This Summer's Biggest Makeup Trend Is Inspired By Your Instagram Posts of Sunsets

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If a brilliant summer sunset isn't photographed and shared on social media, did the sun actually set? Well, if your Instagram feed is any indication, the answer is a hard no.

The transition from day to night during the summer starts with golden hour, a slice of time where everything, including the half-dead plants in your living room, are lit up with a brilliant warm glow. And as the sun continues to set, cotton candy pink, fiery orange, and rich red come into play.

While sunsets are extremely photogenic, the color palette also makes great eye makeup shades, because these tones look good on everyone. Factor in some shimmery or metallic finishes, and you have yourself a simple shimmery wash of color on the lids or a glistening smoky eye.

Celebrities and their makeup artists have been looking to the sky (or the photo albums on their iPhones) when doing their glam for the 2021 awards season and beyond. At the Oscars, a handful of stars including Andra Day and Reese Witherspoon wore subtle smoky eyes comprised of summer sunset shades that also happened to match their gowns.

RELATED: 9 Makeup Trends to Try During a More Normal Summer

Using Chanel products, Day's makeup artist Porsche Cooper gave the Best Actress nominee gilded gold eye makeup with a pop of copper along the star's lower lash line. Cooper finished the look off with a glossy bronze lip before Day hit the red carpet.

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"I wanted Andra's makeup to emit an otherworldly goddess-like glow. I went with an all gold haute glam using Chanel colors in gilded and bronze tones," Cooper said of Day's Oscars makeup. They key products used to create the look include two Chanel Les 4 Ombres eyeshadow palettes, Ombre Première Laque liquid eyeshadow, and Inimitable Waterproof Mascara.

Reese Witherspoon is another celebrity who embraced the hottest (literally) colors of the summer season with her Oscars eye makeup. The copper and burgundy tones of The Morning Show star's makeup are reminiscent of the most fiery stage of a sunset, but again, they also match her red gown.

ABC via Getty Images Reese Witherspoon

"I was inspired by the red of the dress — it is so uplifting after such a hard year, all we want to do is have fun. I wanted to make her skin glow and I used warmer tones to bring the blue out in her eyes," Witherspoon's makeup artist Tracey Levy said of the look.

Levy reached for Giorgio Armani Beauty makeup products to craft the star's warm and shimmery eye makeup, including the Eyes to Kill Eye Quattro Eyeshadow Palette, Eyes to Kill Stellar Eyeshadow, Eye Tint Liquid Eyeshadow, and Smooth Silk Eye Pencil. Then, Levy applied two coats of Black Ecstasy Mascara for extra impact.

Off the red carpet, Dua Lipa strolled into the sunset with cat flick eyeliner and matte orange eyeshadow haloed around her eyes.

If you're into this bold take on the trend, may we suggest the following products to recreate the singer's look?

Zendaya looked like a literal ray of sunshine when she showed up on the Oscars red carpet in her strapless yellow gown with a cutout. And her hazy bronze eye makeup played into the summer theme, too.

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The Euphoria star also serves as a Lancôme brand ambassador, so her makeup artist Sheika Daley worked with a few of the brand's classic makeup products to get her ready for the red carpet.

"The makeup look was very boho chic with clean, fresh skin and a natural look," Daley said of the look's inspiration. "The dress color was so bold we wanted to keep the makeup neutral with a lot of flesh tones."