The 10 Biggest Beauty Trends From the Fall 2021 Runways

As fashion month comes to a close, “Vogue” charts the biggest hair and makeup trends of the season.

This season, the runways helped us wrap our heads around what fashion and beauty might look like in a post-vaccine world. Above the neck, excitement toward the future was felt in an array of sci-fi-inflected looks, from Prada’s two-tone metallic lids to Ferragamo’s silver ombré pouts and full-body paint jobs. Looking to the joys of the past, there was also the feel-good ’90s and Y2K redux, which hinged on rave-ready splashes, such as Matty Bovan’s Technicolor dye jobs and Eckhaus Latta’s glitter-washed cheeks. And marking the return of regular salon visits, there was a steady succession of sharp and shaggy geometric haircuts-including the ever-prevailing mullet.

Bold lips are also back in a big way, but with more playful and idiosyncratic twists, from Vivienne Westwood’s gilded lip liner to Dries Van Noten’s muted, soft-focus alternatives to a classic red lip. Still, even with restrictions loosening, the reality is that face masks will be a part of our lives for the foreseeable future. And for that, there was no shortage of eye-centric statements with designers like Victoria Beckham unveiling sooty, lived-in looks, while others-Dior, Erdem, and Givenchy among them-embraced drama by way of thick, precise lines. Here, Vogue charts the biggest beauty trends of the season.

The Sci-Fi Metallics

Salvatore Ferragamo

It all started at Ferragamo’s sci-fi-inspired show, where Fara Homidi created a throng of silver-trimmed ombré lips and painted model Sora Choi’s entire body in metallic silver. Furthering this futuristic theme at eye level were the two-tone metallic lids at Prada and the “raw edge crystal eyes” at Coperni. As for lips bound for another galaxy, there were 3.1 Phillip Lim’s crystal-studded mouths and Nina Ricci’s metallic gold pouts. As we yearn for the future (and nights out on the town), a dose of metallic shine just feels right.

The Bad-Good Mullet

Tom Ford

Lockdown saw many go for the ultimate bad-good haircut and the runways reacted accordingly, offering every kind of directional interpretation you can imagine. At Proenza Schouler, Ella Emhoff made her Fashion Week debut sporting a voluminous curly mullet, while at Tom Ford, a few models wore ’70s shags that recalled Jane Fonda in Klute. Across the pond, Simone Rocha put a Renaissance twist on the high-low style, and then in Milan, Ferragamo and Sportmax presented sleek and choppy mullets. Trust us, if ever there was a time to take the plunge, it’s now.

The Bursts of Colors

Giambattista Valli AH 21BTS

Inspired by pansy flowers, makeup artist Hélène Vasnier created vivid two-tone and “visually loud” eye makeup looks for Giambattista Valli, while pro Stevie Huynh conceptualized abstract, watercolored unibrows for Altuzarra to a hauntingly beautiful effect. The Versace runway also saw jolts of color with electric cat eyes in shades of cyan, fuchsia, or crimson. Swirled, saturated color was also used to emphasize the contours of the face, with dramatic draped blush in bright fuchsia at Molly Goddard and deep apricot swirled on the apples of the cheeks at Vivienne Westwood. Yes, it’s time to get excited about using color again with your face as your canvas.

The Retro Headwear

Max Mara

Marrying ease with a classic touch, bandanas were a mainstay throughout the month. It all began at Anna Sui, where in drawing inspiration from 1968 movie Wonder Wall, the designer produced a variety of groovy-patterned headscarves. Silky bandanas were also an extension of the collections for Adeam and Max Mara, which each featured the season’s monogram print, as well as at Versace, with monochrome and bold-patterned scarves fastened with twin barrettes. Dior went even more retro and glamorous with house monogram headscarves tied around the neck in Old Hollywood fashion. At Miu Miu, it was all about the knitted balaclava, which doubled as a face mask. A beautiful accessory to help finish an outfit, silky and knit headscarves are a robust bad hair day strategy.

The Blunt Fringe

Givenchy

Freshly shorn blunt bangs of all shapes, textures, and thickness were a runway mainstay throughout the month. A major fringe moment came courtesy of the Victoria Beckham look book, where one of its stars, model Aylah Peterson, sported an auburn curtain of fringe that fell well over the brow, making the case for skipping a trim (or two!) in the process. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Sportmax, Rick Owens, and Louis Vuitton showcased the sharp drama of micro-bangs. And the boys got in on the action, too, with hair legend Guido Palau serving up directional fringed cuts with knifelike precision for Cosmo Caspers at Valentino and Lucas Barski at Versace.

The Face and Body Embellishments

Blumarine

Isamaya Ffrench is always taking makeup into new dimensions. For Burberry’s men’s show, she proposed imaginative face embellishments with a “constellation” of small, twinkly stars to a dreamy, celestial effect. At Bora Aksu, pro Janeen Witherspoon took real blooms and pressed them under the eyes in a half-moon shape for a touch of whimsy. Far less subtle were the high-shine flourishes at Blumarine, where Inge Grognard riffed on the collection’s early aughts butterfly motif with sparkling decals applied to the chest and limbs. No matter which part of the body is getting the 3D treatment, it’s an eye-catching way to accessorize.

The Graphic Eyeliner

Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini

Last season, black eyeliner emerged as a fitting makeup statement with endless potential for these face mask–wearing times, so it wasn’t a surprise to see the fall collections churn out even more renditions. At Erdem, Moira Shearer’s iconic graphic eyeliner in 1948’s The Red Shoes was the jumping off point for graphic negative space swoops, while at Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini, the blank space that encased flicks had more of an “art school” feel, according to makeup artist Fara Homidi. For Givenchy, graphic liner was punctuated by ’60s white pigment blended along the lower lash line, and Dior saw an intense cut crease with matte pigment smudged on the inner and outer corners of the eye, with the negative space “creating a highlight with the natural skin tone,” explains Peter Philips. The takeaway? Get bold and creative.

The Striking Braids

Prabal Gurung

At Prabal Gurung, models Dara, Tami Williams, and Annibelis Baez sported high-slung, serpentine-like ponytail braids with swooped baby hairs crafted by Evanie Frausto. Later on that week at Christian Siriano, sleek, three-strand plaits were embellished with metallic rings, and at Kim Shui, updos were sculpted to the heavens and ornamented with thick, rainbow braids. To top off the biker ballerina looks at Simone Rocha, hairstylist Cyndia Harvey cast hoop-shaped plaited styles in regal pearl and crystal embellishment. In a more streamlined spirit, there were sleek sets of intricately woven cornrows on the Fendi runway, while stunning chin-grazing box braids were spotted at Nina Ricci. Simple, elaborate, or embellished—there’s inspiration for head-swiveling plaits of all kinds.

The ’90s and Y2K Fever

Eckhaus Latta

While some nods to the ’90s were softer—see the lived-in eyeliner at Victoria Beckham, the delicate face-framing braids at Etro, and the dual barrettes at Coach, Fendi, and Versace—others were more dramatic. Taking a ’90s nude pout to the next level, Schiaparelli opted for muted beige lips with dark lip liner to complement barely there brows and smoky wings. Channeling candy-color rave beauty, there was Manic Panic–happy hair at Matty Bovan and swirls of glitter in silver and crimson across cheeks at Eckhaus Latta. Finally, in full Y2K fever, Blumarine’s body butterfly adornments really captured the nostalgia for going out.

The Bold Lips

Sportmax

The classic red lip got reimagined many different ways. At Sportmax and Libertine, models had their pouts boosted in bright, richly pigmented crimsons, while Dries Van Noten offered brick reds and salmon pink slicked with heavy clear gloss. “When you kiss the whole night, your lipstick goes a little bit outside the lines,” explained makeup artist Inge Grognard of the inspiration behind the latter’s soft-focus finish. Introducing more subversive twists, lips were lined in silver at Ferragamo and gold at Vivienne Westwood, while at Nina Ricci, there were iridescent, oil-slicked, and metallic pouts. Whether matte and monochrome slicked and shimmering, bold lips are bound for a comeback.

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The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year

The popular host Joe Budden recently made headlines after accidentally sharing a screenshot that revealed he earns close to $900,000 per month—and later confirmed that his podcast network is on track to generate over $20 million in revenue by 2025. Budden represents a growing trend among independent audio creators who are trying to reduce their reliance on the industry’s major players—an industry that, according to new data, now generates $7.3 billion annually.

A Billion-Dollar Boom for Podcasts

According to a recent report from research firm Owl & Co, the global podcast industry brought in $7.3 billion last year—more than double most prior estimates. This surge reveals that podcasting, still a relatively young entertainment format, is bringing in far more money than many insiders had previously realized.

Advertising accounts for the bulk of these revenues, with the rest coming from paid subscriptions. These numbers do not include live events, such as the wildly popular British political podcast The Rest is Politics, which sold out London’s O2 Arena for a live taping.

Joe Budden’s Accidental Disclosure

In this booming market, one of the most surprising success stories is that of Joe Budden, a former rapper once dubbed “the Howard Stern of hip-hop.” Last month, Budden unintentionally posted a screenshot from Patreon—a subscription platform where fans can pay creators directly. The image showed over 30 million views in 30 days.

While the revenue figures were blacked out, internet sleuths edited the image and discovered that Budden had likely earned over $900,000 in that single month, backed by more than 154,000 active subscribers. The figures quickly made headlines. Budden’s latest Patreon update and podcast episode even referenced the leak with a title that cheekily reads “Blackout the Numbers.”

On Track for $20 Million+ in 2025

According to Ian Schwartzman, CEO of the Joe Budden Network, the platform is now averaging $1.04 million per month on Patreon. “We have around 70,000 paying subscribers, with subscription tiers ranging from $5 to $50 per month. Higher tiers offer access to more content, including exclusive spin-off shows,” Schwartzman told The New York Times.

Budden’s Patreon offers four subscription levels:

Homies ($5/month) – Ad-free episodes and bonus content.
Family ($10/month)
Friend of the Show ($25/month)
Part of the Show ($50/month) – Includes a chance to appear on-air and have your name in the credits.

These subscription revenues alone could exceed $12 million in 2025, making Budden one of the highest-earning creators on Patreon—a claim that a Patreon spokesperson has confirmed.

Advertising Still Adds Millions

But subscriptions aren’t Budden’s only income stream. Advertising also contributes millions in additional revenue, said Schwartzman. Notably, Budden’s team sells their own ads directly, instead of partnering with major networks like iHeart, Wondery, or SiriusXM, which often take a cut of ad revenues.

From $500 a Week to Industry Powerhouse

Budden’s journey hasn’t always been lucrative. Back in 2017, when he co-hosted a show on the media platform Complex, Schwartzman recalls that they were struggling to break even. Budden himself has said he was surviving on a $500-per-week stipend at the time.

From 2018 to 2020, The Joe Budden Podcast had an exclusive licensing deal with Spotify, which paid under $2 million per year and didn’t include ad revenue or equity.

Leaving Spotify: A Strategic Reboot

After a tense split with Spotify, Budden and Schwartzman began shopping for new distribution deals. But negotiations often broke down over exclusivity clauses. In one case, a potential $44 million deal was rejected because it required removing all content from YouTube.

“As the money goes up, so do the demands,” said Schwartzman. “We wanted someone who saw our value and would let us stay in the game.”

In 2021, they found their fit in Patreon—no guaranteed check, but equity in the company and advisory roles for both Budden and Schwartzman. “Joe is in a league of his own,” said Patreon CEO Jack Conte. “Earning $1 million a month on Patreon is extremely rare.”

A New Model for Creator Power

Since hitting that revenue milestone in November, the Joe Budden Network hasn’t slowed down. Conte credits Patreon’s creator-first model, noting: “Artists today have more leverage and control than ever before in the history of the arts.”

Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines

The U.S. President disclosed new trade deals that include reduced tariffs and investment pledges from key Asian economies, with Japan committing $550 billion in U.S.-based projects

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a series of new trade agreements with Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines, detailing what he described as transformative developments for the American economy.

According to statements released on his social media platform, Japan has pledged to invest $550 billion in the United States, with 90% of profits reportedly expected to remain within the country.

The trade agreement with Japan includes significant tariff adjustments, with Japanese imports to the U.S. subject to duties ranging between 15% and 19%.

In return, the Japanese market will open further to U.S. goods, including automobiles, trucks, rice, and other agricultural products.

Trump stated that the investment deal would generate hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Following the announcement, Tokyo’s stock exchange experienced a 3.5% surge, marking the highest closing since July 2024.

Additionally, Japan's 10-year government bond yield rose by 9 basis points to 1.60%.

The agreement with Indonesia entails the removal of 99% of tariffs on American industrial, technological, and agricultural products entering the Indonesian market.

In contrast, Indonesian exports to the U.S. will be subject to a 19% import tariff.

The deal includes commitments by Indonesia to supply critical minerals to the United States and purchase American goods, including Boeing aircraft, agricultural exports, and energy products, in contracts valued in the tens of billions of dollars.

A similar framework has been established with the Philippines, where American products will be exported tariff-free, while Philippine goods entering the U.S. market will face a 19% tariff.

During a state visit by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Washington, the two countries signed a trade agreement that also includes military cooperation initiatives.

These agreements come two weeks after Trump previously announced plans to impose higher tariffs on several Asian nations—32% on Indonesia, 30% on Japan, and 25% on the Philippines—due to the expiration of a moratorium on his proposed trade measures.

The recent negotiations have led to revised terms and apparent withdrawal from those earlier tariff levels.

Japanese and regional media outlets have prominently covered the announcement, with front pages in Tokyo highlighting the scale of the trade and investment commitments.

The agreements mark a shift in bilateral economic relations between the United States and several Asian partners, following extended negotiations involving trade liberalization and strategic collaboration.