Easy Ways to Try Out the Dopamine Beauty Trend 

Mood boosters come in many forms: an upbeat song, a new pair of shoes, an iced mocha from your favorite coffee shop (because you deserve a little treat). In beauty, the endorphin-releasing abilities of makeup are well-known—there’s just something about swiping on a bold lipstick that instantly gets the serotonin flowing. And as we move into a post-pandemic world, it’s no wonder we’re turning to makeup to express our collective optimism. Enter dopamine beauty (or what Beyoncé-beloved makeup artist Sir John calls “dopamine glam”), a playful, feel-good approach to makeup that incorporates pops of color and whimsical details as a way to boost your mood. With its artful accents, the dopamine beauty trend may not feel as easy to pull off as no-makeup makeup. Luckily, we’ve come up with a few easy ideas for the lazy and artistically challenged.

Colorful cat-eye

Swapping out your everyday black or brown eye liner for a bolder hue (this bright cobalt, perhaps?) is an easy way to inject some color into your look.

Draped blush

Draping your blush sounds more complicated than it really is. Starting at the apples of your cheeks, blend out and up towards your temples in a C-shape to create a dreamy wash of color.

Inner-corner pop

Applying highlighter to the inner corners of your eyes is an age-old hack with an eye-opening effect. Turn it on its head by dabbing on an unexpected color, like matte yellow or duochrome pink.

Duochrome lids

Duochrome shadows are a lazy person’s dream—due to their color-shifting properties, just one product adds multiple hues to your look. We love these liquid duochrome pigments from Danessa Myricks Beauty.

Holographic highlighter

Enter your Euphoria era with a dusting of highlighter in an otherworldly shade on the high points of your face—think cheekbones, browbones, nose, and cupid’s bow.

Illustrations by Megan Badilla