Beauty Trends That Were Everywhere at the 2016 Oscars

Don’t get us wrong—the hair and makeup at the Oscars is always good. There’s always much to swoon over. But confession: This is the one night of the year when our bar for beauty is set almost unfairly high. (To see why, revisit our all-time favorite Academy Awards beauty looks.) We don’t just want to see the usual red-carpet prettiness and perfection. We want to feel like we did when we first glimpsed Michelle Williams at the 2006 Oscars, or Lupita Nyong’o in her princess headband two years ago. At last year’s show, the beautyscape was lovely but lacking in those jaw-dropping, instantly iconic moments. Our gut feeling, though, was that 2016 was going to be an on-point year—and from Alicia Vikander working a black-tie hun (a.k.a. half-up bun) to Lady Gaga’s rose-gold eyes to Kerry Washington’s killer cat eye, we weren’t wrong. Come along with us as we review our favorite hair and makeup looks of the 2016 Oscars red carpet, broken down by the biggest beauty trends of the night.

Punchy Lips: Raspberry, cranberry, tangerine—on a night when we usually see lots of classic red lipstick (not to mention one that happens in the dead of winter), these pop-y, summery colors felt so fresh and unexpected.

Brie Larson

Daisy Ridley

Olivia Munn

Glam Ponies: How to make a ponytail Oscars-worthy? Tonight’s stars added varying degrees of teased-up height at the crown, plus details like center parts and loose wisps to add interest from the front. If their hair inspires you to up your pony game, check out our favorite five easy ways to make your ponytail less basic.

Kerry Washington

Priyanka Chopra

Isla Fisher

oscars 2016 hair makeup trends amy adams

Sofia Vergara

Statement Blush: There’s blush that’s meant to be believable, and there’s blush that’s meant to be noticed. These bursts of saturated color—from bright to rich to petal-pink—swirled right on the apples definitely fall into the latter category. To see which might work best for you, consult our guide to finding the right blush for your skin tone.

Reese Witherspoon

Mindy Kaling

Cate Blanchett

Sculptural Updos: No sweet lil’ ballerina buns or classic French twists here. The updos we saw on A-listers this year were bold and expressive, from a bohemian braided swirl to a stark, modern slicked-back series of twists. Whatever updo is your thing, here’s a genius trick for making it stay put all night long.

Rooney Mara

Olivia Wilde

Tina Fey

Allover Bronzy Glow: Keeping eyes, skin, lips, and cheeks all in the same color family prevents any one feature from dominating and creates overall radiance. Try using different finishes (shine in one spot, matte in another) to add cool texture and dimension, or go for glossy products all over for dewy sheen.

Jennifer Lawrence

Margot Robbie

Chrissy Teigen

Alicia Vikander

Smoky Eyes: They’re a red carpet staple, but this year’s gorgeous new examples really make us want to dust off our blending brushes and resume practicing our skills. From diffused and sheer to moody and smudged, there’s a style for every makeup personality. Get more details on the night’s sexiest smoky eyes here.

Sophie Turner

Saoirse Ronan

Jennifer Garner

Charlize Theron

Rachel McAdams (who dyed her hair platinum just in time for the Oscars)

Old-Hollywood Waves: It wouldn’t be the Oscars without them, and these stars made those classic soft bends look anything but tired. In fact, we may go ahead and add Lady Gaga’s swingy version to our gallery of the most romantic hairstyles of all time.

Naomi Watts