hairdo at The Attic, entrusted to the Dyson team and hairstylist Jawara, reinterpreted the "scapigliata grace" with semi-bows inspired by the Sixties and enriched with vinyl bows, between rigour and seduction. The hair, styled with the Dyson Supersonic r Professional hair dryer and the Dyson Airstrait hair straightener, was deliberately soft and almost messy, evoking the divas of Italian cinema. At Armani's, hair was styled in shapes that oscillated between masculine and feminine, reflecting the codes so loved by the designer. Ferragamo, on the other hand, proposed minimal, glossy crops: deep side parting and low banana-effect ponytail. A nostalgic touch came from Luisa Beccaria, with French braids intertwined with ribbons that recalled the 80s aesthetic. Scervino proposed classic slicked-back hair and romantic semi-braids, created by the Phyto team, in a more scenic version closed with playful mini knots. Shiny roots and extra-smooth or crimped lengths, some wrapped in refined scarves.Jil Sander's rigour translated into low, pulled back tails, while Missoni, with hairstyling by Damien Boissinot for ghd, proposed flowing, light hair: no wet look, but long, full hair, with scaling and volume reserved for bobs and medium cuts.