February 2025 had two beauty stories that mattered more than the third week’s headlines suggested. New York Fashion Week Fall 2025 ran from February 6 through 11 with a notably darker, more austere makeup direction than the optimistic September spring shows had previewed. And Glenn Martens — formerly of Y/Project and Diesel — was confirmed as the new creative director at Maison Margiela on January 16, which meant February was the first month the post-Galliano Margiela was a real entity rather than a vacancy. Valentine’s Day fell on a Friday, which always boosts the celebratory-purchase tier; the BAFTAs on February 16 kicked off Awards-season makeup in earnest. We tried not to let the month feel like just a setup for March.
NYFW Fall 2025 turned darker
The makeup direction at New York for Fall 2025 was a real pivot. Where September had given us undone glamour and earthy pinks, February delivered smoked-out eyes, darker blush placement (higher on the cheekbone, deeper plum tones), and an actual return to mid-2000s contour. The Calvin Klein and Tory Burch shows established the spine; the more independent designers — Khaite, Brandon Maxwell, Christopher John Rogers — pushed harder into theatrical territory. Charlotte Tilbury‘s Cheek to Chic in the deeper berry shades anchored half the backstage looks. The takeaway: the maximalism that had been quietly building through late 2024 was now fully visible on the runway, and Fall 2025 was going to be a darker beauty season than we’d seen in years.
Glenn Martens at Margiela became a real story
Glenn Martens’s confirmation as creative director of Maison Margiela was the kind of appointment that affected how every editor thought about runway-beauty direction for the rest of the year. Martens, whose Y/Project tenure had been an experimental high-water mark for European fashion before its 2024 closure, was clearly not going to replicate Galliano’s couture-theater approach. The early speculation through February was that the Margiela beauty direction would shift toward more conceptual, more sculptural, less narrative. We’d find out in April when his first Tabi-era ready-to-wear collection would show. The takeaway: a creative-director appointment at a brand with a strong runway-beauty legacy is a multi-year story that affects the rest of the industry through ripple effects.
The Valentine’s lip-and-blush cycle delivered new heroes
The Valentine’s lead-up produced a clean lineup of credible launches. Rare Beauty‘s new Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil shades. Rhode‘s Pocket Blush new restocks and a refreshed Peptide Lip Tint. Glossier‘s Cherry Cloud Paint shade. Make Up For Ever‘s reformulated Rouge Artist liquid liner. The lip-and-blush category was the most active commercial segment of the prestige tier in February, and the brands that had built strong restock-and-refresh playbooks won the consumer’s attention. The takeaway: holiday-tied beauty launches still worked, but increasingly the magic was in tactical restock timing rather than novel products.
Awards-season beauty kicked off at the BAFTAs
The BAFTAs on February 16 always function as the dress rehearsal for the Oscars; the 2025 edition was unusually well-photographed and predicted a darker, more sculpted Awards-season palette. Cynthia Erivo’s continued Wicked press-tour beauty extended its long tail. Demi Moore — riding the longest awards-season campaign of the year for The Substance — set the matte-skin and bold-red-lip example that several younger nominees followed. The takeaway: the Oscars on March 2 were going to be the year’s most-photographed beauty event, and the major prestige houses were already burning ad budget on it.
Skin-cycling fatigue showed up in routine talk
The “skin cycling” routine — Dr. Whitney Bowe’s four-night exfoliate/retinoid/recover rotation that had run hot through 2023-2024 — started getting written about with notable fatigue in February press. Editorial routines began trending back toward “use what works, layer carefully, don’t overthink it.” Augustinus Bader‘s Rich Cream as a four-times-a-week anchor. A retinoid two or three times a week. SPF every morning. The takeaway: complex routine frameworks had a shelf life, and the consensus had returned to the simpler clinical fundamentals.
What we are watching in March
The Oscars on March 2 — easily the biggest beauty event of the year. Paris Fashion Week wraps in early March. We’re watching for Sabato De Sarno’s third Gucci show in Milan and for the first Glenn Martens runway look at Margiela. International Women’s Day on March 8 will pull a wave of cause-tied launches. And the spring product cycle starts in earnest after the Awards, with the major prestige houses’ Q2 hero products landing through the back half of the month. We will see you on the first Tuesday of March.
Shop the edit
- Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick — a classic Valentine red.
- Milani Cheek Kiss Cream Blush — the soft flush for the lip-and-blush cycle.
- Maybelline Fit Me Foundation — an everyday base for awards season.
- CeraVe Moisturizing Cream — winter-skin rescue under it all.
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