In the age of trends as long-lasting as our attention spans (thanks, TikTok), I’ve taken a step back from indulging in every fashion fad that finds its way onto my For You Page. But where I’ve cut corners in my wardrobe, I’ve found ways to incorporate trends—metaphorically—into my makeup.
As someone who graduated from college with a fashion degree and flowered into a beauty editor, my brain is hardwired to see the connections between garment patterns and face charts—how the translucent sequins of fish scale-inspired fabric correlate with the shifting duo-chrome of an iridescent shimmer shadow. A lifelong lover of fun eye makeup, equally expressive clothing, and cohesive looks, I looked to our fashion team for extra insights on the trends capturing their trained eyes today and switched on my beauty brain to translate said styles into makeup looks.
To no one’s surprise, the fisherman aesthetic rose (er, swam?) to the surface quite quickly. While seemingly functional (but sometimes veering costume-like), there ended up being more similarities than not across beauty and fashion when it comes to this marine-inspired aesthetic.
What Is the Fisherman Aesthetic?
Blame it on summer’s arrival, but the fisherman aesthetic feels just as current in beauty as fashion this season. From the fish-shaped clutches dotting Bottega Veneta’s F/W 24 show to the Staud sardine bag overtaking our FYPs, there’s no doubt that visions of sealife are swimming in our minds these days. In fact, Google Trends analytics show that queries about fish necklaces are at an all-time high, and the term “sardine earrings” doubled in search volume over the past week.
In fashion, this aesthetic often includes woven bags and shoes (think: fisherman sandals), practical trench coats, nautical stripes, and gold-tinted seashell or fish-shaped jewelry—but when it comes to beauty, this trend has less to do with “man” and more to do with “fish.” While clothing focuses on land, I cast our beauty direction into the crystal depths of the sea: Emulating reflective scales with glitter, rippling water with glossy lids, and sea glass with sapphire eyeliner.
Ahead, two wearable makeup looks inspired by this marine life aesthetic that require minimal products and deliver all the summer feels.
Look 1: High Tide Eye Shadow
One easy way to incorporate this aesthetic into your makeup is by sticking to the basics: glowy, mermaid-like skin, sunkissed cheeks, and powder blue eyes. Whether you want to tone down the blue shadow instead of a sheer wash or amp it up à la Twiggy, this vintage-inspired shade is the key to achieving that light blue, high-tide look.
1. "Blue" Your Base
Starting with glowy skin (achieved with the $18 e.l.f. Cosmetics Halo Glow Skin Tint), I began working on my eyes by building a solid blue foundation with the Victoria Beckham Beauty EyeWear stick in Cornflower. Building a pigmented base, either in the same color as your powder eye shadow of choice (or white) is the best way to ensure maximum pigmentation when it comes to colorful shadows on skin. Each swipe of the EyeWear stick was graceful, depositing a powerful layer of pigment in every stroke without skipping, creasing, or smudging on the skin.
To add a little extra dimension, I dabbed the About Face Shadowstick in a pearlescent shade dubbed 2002 onto the center of my lids to create a luminous, icy base for glitter to sit on later.
2. Pack on the Powder
The next step was to blend a deeper blue eye shadow shade into the inner and outer corners of my eyes, forming a soft semicircle shape (I trusted a denim-inspired Charlotte Tilbury eye shadow palette for this step). To mimic the shimmering water of crashing waves, I swiped a few layers of a soft blue glitter from the same palette onto the center of my lids (which sticks to the About Face base for longer wear). Adding light to the center balances the dimension of shadow that we created at the corners for a more dynamic look.
If you want to take this look a step further, I’d suggest swiping a layer of the KJH.Brand Hyper Shine Serum across your lids to impart a glass-like, watery effect.
3. Apply Mermaid Blush
Blush is undoubtedly the siren song of any makeup look nowadays, so I trusted the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush in Happy, a cool-toned, metallic pink shade, to achieve an ethereal glow. Just a few taps and swirls of this pigment-packed blush will leave your skin alight with a glowing, color-shifting flush, transitioning from a metallic pink to shimmering gold in different lights.
4. Seal It With a Kiss
No product screams “summer” like a shimmery, juicy pout, and Lancôme just debuted an iridescent lavender version of its Juicy Tubes lip gloss. A few swipes of this effervescent formula coat your lips in a glassy sheen that shifts between pink and purple flecks as you laugh, smile, and smize—dancing like bioluminescence in the deep sea.
Look 2: Lapis Lazuli Liner
For a bolder (and simpler!) evening look, try a sapphire wing on for size. I began this look with a simple beige eye shadow base (like a sandy beach, if you will) to let the statement liner take center stage.
1. Sketch Your Wing
The Valentino Colorgraph Eyeliner in Blue Niagara made this look easy, sliding seamlessly over the skin thanks to its gel formula and leaving bold, blue, smudge-proof tracks in its wake. This long-wear pencil offers the slightest bit of dry-down time, which means that you have a short window to use the built-in liner brush to blend, smudge, or straighten your feline flicks.
2. Glaze Your Lips
While it could look incredibly chic to ditch mascara completely, what would amp this look up even more are a few swipes of a vibrant, sea-blue mascara to finish the eye. Finish your deep-sea glam with a blue shimmer-flecked gloss (this Pat McGrath Labs lip in Astral Moon Flower offers the most wearable azure glaze).
