Latte makeup’, the inspiration that has been taking social networks by storm since the start of summer, with more than 203 million views to date, evokes the hot, creamy beverage, with its radiant, amber, almost caramelized shimmer. ’Espresso makeup’ (11 million views) is a more intense and bolder version of the latter. Two trends that show the interest of users for a subtly tanned, back-from-the-beach complexion, during the North hemisphere summer season.

Warm, caramelized effect

Also, like many beauty inspirations, ’latte makeup’ has been spreading like wildfire to other parts of the face and body, starting with eyes and nails. On social networks, there are therefore countless inspirations of this kind, from ’matcha latte manicures’ to ’cherry cola lips.

On TikTok, the ‘latte makeup’ trend was brought into the limelight by Rachel Rigler, who described it as “warm, bronzy, milky and effortless.” Revealing her secrets for recreating the beauty look, makeup artist Tanielle Jai explains it’s important to choose products based on yellow shades, rather than those with red undertones, in order to get the warm, caramelized effect.

A more robust version

’Espresso makeup,’ the latest inspo to date, appears as a grungy take on the latte look. The new version seeks to create a more bronzed complexion and a much more intense eye makeup. While ’latte makeup’ appears to be the perfect beauty look for summer days, its relative is a more robust version that users consider as much more suited to evening.

The trend has already spawned a host of videos and posts, but it’s undoubtedly content creator Danielle Marcan who has seen the greatest success with the looks. Her one-minute video has already been viewed over a million times. In it, she introduces the beauty look — which she herself describes as "the grunge sister of the latte makeup" — and then offers a tutorial on how to make it your own. As you can see, the complexion gets more attention, with more bronzing powder and contouring products, the idea being to get the look of tanned skin, but it’s above all the eyes that are the focus.

For a perfect ’espresso makeup’ look, the caramel and bronze shades of the ’latte makeup’ look are swapped out for pencils and eyeshadows in deep brown, even cocoa, and there’s no skimping either on black eyeliner or mascara. It’s a detail that makes all the difference. All that’s left now is to wait for the next coffee-machine-influenced beauty inspiration to hit...