The four brands that defined 2016 emerge as Glossier, Drunk Elephant, Olaplex, and Charlotte Tilbury; year-end Kylie restock chaos; last-minute gifting consolidates around five reliable answers; and the NYE makeup looks settle into three reliable camps.
The Lip Kit anniversary marks a year of matte-liquid maturation, the Black Friday haul finally crosses gift names off the list, the deep-burgundy lip becomes the holiday party answer, and the proper amber takes the wrist into deep winter.
Allure Best of Beauty confirms the consensus, the Halloween cycle delivers the year’s editorial-makeup setpiece, the early Sephora gift sets land, the deep-burgundy lip returns, and the retinol commitment hits four nights a week.
Fall 2016 walked through Bergdorf, Saks, and Barneys: Marc Jacobs goes Beetlejuice, Costa closes Calvin Klein with a thesis on minimalism, Tory Burch goes country-house, Coach commits fully to the Vevers identity, and the camel coat is the season’s only required decision.
NYFW Spring 2017 lands the see-now-buy-now experiment, the autumn skincare step-up swaps in heavier moisturisers and a fresh Drunk Elephant rotation, the warmer lip returns, and Pat McGrath Mothership sets a new ceiling for prestige palette pricing.
Olympics campaigns peak in hot pink, the Sephora Insider sale becomes the haul of the summer, NYFW Spring 2017 see-now-buy-now experiments break the calendar, and the late-August skin reset prepares the routine for fall.
Heat dictates the kit, festival recovery becomes a methodical seventy-two-hour process, Resort collections quietly outshop the runway, Olympics campaigns land mid-month, and Glossier Stretch concealer arrives.
Seven small and independent names worth knowing for summer 2016 — Sophie Buhai, Sophie Bille Brahe, Catbird, Jacquie Aiche, Anita Ko, Beck Jewels, Jennifer Meyer, plus Maya Brenner — and the styling rules we landed on after a season of stacking.
The summer routine hits the road, self-tan formulas finally beat the actual sun, Calvin Klein closes a quiet era as Costa exits, Pat McGrath drops set the streetwear-style schedule, and citrus replaces white florals on the wrist.
Met Gala chrome trickles down, hair colour finally goes bronde, the SPF rotation reorganises around skin reality, and the Memorial Day audit pares the routine down to ten products that travel.
