Every year, like clockwork, a new skin trend enters the beauty chat. Some that come to recent memory: glass skin (inspired by the rise of K-Beauty), dolphin skin (designed to mimic the animal’s reflective sheer), jello skin (which was supposed to have the bounce of a jello pie)—I could go on. Are they silly, made-up terms that essentially all mean the same thing? 1,000 percent. But if you read between the lines and look past the nomenclature, they do tell us something about the skin finish in highest demand.
And for 2026, it appears we’re all about chasing a little something called High Rise Skin. Think of it like a skyscraper: if the foundation (aka your skincare) doesn’t create a strong base, then every additional floor (aka your makeup) is going to crumble. “It’s about smoothness, evenness, and dimension that come from properly prepped skin, not necessarily from layering on products for extra shine,” says celebrity makeup artist Daniel Martin, who is responsible for coining the term. “The end result can look radiant, but it’s a refined, controlled glow rather than a high-shine effect.”
