PINTEREST SAYS PERFECTLY SYMMETRICAL MAKEUP IS OVER

Pinterest's 2026 trend forecast identifies a genuine consumer shift away from the polished, symmetrical makeup application that has dominated mainstream beauty content for years, toward what the platform calls Glitchy Glam deliberately "off" looks that embrace imperfection, contrast and experimental colour placement rather than treating flawless symmetry as the goal.

The search data behind the trend is genuinely striking in scale: searches for "eccentric makeup" rose 100 percent, "weird makeup looks" climbed 115 percent, and "nails with different colours on each hand" jumped 125 percent, according to Pinterest's analysis of more than two years of search data across billions of queries. "Avant-garde makeup editorial" searches surged an even more dramatic 270 percent - suggesting the trend draws real inspiration from high-fashion editorial makeup rather than emerging purely as a grassroots social media aesthetic.

Beauty expert Annabelle Taura, unpacking the report, points to a broader shift away from quiet luxury and clean-girl minimalism as the underlying driver: "People want to have fun with their makeup," she says, predicting a move toward opaque colour washes on the lid paired with contrasting liner, plus a shift away from the classic winged liner toward more graphic shapes like reverse wings, floating creases and negative-space liner.

Sydney Stanback, Pinterest's global head of trends and insights, frames the deeper motivation behind the shift as genuinely personal rather than purely aesthetic: "In 2026, people will make these trends their own, put unique spins on each, and ensure that what's trending never comes at the cost of personal expression."