Peak Poptimism Makeup Is Taking Over Festival Season

What Is Peak Poptimism?

Pinterest is officially reporting that searches for butterfly makeup, belt charms, and airbrushed clothing items are all fueling this trend. We’re tired of monochromatic everything and minimalist beige tones. And festival season is the perfect time to showcase a bolder and brighter look than what you usually go for. 

If you need some makeup ideas to rock at your next festival, don’t worry. As always, we’ve got you covered.

Your Peak Poptimism Makeup Mood Board

1. Go Decal Crazy

Smother a stunning pastel shade all across your lids, like the pink shade used here. We’re fans of the DASIQUE shadow palette in shade berry smoothie. Then, add a cluster of face gems or stickers of your choosing. Remember, more is more! Finally, add a bit of whimsy with a freckle pen. We love TARTE’s Go With the Faux stamp for natural-looking dots. 

2. Draw With Rhinestones

If you’re like us, you may not be the best sketch artist, but if you can trace, you can accomplish this look. Instead of painting on a detailed butterfly sketch, outline a butterfly with a white, non-waterproof eyeliner pencil, like the E.L.F. Smoky Kohl Eyeliner pencil in shade cloud nine. Then grab tiny face gems, and dot them along the shape you created.

3. Frutiger Aero Core

If you want to get in on this Y2K-inspired trend, you need to know the term “frutiger aero.” It’s a catch-all term for the design style that dominated the early 2000s. Think: the original design of Windows programming, or the fact that iPod minis came out in candy-colors like fuchsia, turquoise, and lime green. 

This makeup look is straight out of the “Barbie Girl” music video — which, yes, technically came out in the ‘90s, but still has all the same bright and bubbly aesthetics. To get this look, reach for the ABOUT-FACE fluid eye paints in various bright hues. You can draw directly onto your eye with the doe-foot applicators and smudge out as you want. Just make sure to let the first color completely dry before moving on to another. The makeup artist used hot glue to create “water droplets” that were later glued to the skin. 

Make sure to use a piece of parchment paper to create the hot glue drops (remember, hot glue is hot and can burn the skin!), and then attach them to the skin with eyelash or glitter glue. We love the NYX Glitter Primer for this. 

4. Iridescent Everything

Remember when every item, from alarm clocks to pencil cases were packed with glitter and shimmer? Sigh, we can hear the dial-up internet loading now. For this look, dust on a few different shades of iridescent eyeshadow all around the eyes. No need to make it look perfect. We love the COLOURPOP Mermaid Collection for this, or any eyeshadow single from HALF MAGIC BEAUTY. Then, grab the HALF MAGIC BEAUTY Glitter Puck in shade Princess Ghost Baby Blue Iridescent and dust all over the eye shadow placements. Finally, use a silver chrome eyeliner, like the ILLUMINATI COSMETICS Multi-Chrome Gel Eyeliner in Elite to draw large, bubble-like circles all around the lids. 

5. Bold, Graphic Eyeliner

This is a great look to try out if you’re a beginner. First, dust the entire lid with a silvery chrome shade, like the THRIVE CAUSEMETICS Brilliant Eye Brightener™ Multi-tasking Eyeshadow Stick in shade racquel. Then, grab another ABOUT-FACE eye paint shade and create a winged cat eye with the shade. Then line the outer corner of the bottom lash line with it and create a haphazard shape extending down. Clean the shape up with curves and sharp lines by dipping a cotton swab in makeup remover.