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We used to be a sparkly people. Before a big night out or even just dinner with friends, lids twinkled, cheekbones caught the light from every angle, and lip gloss doubled as a mirror. In the \u201970s and \u201980s, shimmer wasn\u2019t optional in makeup\u2014it was the whole point. Soul Train<\/em> dancers left a trail of glitter as they shimmied the night away. Donna Summer\u2019s pure disco shine and Cher\u2019s theatrical sparkle set the standard.<\/p>\n By the early aughts, as formulas evolved, so did sparkle\u2019s role: chunky glitter gave way to metallic, cool-toned eyes, frosted lips, and bedazzled body stickers placed near the collarbones\u2014usually in the shape of a butterfly or star. The Y2K era was extra, yes, but deliberately so, with a kind of loud glamour meant to spark joy and creativity.<\/p>\n Then, almost overnight, the shine faded, and we entered a clean girl era. Full-impact makeup was traded for dewy skin, soap brows, and the kind of restraint that suggests minimal effort. But shimmer never really left\u2014it just slipped out of the spotlight, waiting for the right moment to ride back in and save us from the choke hold of minimalist glam.<\/p>\n Turns out, 2026 is that moment. Makeup is swinging back toward the bold side of the pendulum. The return of Euphoria<\/em>,<\/em> along with other cultural entertainment moments, like the Hannah Montana<\/em> 20th Anniversary Special,<\/em> Zara Larsson\u2019s Midnight Sun<\/em> Tour, and basically every Tyla appearance, signals a collective return to drama and, well, sparkle. And makeup artists who came of age during the peak of shimmer are watching a new generation rediscover it\u2014this time with more sophisticated formulas.<\/p>\n \u201cShimmer five years ago looked heavy with textured glitter; it was very Studio 54-esque,\u201d says Katie Jane Hughes, a makeup artist in New York City, and the founder of KJH.Brand. \u201cNow, I think we\u2019re in a much more chic, more elegant era of shimmer.\u201d<\/p>\n Hughes isn\u2019t alone in that thinking. Artists including Donni Davy, the founder of Half Magic; Sophia Sinot, a makeup artist whose creativity has been capturing the attention of today\u2019s most vibrant celebrities; and Pat McGrath, the founder of Pat McGrath Labs and pillar of Fashion Week, point to a version of shimmer that feels more intentional\u2014less all-over, more strategic, and ultimately more wearable.<\/p>\n But why now? After years of pared-back, clean girl makeup, why revisit shimmer at all? Davy, one of the makeup artists who never took a break from sparkle, points, in part, to boredom: \u201cWhenever you do one thing for a while, people just get tired of it,\u201d she says. But for her, the shift also reflects something deeper: a kind of collective resistance. \u201cWith everything going on in the world right now, especially in the US, and the sense that we\u2019re moving backwards in terms of human rights, it feels like a good time to show up as your most superhuman self,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n That can mean embracing more color and shimmer, and being unapologetic, even defiant, through makeup. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel like the moment to be demure or to perfect a \u2018clean girl\u2019 look that\u2019s just your face, but prettier. It\u2019s a time to inject more feeling and mood into makeup.\u201d For Davy, that kind of self-expression can be deeply therapeutic, even cathartic, especially when it sparkles.\u201d Because shimmer has never been \u201cjust decoration,\u201d says McGrath. \u201cIt\u2019s emotion, glamour, and transformation all at once.”<\/p>\n Ahead, top makeup artists break down the state of shimmer\u2014from the elements of bygone eras that inspire today\u2019s looks to the new formulas shaping the trend\u2014and how this resurgence is bringing joy back into our makeup routines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n