The Best Makeup Trends for Spring 2017

Get your blush brushes ready—you're going to need them in a big way next spring. Whether applied with a heavy-hand and a nod to disco (like at Kenzo, left) or subtly blended from cheek to temple (Reem Acra, Chanel, Adam Selman) blush was meant to be seen on the spring runways. Leave subtlety at the door.

The beauty look at Fenty Puma relied on only two things: serious false eyelashes, and an intense pink cheek highlight. On the cheeks, makeup artists applied a bold sweep of Marc Jacobs Beauty Air Blush Soft Glow in Lush and Libido all the way up to the cheek and toward the temples. Then the Marc Jacobs Beauty Glistening Illuminator, a pearly cream highlighter, was rolled across the temples. The effect was an intense pop of pink shimmer, but in this day and age, there's no such thing as too much highlighter.

The rosy shade of blush at Reem Acra, applied squarely on the apples of the cheeks, matched a similar shade on the nails.

You can blame it on Stranger Things. The '80s are back and they're fresher than ever; just look at the glowing pink makeup seen backstage at Adam Selman. After prepping and moisturizing the skin, makeup artist Emi Kaneko traced a rosy, multipurpose cream color (MAC Casual Color in For Your Amusement) across the cheekbones, up toward the eyes, and all over the eyelids, giving that distinct '80s draping effect. The color was also dabbed on the lips.

It wouldn't be a backstage beauty round-up without some mention of red lipstick. But for spring 2017, we're also going to mention peach, electric orange, fuchsia, colorblocking, and purple-gray. Makeup artists experimented with a variety of lipstick colors and textures this season, from the matte cherry shade seen at Giambattista Valli (at left) to the pop of neon pigment at Jason Wu. Because sometimes all it takes to make a statement is one single tube of lipstick.

A peachy orange lipstick to coordinate with the collection backstage at Versus.

At Valentino, a handful of models walked the runway with a semi-matte red lip.

At Olivier Theyskens, the makeup was kept raw and bare other than a pop of a matte red lipstick.

The same raw skin and red lip combination could be see backstage at Simone Rocha.

The electric fuchsia lipstick at Bibhu Mohapatra was as much of an accessory as the oversized sunglasses.

At Maison Margiela, makeup artist Pat McGrath treated a few models to a glossy plum lip accented by a line of metallic pigment above the cupid's bow (using Pat McGrath Labs Metalmorphosis 005).

Makeup artist Lynsey Alexander used gloss on the eyes, but not on the lips, at Mary Katranzou. Instead, she applied a few different shades of "pumped-up" red or pink matte lipstick for the ultimate in texture variation.

Jason Wu has always had a penchant for classic beauty. The man loves a red lip as much as the rest of us. This season, Wu served up exactly what you'd expect: a red lip. Kind of. Well, not really. "It's not your basic red, it's fluorescent red, if that exists," said makeup artist Yadim backstage. After applying a mix of two red lipsticks, he tapped some neon orange theater paint right in the center of the bottom lip. "It's a raver girl red," he says, imagining that girl thinking her basic red lipstick looks, well, basic. In his mind, she would smear on some neon paint before running out the door . The orange-red lips appeared on only a handful of models; the pop of color matched a similar shade on their gowns. All in all, it's the same Jason Wu girl we know and love, just cooler, sportier, and with a flair for neon.

Classic creamy red lipstick is a staple on the Dolce & Gabbana runways.

Two beauty references we will never stop loving? Miami in the '80s and Scarface. Those were the inspirations backstage at Cushnie et Ochs' spring 2017 show, where the dresses were slit up-to-there and the lips took colorblocking to a whole new level. On the top lip, makeup artists swiped on a cherry-red matte lipstick (MAC in Perfect Score),while the bottom lip got a coat of Relentlessly Red (a confusing name for a matte, hot pink shade). Just one word of advice if you try this at home: don't smack your lips together. Otherwise, the colorblocking effect just becomes a color.

In the days before matte lipsticks were rolling around in the bags of basically every woman everywhere, makeup artists had to improvise. They powdered, blotted, and then re-powdered creamy lipsticks to create that velvety finish. It was this backstage trick that makeup artist Mark Carrasquillo recalled when he created the look at Creatures of the Wind. Except this time, the powder itself was the statement. After applying (and yes, blotting down) Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Dragon Girl, Carrasquillo dipped a fluffy brush in Nars blush in Exhibit A and dusted it all over the lips. Sweep after sweep, the electric fuchsia brought a dimension of color and texture to the lipstick impossible to achieve on its own. And other than making one hell of a statement, there's also this: you can rest assured knowing this lip look will not budge.

Backstage at Chanel, makeup artists used a combination of the brand's Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte Lip Colour in La Secrète and Rouge Allure Ink Matte Liquid Lip Colour in Séduisant, then topped it with the Chanel Gloss Volume Plumping Lipgloss.

The lipstick at Acne Studio's spring 2017 show was gray, purple, and metallic. Makeup artist Aaron de May used MAC Cosmetics Deep Rooted Lipstick to start, then layered on different eyeshadows to get the metallic effect.

Makeup artists, just like the rest of us, can't get enough of highlighted skin. The shinier and glowier the skin, the better (just check out the cheekbones at Elie Saab, left). But skin doesn't have to sparkle to shine. Though some shows went the more traditional highlighter route (Versace, Brandon Maxwell) others got there simply with intense skin prep and moisturizer. Because even on the runway models, after weeks and weeks of traveling, nothing glows quite like healthy skin.