From the red carpet to the runway, there’s no denying the icy turn things have taken in the beauty space. No, I’m not talking about drama. I mean the cool-toned pouts of internet It girls Julia Fox and Gabbriette, the ultra-glam gray smoky eye on Doechii at the 2025 Grammys, the ’80s-inspired gunmetal glam at Luar’s F/W 25 show—aka the death of the warm color palette that dominated the last decade of makeup. RIP, bronzy KarJenner glam. Maybe we’ll see you in 2035.
“I think much of what we’re currently seeing in beauty is a result of shaking off the hangover of that 2016 social media starlet aesthetic,” says Terry Barber, MAC’s director of makeup artistry for the UK and Europe. “Looking overly polished and untouchably perfect in classic warm tones has suddenly become… not quite chic.”
But don’t be intimidated, says the MUA. Adding a hint of gray or cool-toned elements to your look doesn’t have to be “goth or Halloween.” This reemerging trend sends a message of confidence and individuality. “It’s about looking more self-assured and grown-up,” he explains.
Dee Carrion, the artist behind Doechii’s iconic slate-gray look at the Grammys is here for the wave of tonal makeup. “I think we’re seeing a shift in beauty, where we’re getting into more brutalist, unconventional makeup and trends,” notes Carrion. Thom Browne fashion moment or not, this gray look was simply made for the star, and Dua Lipa, Gabbriette, and Lily-Rose Depp are among the other stars popularizing previously “glum” gray for spring.
What is the gray makeup trend, and why is it hot RN?
Though it’s 2025, the ’90s have clearly never left us—at least, not for the last few years. While ashen eye shadow looks and cool lipsticks were aplenty in the days of the Rachel Green cut, this look wasn’t exactly new then, either. Your mind may roam to pallid skin and sunken, dark-circled eyes when you envision the term “gray makeup,” but this shade has been a focal point in the beauty space far beyond the last 35 years.
According to celebrity makeup artist and beauty historian Erin Parsons, the orbital return of this trend in 2025 is exactly on time. “Cool tones were prevalent in the 1960s, and if you look at makeup trends from the ’90s, a lot of it was a play on that decade,” she explains. MAC released a collection of fleshy, cool-toned lipsticks coined after ’60s supermodels, and the vivid colors in fashion during the ’50s faded into pastels during the ’60s—just as bright ’80s glamour evolved into pared-down grunge in the ’90s. “Beauty is cyclical, and every 30 years, we seem to see the same trends reoccur,” Parsons adds.
The world welcomed a tsunami of self-tanner, bronzer, and impossibly warm cut creases during the “2016 beauty guru era and explosion of YouTube,” says Parsons, with much of the societal beauty influences at the time being engineered by the Kardashians. It raises the question: In a world that seems to not so publicly cater to the multibillion-dollar family anymore, is this the first wave of beauty influence that hasn’t come straight from their glam chairs?
Though the weather may be warming this spring, Barber agrees that the makeup that’s trending won’t necessarily follow suit. It’s possible that we may not even view the “neutrals” (read: bronze, brown, and beige) as the classic go-tos anymore. “I think that even the most natural or everyday makeup will be infused with different ‘temperatures’ of shades, such as silver and pewter, giving a more contemporary feel to the die-hard classics,” he says.
If you’re itching to greige your eyes and ice your lips, we’re right there with you. Below, celebrity makeup artists detail ways to cool down your makeup routine as this trend heats up.
Charcoal Eyes
Between MAC’s star-studded I Only Wear MAC campaign littered with granite-shaded eyes, the grungy aesthetic of Charli XCX’s Brat era, and the sultry and desaturated red carpet glam on the likes of Doechii and Keke Palmer, dramatic gray eye makeup is everywhere we turn.
The Grammy Award–winning rapper’s look was inspired by her suited gray outfit for the event, Carrion says of Doechii’s shaded eyes. Utilizing a slew of the cool-toned shades in the Urban Decay Naked2 Basics Eyeshadow Palette, Carrion crafted a winged smoky eye with a pop of shimmer and even popped in brown-gray contact lenses to “balance the look and create a monochromatic effect.”
While you can always blend a swirl of slate-gray, charcoal, and black shadows together to create a going-out smoky eye, you can go bold with cool-toned light eye shadows as well.
Barber, who served as the key makeup artist backstage at Luar’s most recent NYFW show, described the edgy, heavy-handed look (which required a lot of MAC eye shadows in blue-gray Scene and paper-white Gesso) as “late-’80s supermodel glam meets DIY club drag”—yet another nod to this trend’s nostalgic roots.
“I wanted it to border on being almost wrong,” Barber narrates, referring to the unapologetically bold shading and unblended lip liner. “Doing makeup that looks look done but undone is a genuine makeup artistry skill these days. It’s about attitude, not polished perfection.”
Artist’s Tip for Amateurs
“I would start with a cooler-toned lipstick or pop a cool-toned shimmer in your inner corner. Even a gray eye pencil in your waterline could be a nice touch.” — Carrion
Shop the Trend
Urban Decay
Naked2 Basics Eyeshadow Palette
MAC
Satin Eye Shadow in Scene
Makeup by Mario
Ethereal Eyes Eyeshadow Palette: Moonlight
Natasha Denona
Mini Xenon Eyeshadow Palette
Physicians Formula
Shimmer Strips Eye Shadow
Chanel
Ombre Essentielle Eyeshadow
Cool-Toned Lips
If you thought gray tones could only be applied to eye shadows and liners, you’d be wrong. While they’re not as obviously in gray scale, these kinds of lip products live on the cooler side. Think fair lipsticks with blue undertones and nude lip liners that lean greige instead of earthy brown. While the last nude lipstick you purchased may have had a hint of bronze to it, the lippies of now live on the other side of the color wheel.
Parsons may be the sole culprit for the reignited demand for ’90s cool-toned lips after posting a TikTok video comparing an authentic ’90s MAC Lip Liner Pencil in Spice to today’s considerably warmer version—garnering over 5.3 million views since its posting in 2023. “I mentioned that so many products felt orange today, and judging by the views and comments, I was not alone,” she recalls. It seems as if the brand (and several others) took note, as MAC went on to relaunch customer-loved, long-lost shades like Fleshpot, Cool Spice, and Hodgepodge earlier this year.
Though a cool lip might sound daunting (and, dare we say, unflattering), there are a multitude of ways to incorporate these undertones into your lip combo without feeling cartoonish. Per Parsons, try a deep, obvious lip liner with a beige, nude lip. This contrast will make the lips appear fuller, keep you from looking washed out, and offer that edgy look that has everyone looking gorgeously gray this spring.
Artist’s Tip for Amateurs
“It’s not about switching out all of your beloved neutrals to a different tone. Choose your feature and mix it up—whether that be a silver tone for your eyes or a cooler-toned lip and cheek. In my opinion, a gray eye with a caramel-beige lip is eternally chic.” — Barber
Shop the Trend
MAC
Lip Liner Pencil in Cool Spice
Kevyn Aucoin
Unforgettable Lipstick in Immaculate
Makeup by Mario
Ultra Suede Sculpting Lip Pencil in Smokey Pink
MAC
M·A·Cximal Sleek Satin Lipstick in Fleshpot
NYX Professional Makeup
Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cairo
Fenty Beauty
Gloss Bomb in Mauve Wive$
