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5 cute summer makeup looks (+ how you can recreate them)

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My top picks of cute summer makeup looks that are going to be the hottest beauty trends this year.

I’ll be talking through all of my favourite looks, as well as how you can easily incorporate them into your daily makeup routine.

  • Trendy and cute summer makeup looks

Although I love winter and fall beauty looks, summer really is the time where I get excited about makeup and feel more motivated to experiment and try new looks.

It’s a time where I’m more inclined to go for super dewy and glossy looks, and start to crack out some brighter colours.

I’ve been looking around online to see what trends are popping up at the moment and have condensed them into a top 5 of all the trends that I think are going to be the biggest.

I’ll also be showing you some of my favourite affordable products that will let you get in on the trend, on a budget.

Here are my top cute summer makeup looks that will make you look super on-trend this season!

Contents hide
1 Layering blushes
2 Glossy face
3 Foundation free
4 Graphic eyeliner
5 Monochromatic looks

Layering blushes

It wouldn’t be a cute summer makeup looks post without mentioning the ultimate summer makeup product, blush!

Blush is one of my favourite makeup products, so you’ll find me wearing it all year round anyway, but in the summer I like to layer it up even more.

The look I like to go for with my blush is ‘sunburnt, without the sun damage’ – I basically try to mimic the shade that my skin would naturally go if it burnt.

My favourite way to get the most intense look is to layer a powder blush on top of a cream blush, this way you get double the pigment and the powder blush sets the cream into place for a long-lasting finish.

For cream blushes, I love the MUA Blushed Liquid Cream Blushes (which are a total dupe for the Glossier Cloud Paints) and The Saem’s Cream Blush Sticks.

With powder blushes, my favorites at the moment are the Beauty Pie blushes (literally any of them, they’re all amazing) and also the ELF primer-infused blushes. I like heavy blush all year round, but in the Summer I feel like everyone really gets in on the trend – the more blush the better!

Shop the trend

Glossy face

This particular trend is one that I swear I’ve seen non-stop across my socials, the aim of it is to make your face look as glossy as possible.

Now, we aren’t just focussing gloss on our lips and cheekbones – but everywhere on our face, eyelids included!

I’ve been loving this trend so much as it feels so summery. It’s taking the typical ‘summer glow’ to the extreme!

I know this might not be for everyone, and may be a little editorial, but it’s something that you can easily incorporate into your makeup routine without looking too over the top.

If you want to keep it simple you could take the thickest moisturiser you have and just pat it on your cheekbones and eyelids for a subtle gloss – my favourite product for doing this is the Weleda Skin Food – it’s really thick and gives that wet-look to the cheeks so beautifully.

You can also use products you probably have in your makeup collection, like clear lipgloss. Who’s to stop you from using lip gloss on your eyes or cheeks?! I like the Revolution lip glosses because they’re super affordable and work just as well as any higher-end gloss.

If you want a gloss that’s specifically for use all over your face, I really like the Danessa Myricks Colourfix Glaze in Clear and the Morphe Face and Eye Gloss – both are under £20 and they’re made to not be sticky like a regular gloss.

Shop the trend

Foundation free

When it’s hot and humid outside, the last thing that you want is to wear a thick foundation. So why not just skip it all together?

I’ve been loving this trend of barely-there face makeup because it looks so natural and minimal. If you have good skin you can of course just not use foundation, but if you want a little bit of coverage – there are plenty of great skin tints and tinted moisturisers at the drugstore.

If you’ve got good skin you could easily skip foundation, but if (like me) you don’t have clear skin you still want something to even out the skin tone a little.

If you struggle with redness and just want something to color correct, I can’t recommend the Dr. Jart Cicapair Treatment highly enough. It cancels out any redness instantly and really evens out the skin to make it look flawless without much coverage. This is a holy grail for me! (I’ve even got a whole post about how much I love it!)

Next, we have the Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue which is your typical tinted moisturiser.

It feels beautiful and light on the skin and gives a very light amount of coverage to just even out the tone of your skin, but this won’t color correct too much or provide much coverage.

A great dupe for the Bare Minerals product, which is super affordable and gives the same amount of coverage finish is the Nivea Tinted Day Cream.

Finally we have the L’Oreal Skin Paradise Tinted Moisturiser.

I like this because it has a bit more coverage than the other products I’ve mentioned, but still feels just as light and has a beautiful dewy finish.

Shop the trend

Graphic eyeliner

I think this might be favourite trend of the bunch, and is by far the most fun and creative – which is what Summer makeup is all about!

Graphic liner has been super popular now, especially with the viral cake liners that I see all over Tik Tok. Bring out your creativity and start creating fun and bright designs for your eyeliner with this trend.

In the images above I’ve put some easy to replicate looks that I hope inspire you to try out this trend for yourself. If you’re feeling adventurous and want something a bit more difficult, just type in graphic liner on Pinterest and trust me, you’ll find some amazing looks.

For these looks, I love to use a water-activated liner, like this Suva Beauty UV Palette, with a thin eyeliner brush so that I can make the lines nice and precise.

I like the water-activated liners because especially with brands like Glisten Cosmetics, the shade choices are never-ending.

You could also use a normal liquid eyeliner, some of the best drugstore ones are the NYX Epic Wear liners.

If you’re not as confident with eyeliner or want to do something quicker and easier, I’d go with a liquid eyeshadow like these from Sample Beauty and ELF.

You don’t get the same precision, but if you just want to do a block of colour across the lid, these are your best bet.

Shop the trend

Monochromatic looks

The final pick for cute Summer makeup looks that everyone should try this Summer is… a monochrome makeup moment.

Not only does this take the guess-work out of your makeup routine – you can literally use one product for your lips, cheeks and eyes – but it also looks so great.

I like to use some kind of cream product when I’m going for monchrome makeup looks, mainly because it’s just easier to use all over.

Unlike if you were to use a powder, which you’d have to mix with something before using it on your lips.

The best shades to use for this look would be anything coral, burgundy or brown – these are all shades that will look great wherever you put them. I’d normally stay away from pinks as I find that they don’t tend to be the most flattering on the eyes.

My all-time favorite cream products that you’ll find the links for below are all perfect for creating a monochrome look.

The NYX Sweet Cheeks in Almost Famous is a beautiful bright coral that is the ultimate shade, the Beauty Pie Supercheek Cream Blush in French Raspberry is a deeper burgundy shade, Danessa Myricks Vision Flush in Ballet Slippers is a toasted rosy peach shade, and the e.l.f Putty Blush in Bahamas is a true coral.

Shop the trend

And those are all of the cute summer makeup looks that I’ll definitely be wearing this Summer! Do you think you’ll give any of these a go yourself?

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Jill says

    Omg this has me so hyped for summer makeup! I completely agree with you that summer is easier to experiment with bright colors and fun trends than in winter. I have been loving graphic eye looks and dramatic blush lately! I keep hearing such great things about the Dr Jart color correcting treatment. I will have to try it out! I just ordered a tube of their tiger grass cream from the memorial day sale.

    Jill
    https://jilliancecilia.com/

  11. Sophie says

    I prefer the ore autumnal looks too but I love a fresh looking dewy base. I’m not keen on foundation free because I hate the feeling of putting cheek products directly on my skin without a base (no idea why) but I love lighter, sheer optons. I need to try the layered blush!

  13. Aimsy says

    Love these looks, but I don’t think I could pull them all off haha! I love my CC cream, as it gives a bit of coverage but also the sheerness.
    Thanks for sharing 🙂
    Aimsy xoxo
    Aimsy’s Antics

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