After latte makeup, a major beauty look of the summer, then with strawberry makeup and chai latte nails, here comes cherry makeup, a bold, uplifting beauty look that puts red center stage as fall’s star color.

A rainbow of red

There’s plenty to suggest that red could stand out as the star color of the season. For starters, it was seen all over the catwalks of the fall-winter 2023 shows. Christian Siriano, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci were just some of the fashion houses that opted for makeup looks dominated by this hue synonymous with audacity and passion. It then emerged on social networks with the trend for cherry cola lips, a lipstick shade directly inspired by the famous soda. Four months later, it has become one of the season’s leading makeup trends, adorning eyes, lips, nails and cheeks. The #cherrymakeup hashtag already has over 32 million views on TikTok.

While cherry red is one of the most popular shades for this trend, carmine, vermilion, tomato and poppy red shades also do the trick. However, on social networks, and TikTok in particular, users are gradually turning to darker reds. The popularity of purple-reds, garnet, burgundy, mahogany, maroon and even deep black/red shades is soaring, as evidenced by the emerging black cherry makeup trend.

Pumpkin spice vs cherry

Thus, fall 2023 seems to have two strong makeup trends: pumpkin spice makeup, dominated by orange hues, and cherry makeup, focusing on shades of red. It remains to be seen which will dominate. For the moment, the former seems to have the upper hand, already proving a hit on TikTok (over 50 million views) and even establishing itself in other areas of beauty. Nail varnish, for example, is getting in on the act, with shades inspired by Starbucks’ famous fall drink, and hair coloration and face masks are following suit.

In the UK, the craze is such that the SpaSeekers platform hopes to organize the first pumpkin spice latte spa day later this fall. This will include a hot tub experience spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin purée and a drop of coffee, as well as a pumpkin-themed facial and massage.