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Everyone loves a good makeup look and so do I. It could be a simple blush and smudged eyeliner or colourful eyeshadow — I love it all and I'm here to present to you some of my favourite makeup looks this summer.

When we talk about beauty trends these days, the one thing that immediately comes to mind is dewy skin, a pop of colour on the eyes or graphic eyeliner being the star of the show. People are no longer interested in foundation being layered with concealer, contour, bronzer, blush, powder and highlighter anymore and are more into the technique that goes into making your skin look fresh.

Here are some makeup looks we're definitely trying this summer!

Clean makeup

What is clean makeup, you may be wondering. When someone told me about clean makeup, I thought it was about the products being clean because how could the world shift from a full coverage look to something minimal after years of full glam?

While the rest of the world has moved on from full coverage foundation, Pakistan is still lapping it up. I noticed the trend of clean makeup thriving in the west but Bollywood star Alia Bhatt's wedding look was a game changer. Her clean makeup look as a bride became the gateway for desi society to accept this trend wholeheartedly.

From her clean base to minimal eye makeup, slight blush tint and lip colour, her look became one of the reasons why I wanted to give clean makeup a try.

With clean makeup, what's important is being comfortable with the idea of not wearing a lot — no foundation and if necessary, it would be in the form of a skin tint.

The things you need to achieve this look are a concealer that matches your skin tone, a bronzer if you like a little bit of sculpting, a liquid or cream blush for a skin-like finish, an illuminator for added glow and a mascara. In case you do want a skin tint but don't have any, we got you covered. All you need to do is mix a drop of your regular foundation into a pump of moisturiser and an illuminator and create your own tint.

Rainbow who?

We've tried and tested various colour theories on the eyelid but we never thought there would be a trend (an acceptable one at least) where you apply different pastel hues on the under eye area. But it's 2022, and basic makeup looks are out of the picture this year.

It started off with a makeup artist who goes by Naezrah Looks on Instagram who created the under eye rainbow look that grabbed attention of makeup lovers across the world, including YouTube beauty influencer Nikkie Tutorials, and content creator Danielle Marcan.

What you need to recreate this look is an eyeshadow primer as the base and rainbow colour eyeshadows to create the gradient effect. I think you should give the look a try if only because it's something different and creative from the basics we've been seeing over the years.

No more basic eyeliners

When was the last time you sat down and tried eyeliner in a different shape than the one you're used to? I ask myself that question very often, mostly when the eyeliner pen is in my hand and I can't think of anything beyond a wing or something minimal.

Well trends have changed and winged eyeliner has been replaced with various other shapes, from a proper batwing to something covering half of your lid. Take inspiration from Deepika Padukone at Cannes if that's something you like and create a classic smokey eyeliner that connects the waterline to extended out eyeliner.

The trick is to practice until you've mastered the shape you like the most, one that accentuates your eye shape.

Embracing the skin

The time is here to embrace skin imperfections and texture. Ten years ago, if you were to have told me that people were complimenting freckles, pores and skin in general, I would never have believed you but as the beauty industry is changing, so are the stereotypes surrounding it. And I love it!

The most recent change is embracing your skin as it is. What matters is how confident you feel and how you present it. For content creator Geena Hunt, she's comfortable in her own skin — as she should be — and uses a pop of colour on her lips to round off her look. It's about experimenting and making sure people see that you're happy with and proud of how you appear, and it's okay to have imperfect skin.

To achieve this look, you need a brown eyeliner, mascara, a glittery neutral eyeshadow for the eyelids, a cool toned blush, a bold terracotta lip colour and no skin base. Yes, you read that right!