Shadé Owomoyela is a multi-disciplinary creative and freelance journalist whose work explores the impact of modern cultural shifts on identity, fashion, womanhood, and consumer trends. With a background in fashion and lifestyle journalism at 

, her work at Canvas8 fuses critical commentary with qualitative and quantitative analysis to unpack how our evolving environment structures and reshapes brand engagement. From nostalgia marketing to emotional credibility in the luxury retail sector, her case studies provide valuable insights that help brands and businesses shape strategies with longevity and authenticity.

Once a signifier of luxury or novelty, custom products and services are now within reach of the everyday consumer, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, algorithm-led platforms, and the COVID-era digitisation boom. Today, everyone wants to be the main character of their brand experience. 

Personal Worlds

With Tyla, SZA, RAYE and Nara Smith already on her client list, there are few faces safe from the magic of Ngozi Esther Edeme’s makeup brush. Widely known by her Instagram handle 

, the Nigerian-born makeup artist’s MO is adorning women across the black diaspora with a doll-like glam that’s captivating the internet. Beyond highlighting a renewed appreciation for 

Pinterest Predicts 2026 ‘Glamoratti’ trend

, it reminds us that, despite 64% of adults using AI tools to guide beauty choices, human artists continue to shape the evolution of visual culture in the beauty industry. 

Barclays

Edeme studied fine arts throughout secondary school and university, and, like many trained in the field, her work encapsulates a signature technique. If a Dali embodies illusionist surrealism and a Matisse flaunts botanics, Painted by Esther’s canvas is seldom without ‘transition blush’. “The technique creates a soft gradient, diffusing a bold pink pigment into the skin that sweeps higher than the apples of the cheeks,” explains beauty and culture writer Zeynab Mohamed. 

Interview with Zeynab Mohamed conducted by the author

 Dubbed everything from ‘Barbie blush’ to 

’, the look has sparked mass recreation by beauty creators like 

But beneath the show-stopping glamour of Painted by Esther’s work, there’s a message of empowerment. “What fascinates people about Esther's signature style is its rejection of the clean girl aesthetic,” says Mohamed. 

 “There's a craving for creativity and playfulness again, whether that's 

-inspired makeup, dopamine dressing or colourful blush placement. It feels like a breath of fresh air, particularly for Black women.” For decades, Black women have been told to stay away from pink blush. Edeme’s work shuns this narrative, posing a poignant question: how does beauty consumption change when the tastemakers stop adhering to traditional ideals?

Cultural authorship is dominating beauty trends

The popularity of blue eye shadow has grown in 2026, while searches for ‘neon French tips’ has risen since the start of the year, signalling that maximalist beauty is undoubtedly back. 

Harper’s BAZAAR

Pinterest

. Painted by Esther’s work is synonymous with bold glam, with her viral full beat creating the new ‘blueprint for blush’. 

MAC Cosmetics

 Her artistry has restructured conversations around pink blush for Black women, championing their complexions as canvases for avant-garde artistry and amassing hundreds of 

Allure

 While Edeme credits her inspiration to makeup artists Sam Fine and Kevyn Aucoin, she is largely considered to have pioneered transition blush. But can anyone really ‘own’ a beauty technique?

Representation for Black creators remains shaky

Antonella Colella, a US-based beauty lawyer, highlights that you can’t trademark a technique, but we’re seeing modern artists become household names through viral techniques. 

Dazed

After Patrick Ta Beauty filed a trademark for the term ‘Transition Blush’, comments suggesting the idea was stolen from Edeme flooded Ta’s account. 

Essence

 “It’s common for Black women to create trends only to watch them be repackaged and sold back to them without proper credit,” says Zeynab Mohamed. In 2023, Black shoppers accounted for 

 in beauty product spending, outpacing growth in America at large and representing a 32% increase since 2000. The opportunity for brands to engage this community is there, but the approach must transcend ‘inclusive’ marketing.

Despite 72% of Gen Z and 60% of all other age groups viewing beauty, grooming and wellness spending as essential, people are experiencing ‘beauty brand fatigue’. 

 Techniques are becoming the ultimate luxury good, with shoppers eager to get ‘the look’ rather than purchase a product, a trend evident across beauty brand launches of the last decade. 

 launched in November 2020, following growing demand for co-founder Jess Hunt’s ‘fluffy’ brow routine. In January 2026, Brook Monk translated the essence of her bold personality and signature volume lashes into a false lash brand, 

Painted by Esther unpacked her viral blush technique on 

, with Love Island’s Olandria Carthen on the cover. The partnership was met with a deluge of praise from major publications like 

. It’s reflective of an industry-wide trend that’s seeing 68% of US Gen Zers relying on influencer recommendations to support beauty purchases. 

Statista

 Brands are increasingly embracing the power of cross-industry expert partnerships. From the 

 collab leveraging the former’s stylist credentials to 

 for its 2025 autumn bowl, tastemaker partnerships fulfil the cultural appetite for technical mastery.

Makeup and lifestyle creator Malaika Mitau invites her 70,000 strong audience to join 

, an event that celebrates the art of getting ready, while 

 hosts luxury makeup masterclasses for women of colour. Beauty brands can create stronger connections with their audience by viewing physical beauty communities as integral to the social infrastructure uniting women of colour. “Representation isn't just about campaigns, it's about who shapes products, trends, creative direction and the conversations happening across the industry,” says Zeynab Mohamed. 

 Painted by Esther’s pro tutorials don’t just create virality, they produce a space of belonging, connection, and education that disrupts the traditional narrative of Black beauty.

Lean into relatability rather than celebrity

The celebrity ambassador is no longer the flex it used to be, with 79% of Gen Zers turning to influencers and social media to shape their purchases. 

Kyra

 Beauty product marketing needs to move from pretty grids to demonstrated efficacy. In 2024, Maybelline used its influencer network to capitalise on the viral 

 trend to promote the Lifter Gloss and Liner, while Rhode has successfully inserted itself into this summer’s ‘bronzed glam’ conversation by collab posting with beauty insiders like 

. Don’t just show people what the product does, show them relatable characters using it to create a must-have look.

 of Gen Z in the UK say that influencers and social media shape their beauty purchases

Pinterest Predicts listed ‘Glamoratti’ and ‘Glitchy Glam’ as key trends for 2026, with searches for ‘avant garde make-up editorial’ up 

In 2025, health and beauty spending among UK shoppers rose 

 year-on-year, with the average beauty spender making 

Painted by Esther’s viral transition blush has adorned the faces of entertainment’s biggest stars and inspired mass social media recreations demonstrating the technique

Pioneered by human artistry, the macrosocial return to maximalist aesthetics is changing what empowerment looks like for Black women in the UK

Beauty brands have an opportunity to harness the cultural demand for ‘creating looks’ by leveraging power partnerships with industry tastemakers with technical mastery

Zeynab Mohamed is a freelance beauty and lifestyle journalist exploring how beauty shapes our identities, cultures and interpersonal connections. Covering everything from makeup trends and wellness rituals to deeper reflections on race, representation and cultural shifts in beauty, her work sits at the intersection of storytelling and strategy and has been published in Stylist

, ELLE, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan UK, Women’s Health UK,

 and Dazed. She also consults on brand and commercial projects and manages social media for The Guilty Feminist podcast.

Gen Y (born 1982-1996)

Gen Z (born 1997-2010)

United Kingdom

Beauty

Painted by Esther is pioneering the return of maximalist beauty via her viral blush technique. But the bold, diffused blush doesn’t just represent the renewed demand for high-octane beauty; it also spotlights the importance of representation for Black artists and the rise of cultural authorship.

Analysis

Shadé Owomoyela

Zeynab Mohamed

Related Macro behaviours

Personal Worlds