The Biggest Beauty Trends For 2023

By Lucy Slight
Viva
Photo / Carolyn Haslett for Viva Magazine – Volume Seven

From nostalgic Y2K style to anti-ageing Ayurvedic berries, here’s what beauty lovers are looking forward to for the year ahead.

Ingredients to watch

In 2022, niacinamide, retinol and exfoliating acids were the shining stars of the beauty world, but behind the scenes, consumers were furiously searching for more

According to Beauty Pie’s 2023 trend report, which analysed search volume data and hashtag usage across TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest and Google throughout 2022, searches for this anti-ageing, Ayurvedic fruit spiked by 922 per cent in the past 12 months.

Despite the interest, there still aren’t many products out there that include chebula as yet, however, it can be found in the Paula’s Choice Super Hydrate Overnight Mask, $54.

Another anti-ageing hero ingredient widely trending — and widely available — is peptides. Peptides are small units of proteins that help boost and replenish amino acids, the building blocks of collagen.

Peptide lip treatments were the second biggest skincare trend noted in Beauty Pie’s trend report, but you’ll find peptides in skincare products across the board.

Try: Summer Fridays Light Aura Vitamin C + Peptide Eye Cream, $71 (on sale January 31).

Values-based buying continues to rise

A beauty brand doesn’t have to be everything to everyone, but when making purchases, shoppers are savvier than ever.

Transparency is paramount and because social media makes it easier for customers to gain direct access to a brand and its founders (or PR team) they need to have answers to consumer queries across the board — from ingredients and usage to manufacturing and sustainability practices.

Brands should expect to be challenged by consumers, especially with the economic downturn discouraging unnecessary spending.

The trend towards choosing refillable skincare is also on the rise, with brands including Charlotte Tilbury, Go-To Skincare, Guerlain, Dior, Paco Rabanne, Emma Lewisham and more already offering the option to purchase refills across makeup, skincare and fragrance.

This is no flash-in-the-pan trend and we’re set to see more companies adopt this sustainable movement in 2023, especially as new brands launch in the market.

Make it multi-use, make it low maintenance

With the cost of living crisis tightening our purse strings, 12-step routines will likely be eschewed in favour of more simplistic rituals for many this year.

It’s in times like these that multi-purpose products really come into their own; think makeup with active skincare ingredients, functional fragrances, hydrating body sunscreens, heat-protecting curl products for hair and gradual tanning moisturisers.

Innovation abounds in the pursuit of products that can “do it all” so if you choose well and do your research, you’ll get the results you’re after while being even more low-maintenance than ever. It’s a win-win.

Future nostalgia and Y2K style

If you’ve still got a collection of butterfly and claw clips from 20 years ago, it’s time to dust them off, because Y2K beauty and style aren’t going anywhere just yet.

Spiked buns are in again, too — the sleek ‘do replacing the carefree mood of the messy bun for something a bit slicker and shinier. Essentially, it’s a ballerina bun with the tips of the hair left fanning out from the knot, and it’s a look that’s been seen on Gen Z celebrity trendsetters such as Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner.

Makeup-wise, frosted eyes, metallics, glitter and pastels bring forth a party vibe in a low-key way. But if your style is more rooted in counterculture, you’ll probably already be aware that there’s a goth, grunge and pop-punk revival taking place, so all your dirty looks from the eighties, nineties and noughties are back too.

Mullets and layering are in

Whether you’re keen to try a mullet or you’ve got a lot of nostalgia for the nineties, now is the time to embrace a layered style, with shorter messy shags and long feminine layers both trending in the hair department.

The “octopus” — an evolution of the mullet — is a heavily textured style that embraces shorter layers on top with thinner, longer lengths underneath, subtly resembling long flowing tentacles.

The “butterfly” is a longer layered look that adds dimension to the hair with short and long layers to encourage movement and frame the face, while the “wolf” is essentially a modern version of the shag, a softer mullet-inspired style that relies on heavy layers and volume in the crown. In a nutshell, don’t be afraid to give layers a go (again).

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