It May Be Spring, But Our Makeup Is Still Feeling Frosty

In the seminal 2003 romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Matthew McConaughey’s character Ben, an ad exec, utters the tagline “Ladies, frost yourselves.” Ben was talking about diamonds, but if the movie had been set in 2026, he may have been talking about makeup instead.

For so long, frosted makeup felt like a relic of the ‘90s and early 2000s as we embraced matte liquid lipsticks in the 2010s and glossy balms post-pandemic. But as the trend cycle dictates, to everything there is a season, and it just so happens that there’s frost in the forecast this spring.

This uptick in frosted finishes makes sense, given our cultural obsession with the not-so-recent pop culture past. “There’s a lot of nostalgia for ‘90s and 2000s beauty right now—everyone posting photos from 2016 and answering the question ‘What were you like in the 90s?’—so of course the frosted trend is prime for a comeback,” points out makeup artist Ash K. Holm. “Frosted lips and eyes have this playful energy about them that feels right for right now.” It may just be time to give your glossy balms and tints the summer off in favor of something a little, well, cooler.

Behind the Trend

The resurgence of frosted finishes, from lipstick to gloss to eyeshadow, popped up where many throwback trends do: on TikTok. Makeup artist Erin Parsons even spent hours figuring out a modern equivalent to Pamela Anderson’s signature honey-glazed lip. What once felt like something you’d see in a throwback ad or a Spiegel catalog feels fresh again, and beauty fans are heading to their local drugstore and big box retailers to track down some original formulas from enduring brands like Revlon, L’Oreal, and Wet ‘n Wild. 

Though frosted tones and textures were super popular in the ‘90s, Holm points to the early 2000s as another cultural high point where shimmer reigned supreme. “Frosted makeup is very Y2K. When I think of it, I think of looks that Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Beyoncé were doing at the time, and cultural moments like the Victoria’s Secret shows of the early 2000s,” she explains. “It felt, and still feels, very fresh and youthful.” Today, we see echoes of that shimmery, pearlescent frostiness on pop stars like Zara Larsson, who works with makeup artist Sophia Sinot on her repertoire of colorful, often frosty and shimmery onstage looks.

Holm, who got her start working a MAC counter in Houston, Texas, points to the brand’s beloved Frost formula as a go-to for anyone looking to infuse a little chilly cool into their spring and summer makeup. “It has this perfect pearl finish that is just right for a Y2K-inspired look,” she says. And even better, that classic MAC bullet lipstick is an era-appropriate choice too; it’d be right at home in that vintage Balenciaga moto bag or throwback Louis Vuitton Speedy.

How to Get the Look

Whether you frosted yourself regularly back in the day or are just embracing a frosty finish, you’ll want to get thee to the drugstore to test the frosty lipstick waters. You can still find some of the best, most popular frosted shades of the ‘90s and 2000s available today, like TikTok’s beloved L’Oreal Color Riche Satin Lipstick in the pale pink Ballerina Shoes or the pearly Champagne on Ice from Revlon. Go in with an open mind and swatch outside your comfort zone. You may just be surprised at how fun a frosted lipstick feels!

Holm advises “playing with warm and cool tones” and adding just a hint of that glazed shimmer to your makeup, not a full frosty face all at once. On the eyes, she likes icy blues, lavenders, and silvers across the entire lid or applied to the inner corner for a subtle pop. “I loved the holographic frosted eyes at the fall-winter 2026 Chanel show—it felt like a really fun, modern take, and I think we’ll see this inspire a lot of IRL looks,” she says. Frosted eyeshadows are equally as easy to find as their lipstick counterparts, at both premium price points and drugstore, so you can tiptoe into the trend any way you like. Maybe a little chill is exactly what we all need this summer.