After years of clean-girl skin and the quiet reign of black mascara, coloured lashes are back as an act of rebellion that doesn’t demand a new personality, a smoky eye or the kind of precision that turns winged liner into a high-stakes sport. Bold in concept, surprisingly polite in execution – one swipe is enough to look like you tried without looking like you’re trying.

The runway helped make the case by treating lashes like an accessory on their own. At the spring/summer 2026 collections, Anna Sui leaned into a dreamy wash of blues, with Pat McGrath finishing the eyes with sky-blue lashes that made colour feel airy rather than theatrical. At Eckhaus Latta, Isamaya Ffrench went for ethereal, semi-transparent white lashes that caught the light against otherwise quiet skin, while at Collina Strada, that same lash language turned more mischievous, with pastel, feline-inspired lashes that made colour feel like a subtle statement.

In a way, coloured mascara works precisely because it sits in that sweet spot between statement and short-cut: a quick, low-commitment way to experiment with pigment without having to build an entire look around it. The rest of the face can stay intentionally uncomplicated – the lashes do the talking.

And culturally, the timing makes sense. We’re in an era that loves small, easily repeatable beauty gestures and a TikTok GRWM that doesn’t require a full-scale makeover. When Dua Lipa posted a carousel featuring turquoise lashes, the internet treated it like a wearable instruction.

But burgundy has been the gateway drug, as the shade that lets you flirt with colour while still being subtle about it: dark enough to read as normal from a distance, warm enough to soften the whites of the eyes and make your lashes look slightly fuller. TikTok did what it does best and turned the shade into a chorus, and when Millie Bobby Brown described a burgundy formula as her favourite mascara for a date night, it effectively became a permission slip for anyone who’s been curious but cautious.

There’s also a strong argument that we’ve been here before – specifically in the 1980s, when blue eye make-up wasn’t a quirky choice. Princess Diana’s signature is most often described as electric-blue liner hugging the waterline, but the colour story didn’t always stop there: beauty reporting has credited her with wearing a deep blue mascara, too, notably an Elizabeth Arden shade called Ocean Blue that later became something of a modern reference point as a pigment that sits close to a classic neutral but adds some playfulness to the look.

That reads-almost-black idea is exactly how make-up artist Lindsay Kastuk recommends easing in. “I’d start with a deeper shade that feels close to black or brown since you’re already used to a darker shade,” she says. “Burgundy, brown, deep green are all great choices to start with. They will appear almost black from a distance but still give the pop of a different colour closer up.”