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It’s no secret that Americans, as a culture, are obsessed with all things Italian. And it’s easy to see why. The country that brought us pasta, pizza, and Prada has also given us countless iconic beauty and makeup looks that we can dream up and recreate. Italian women, with their sensual, golden complexions, have inspired hair and makeup artists around the world. Many of Italian hair and makeup styles are considered timeless and are directly influenced by classic Italian bombshells like Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, and modern Italian beauties like Ariana Grande.
With glowing, healthy golden skin, lustrous hair, and seamlessly lined, red lips, Italian women are the beauty gurus when it comes to all things sexy, and they seem to pull it off effortlessly. With searches for “Italian makeup” up by over 200 percent, it’s safe to say we’re all looking for our own version of La Dolce Vita. Read on for everything you need to know to perfect Italian makeup and beauty.
What are the Italian makeup trends?
In a world where beauty trends and “cores” change almost daily, some beauty styles remain timeless. The Italian beauty style is characterized by tanned skin, gold highlights on cheeks and eyelids, sultry smoky eyes, and bright red lips, and at the other end of the spectrum, soft nude makeup and barely there lips that are intense and glamorous. After a year of quiet high fashion and barely there makeup, the exact opposite aesthetic is trending everywhere, because everyone is looking for a maximalist look.
Why is this style so popular now?
With summer fast approaching, the trending beauty look that has internet search engines hooked is achieving a golden, sun-kissed glow, and no one does it better than Italian women. When an entire country is famous for its year-round summer glow, it’s easy to see why it’s so popular for people to try and recreate the look.
What you need to perfect the Italian makeup trend
Glowing skin is key to any beauty goal, and for many Italian women, starting each day with a treatment with Italian rose water. Italian women love to accentuate their olive complexion with a golden highlighter on their cheeks and eyelids. But if you haven’t spent enough time in the Positano sun, buildable sunscreens and facial tanners can help you look like you’ve been in the Positano sun.
After adding some glow to your skin, a captivating eye is another key element of Italian beauty. Whether you go for a cat eye or a traditional smokey eye with gold highlights is up to you. Focus on your eyes and bring a fluffy blending brush to keep them from looking dull. While some Italian beauties now opt for a soft nude lip, beauties of the past gravitated towards a timeless and true cherry red. Outlining your lips with a lip color one shade darker will add dimension, but you can never go wrong with framing them with the same or a similar shade of red.
What are some examples of Italian makeup trends?
Few beauty moments can compare to the Italian beauties of the past like Sophia Loren, Claudia Cardinale, and modern Italian icons like Ariana Grande, Chiara Ferragni, and Melissa Satta. Read on to see some iconic beauty looks to inspire your own Italian beauty look.