Emo Eye Makeup Looks Are Seeing a Revival on the Spring 2023 Runways

Somber effects and early 2000s-esque waterliner are trending in a major way.

Heavy eye makeup is evidently going to be a staple for Spring 2023 beauty — at least if the runways in New York, London, Milan and Paris are any indication.

More specifically, black pigment is having a moment, with many designers choosing to adorn models' eyes with exaggerated lashes, goth-like eyeliner or straight-up emo looks. Unlike the traditional smoky eyes and cat eyes we tend to see every season, these looks stand out because they're heavy, somber and excessively dramatic.

In New York, Fe Noel's three-part show that alluded to grief added tears trickling down from eyes engulfed in black makeup. (This was just one of a handful of beauty looks that made us wonder: You good?) In Milan, Versace flaunted a gothic bride look, while Prada used unimaginably long lashes to create a massive shadow across models' eyes. On the Dior runway in Paris, things got especially emo, with a makeup look reminiscent of a time when Avril Lavigne — or any number of pop-punk bands of that same era — and their heavy, dark waterliner reigned supreme. This throwback to early-2000s trappings is right in line with other nostalgia-laced trends in fashion.

Spring is often a time of revival and pastel colors, so we notice when things go a different direction. Could this makeup be an aesthetic response to the cultural moment? A moment happening years after the pandemic and all it brought thereafter. A moment riddled by talks of a recession, war and shaky politics. Or could it be designers intentionally going against the grain of spring, so often bright and colorful?

See below for our favorite emo eye makeup looks from Spring 2023 runways.

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See below to shop our favorite products to re-create these looks.

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