Festive season is here, and there are so many ideas to experiment with for your looks this year. Whether you are the host or attending celebrations at your loved one’s home, makeup ideas for 2025 let you go minimal or extravagant. “Gone are the days when one would doll up just for weddings. Today, be it the Gen Z or millennial girls, or our moms and aunts, everybody wants to look wow, even if it’s for an intimate gathering,” says celebrity makeup artist Ojas Rajani.
A GOOD BASE
The no-makeup makeup look continues to remain popular, says Rajani. This, in part, is because international formulations that offer skin-like finish – very often without foundation coverage – are now available in India. “I think the palette is very natural. People are loving the peaches and the creams and the pinks. While not many people are still very happy with the choice of burgundies and the maroons available, these lip shades are very flattering for medium to dusky skin tones in India and will continue to remain popular,” says Rajani who has worked with stars including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Deepika Padukone.
It’s not just about makeup, though. Rajani notes that it has become common for people to go for brow tattooing, Korean glass skin treatments, and permanent lip and cheek stains, that let you look minimally beautiful without a daily routine. These options work well for a busy festive season, when you probably don’t have the time to shape your brows.
EYES ON YOU
Black and brown liners have taken a backseat. People are in for coloured mascaras and liners, says Rajani. "I am not a liner person, I think it makes you look older. Instead, apply lots of mascara to open up the eyes, and one good shadow. Or, you could do a little brown shadow smudge in your eyelash line – it gives an eyeliner look, but is still smudgy, softer and demure,” adds Rajani. Even stars like Padukone and Katrina Kaif don’t do a liner look. They rely on the smudged liner look instead, she shares.
THE HIGHLIGHT
It’s all about shimmer, shine and sparkle this season, says Rajani, looking at the many new highlighter launches, and runway makeup trends such as mermaidcore and shipwreck chic. “Be it Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri or Diwali, using the right face products will help you achieve that festive shimmer and glow. You can add some shine to your face with a gloss, creme blush, highlighter or illuminators. Shimmer, shine and sparkle is a rule.”
For fair skin tones, pearl and silver highlighters are a good bet, and for medium to dark tones, gold and rose gold highlighters are a good bet, he says. “You can also have a lavender highlighter moment – that is something being launched by luxury and affordable makeup brands this season,” Rajani reveals.