Eye makeup has always been pivotal in defining beauty trends, but in 2025, it’s dominating the cosmetics landscape like never before.
Bold colors, striking eyeliner shapes, and innovative textures are transforming eyes into canvases of self-expression. For beauty brands, understanding and leveraging these eye-catching trends means greater consumer engagement, boosted brand relevance, and increased sales.
Here’s your comprehensive guide to the top eye makeup trends in 2025, and actionable ways your brand can capitalize on them.
- 1. Maximalist eyeshadow trends: Bold colors, pastels, and unexpected pairings
- 2. Graphic and personalized eyeliner trends: Precision meets individuality
- 3. Futuristic metallic finishes
- 4. Jewel embellishments and creative eye accessories
- 5. Vibrant under-eye looks
- 6. Sustainable and clean eye products
- Leverage eye makeup trends to showcase your products
- Eyes on the future
1. Maximalist eyeshadow trends: Bold colors, pastels, and unexpected pairings
2025 is the year of expressive eyes, and minimalism is officially out. Instead, the beauty world is leaning all the way into color, texture, and playful experimentation.
So, what eyeshadow is in right now? A mix of high drama and delicate charm. Consumers are mixing neon hues, glitter finishes, and dramatic color contrasts, turning eyeshadow application into an artistic expression.
Here’s what’s trending:
- Jewel-tone smoky eyes: The classic smoky eye gets a luxurious upgrade with shades like sapphire blue, deep plum, and emerald green. These richer tones bring intensity with a modern twist.
- Pastel revival: Baby blue eyeshadow and liner are making a surprising comeback, seen on runways like Chanel and Stella McCartney. Soft hues like lilac, peach, and mint are also in rotation – often paired with bolder accents for contrast.
- Color layering & clashing: Creative layering of contrasting shades – like neon green over violet or pink blended into copper – lets users craft highly personalized, eye-catching looks.
- Multifinish textures: Matte, shimmer, and glitter finishes are being combined on a single lid for added depth and drama.
This shift in eyeshadow trends is all about creativity and individuality, allowing consumers to use their eyes as a true artistic outlet.
✔ Brand benefit
Brands that offer versatile, richly pigmented palettes and encourage playful experimentation are poised to capture attention. And the best way to demonstrate how versatile and playful your product lines can be is through a virtual makeup try-on. This is a powerful way to both promote your products and help customers test bold or unexpected color combos without the mess – making high-impact trends feel instantly accessible and fun.
➥ Try it live here and see what it would look like on your website.
2. Graphic and personalized eyeliner trends: Precision meets individuality
Is eyeliner in style in 2025? Yes – but it’s not what you remember.
Traditional winged eyeliner is taking a backseat as Gen Z leads the charge toward more creative, individualistic styles.
Forget the sharp cat eye and traditional lines. Today’s eyeliner trends are all about personal expression, graphic shapes, geometric designs, eye shape enhancement, and softness over severity. Here’s what’s in:
- Softer shades: Brown, taupe, and soft gray are replacing jet black for a more natural, wearable effect.
- Shadow-as-liner: Instead of harsh lines, many are opting for eyeshadow applied as liner, often with a smudged or blurred finish.
- Creative placements: Eyeliner is being used in unexpected ways – extending from the lower lash line, shaping subtle downward flicks, or outlining the entire eye for a bold, artistic vibe.
- Blended, lived-in looks: Harsh lines are out. The focus is on diffused, gently smoked effects that look effortless yet elevated.
✔ Brand benefit
These shifts open the door for brands to promote more versatile eyeliner products – like blendable pencils, shadow-liner hybrids, or soft applicators. Virtual try-on tools can be especially powerful here, allowing customers to test subtle looks or experiment with bold, unconventional styles risk-free.
3. Futuristic metallic finishes
Metallics are having a major moment in 2025 – and they’re not just for special occasions anymore.
Metallic eyeshadows and liners are gaining momentum, bringing a futuristic, tech-inspired vibe. Silver, chrome, copper, and even holographic finishes dominate this trend, offering a multidimensional shimmer.
But this trend isn’t just about shimmer. It’s about dimension, light-play, and a futuristic edge that aligns with the growing influence of tech culture in beauty.
✔ Brand benefit
This is the perfect moment for beauty brands to spotlight metallic product lines or introduce new formulas that emphasize luminosity and reflectivity. Plus, these finishes shine (quite literally) in virtual try-on environments, where consumers can instantly visualize the multidimensional effects before committing to a purchase.
4. Jewel embellishments and creative eye accessories
In 2025, eye makeup is getting a three-dimensional upgrade. More than just pigments and liners, eyes are becoming mini works of art – decorated with gems, sequins, decals, and other creative add-ons that push the boundaries of traditional beauty.
Think Euphoria-inspired detailing meets runway-level elegance.
This trend is all about freedom of expression and boundary-pushing creativity, giving consumers tools to personalize their look like never before.
✔ Brand benefit
Beauty brands can tap into this trend by offering curated embellishment kits, limited-edition eye accessory bundles, or even collabs with artists or influencers known for bold looks. More importantly, AR virtual try-ons can bridge the gap between trend and accessibility – letting consumers see how crystals or decals look and fit with their eye shape and complexion, instantly.
This kind of feature doesn’t just sell a product – it inspires a look. And in 2025, that inspiration is what drives brand loyalty and viral engagement.
5. Vibrant under-eye looks
In 2025, one of the most exciting shifts in eye makeup is happening just beneath the eyes. Traditionally a more neutral, concealed space, the under-eye area is now a playground for color, design, and statement-making details.
This trend challenges the usual upper-lid dominance, encouraging makeup lovers to think outside the box – and below the lash line.
✔ Brand benefit
This trend is a great opportunity for brands to offer inspiration and tutorials that guide consumers through creative under-eye makeup techniques. Highlight products specifically formulated for delicate under-eye skin and promote highly pigmented, blendable products and creamy liners that are easy to apply on delicate skin.
Plus, allow customers to play, explore, and share their new looks via virtual try-ons, driving engagement and elevating product discoverability.
6. Sustainable and clean eye products
As bold trends flourish in 2025, one thing remains clear: consumers want conscious beauty. Today’s shoppers aren’t just looking for standout products – they’re also seeking brands that align with their values, especially when it comes to sustainability and ingredient safety.
And when it comes to the delicate eye area, clean, gentle, and eco-friendly formulas are more important than ever.
Here’s what’s trending in the clean eye makeup space:
- Eco-conscious packaging: Refillable palettes, recyclable components, and minimal plastic usage are increasingly expected, especially for shadow and liner products.
- Skin-friendly formulas: Consumers are paying close attention to ingredient lists, opting for fragrance-free, ophthalmologist-tested, and cruelty-free formulas safe for sensitive eyes.
- Sustainable sourcing: There’s growing demand for brands to be transparent about where ingredients come from and how they’re processed.
- Vegan alternatives: Many are ditching animal-derived ingredients (like carmine or beeswax) in favor of plant-based or lab-grown substitutes without sacrificing performance.
And to reiterate, this isn’t a niche anymore – it’s the new normal. Plus, for many beauty buyers, sustainability is a deciding factor, not a bonus.
✔ Brand benefit
This is a key moment for brands to double down on clean, conscious beauty. Promote the eye-safe, ethical nature of your products through clear messaging and visible certifications. Let your customers know not just what’s in your formulas – but what’s not.
And don’t underestimate the power of virtual try-on here. While sustainable packaging and clean formulas appeal to the head, a dazzling AR eye look speaks to the heart. Even more importantly, virtual try-ons are becoming the modern replacement for in-store testers, which many consumers now avoid due to hygiene concerns or simply for convenience.
Leverage eye makeup trends to showcase your products
Virtual try-on technology is no longer just a bonus – it’s a necessity. Consumers are more likely to purchase products they’ve virtually experienced, particularly with bold trends that seem risky to try spontaneously in-store.
But beyond just showing products on a face, a top-class virtual try-on solution, such as Arbelle’s, gives brands powerful tools to highlight what makes their products unique. You can fully customize:
- Colors, textures, and finishes – from mattes to metallics, shimmer to gloss
- Precise product placement – on the lid, under-eye, inner corner, or even as a floating liner
- Application intensity and layering effects – giving users an ultra-realistic feel
- Packaging, product name, shade info – displayed seamlessly as users try each item
This level of detail allows you to not only promote products that align with current eye makeup trends – like maximalist colors, under-eye designs, or metallic finishes – but also tell your product’s story in a way that’s dynamic, interactive, and trend-responsive.
➥ Arbelle’s try-on can be easily integrated into your website, webshop, mobile app, or in-store solutions, making it a flexible and future-ready tool that fits right into your sales and marketing ecosystem. Find out more.
All in all, all of these virtual try-on features and possibilities add tremendous value to your business and the entire shopping cycle.
- Consumer confidence: Customers can experiment with daring looks risk-free.
- Enhanced engagement: Users spend more time interacting with your brand when they can see instant results.
- Higher conversion rates: Seeing products on their faces reduces purchase hesitation.
- Valuable insights: Virtual try-ons provide analytics that inform product development and targeted marketing strategies.
➥ Get all the relevant facts and numbers in our detailed Cosmetics industry report.
Arbelle’s upcoming eye makeup innovations
At Arbelle, we’re continuously enhancing our virtual try-on platform to reflect the latest beauty trends. Our upcoming eye makeup features will allow users to experiment with vivid, high-definition color combinations, innovative eyeliner placements, and exciting new textures, directly aligning with the trends of 2025.
Stay tuned as we launch these cutting-edge features, enabling beauty brands to captivate consumers with unprecedented levels of creativity, interaction, and personalization.
Eyes on the future
2025’s eye makeup trends are vibrant, expressive, and bold. For beauty brands, understanding these shifts – and leveraging innovative technologies like virtual try-ons – is crucial for staying ahead in a highly competitive market.
By embracing creativity, encouraging experimentation, and prioritizing consumer experiences, your brand can fully harness the power of eye makeup trends to drive engagement, conversions, and lasting customer loyalty.
Contact us today and we’ll get you started!
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