Bustle’s 2025 Beauty Icon Awards: The Avant-Garde Makeup Stars

Introducing Bustle’s 2025 Beauty Icon Awards — a monthly list where we spotlight the creators, gurus, and experts who are shaping beauty culture as we know it. Unlike other “beauty icon” lists from the past, they’re selected not for their physical appearance but for how they exuded a palpable sense of self-love from the inside out. The movers, the shakers, the disruptors with an unshakable sense of self who welcome us into their lives and inspire us in our own routines — to us, these are the real Beauty Icons of our generation.

For our third installment of the 2025 Beauty Icon Awards, we’re honoring nine women who prove that makeup is the ultimate vehicle for creativity.

Makeup is an art form, and while it’s often lost in the day-to-day in favor of more subdued glam, the inspiration runs aplenty if you dare to see it.

The truth is — makeup is always evolving. While soft glam and neutral tones may dominate social media feeds, there’s a growing movement where makeup transcends traditional beauty standards and becomes pure artistry. This avant-garde space is where precision can meet imagination, blending intricate techniques with bold concepts to create looks that feel more like wearable masterpieces than everyday glam.

This month, we’re spotlighting nine beauty icons who are pushing boundaries with vibrant color palettes, unexpected textures, and hyper-detailed designs that challenge the idea of makeup as simply a tool for enhancement. From sharp, geometric lines that play with symmetry to whimsical 3D illusions that blur the line between fantasy and reality, these creators are disrupting the space and inviting their audiences to rethink what’s possible with traditional makeup products.

These storytellers are making it known that creativity knows no limits, and perhaps most importantly, the fact that makeup should be fun.

The Hyperrealist: Mei Pang

Follow: @meicrosoft

Followers: 3.3 million

Mei Pang isn’t just a makeup artist — she’s a boundary-breaking visionary who turns her face into futuristic works of art. Known for her signature graphic looks, Pang’s style is anything but ordinary. Her bold designs — whether she’s turning herself into a comic book character or a lace heart —feature sharp lines, vivid color blocking, and intricate details that look straight out of a movie. What makes her work so captivating is her unabashed and consistently inspired level of experimentation. Her ability to balance out-there concepts with meticulous technique gives her work a distinct, almost architectural elegance, and it’s always exciting to look at.

The Storybook Enchanter: Naezrah

Follow: @naezrahlooks

Followers: 374,000

Naezrah’s aesthetic is like your favorite animated character come to life. Known for turning eyelids into miniature fairytales with her hyper-detailed designs, her eye looks feel straight out of a fantasy book. Each curated style is complete with 3D illusions, vibrant color gradients, and whimsical themes that transport you to another world. From Twilight’s Alice Cullen glam to animal print, every brushstroke Naezrah adds feels like an enchanting new chapter to the book she’s creating. If you’re ready to bring a touch of magic to your makeup routine, Naezrah’s world is the place to start.

The Glam Queen: Nikkie Tutorials

Follow: @Nikkietutorials

Followers: 19.1 million

To be a beauty lover is to have grown up watching Nikkie Tutorials. She’s the ultimate glam queen, and she’s not just taking the throne — she’s built it from the ground up. With a mastery of blending bold makeup looks, she’s turned the beauty world on its head for years and continues to do so. Her ability to turn any face into a work of art is nothing short of wizardry. Whether it’s creating mesmerizing smoky eyes or playful pops of color, you can count on her to always take her makeup to the next level — and to show you how she does it, products included.

The Y2K Whisperer: Fluttaflyz

Follow: @fluttaflyz

Followers: 90,500

Ava, aka @fluttaflyz, is all about bringing Y2K vibes back with a bang. Her makeup looks are like a love letter to the early 2000s, featuring an array of all the glam that made that era stand out. Her work includes glossy lips, bold eyeliner, and shimmering shadows in ways that are nostalgic yet have a punchy modern twist. You can always count on her to serve up the iconic glam you grew up watching on your favorite pop stars. Following her is like stepping into a time machine. Ava gives her followers a chance to relive the excitement of the early 2000s while encouraging them to put their own spin on each look. She makes the hardest-to-achieve styles look easy, but it’s clear she’s having fun every step of the way.

The Walking Face Canvas: Cindy Chen Designs

Follow: @cindychendesigns

Following: 335,000

While some artists like to dedicate their time to creating an avant-garde brow or eyelid, Cindy Chen uses her entire face as her canvas. Each makeup look she creates tells a unique story of its own, and strikes a balance between being playful and yet so meticulously curated. If editorial glam was a person, it’d be Cindy. From avant-garde bird-inspired designs to transforming her face into a pearl decal dream, every creation seems to top the one prior. It’s that kind of creativity that guarantees you walk away from her feed feeling inspired. And she doesn’t sugarcoat the long hours she puts into curating her work of art, BTW, letting her followers in on the behind-the-scenes intense prep she does to nail the look.

The Makeup Doll: Frances O’Sullivan

Follow: @beautyspock

Following: 472,000

Everything Frances creates is a full-blown production, and it’s the kind of spectacle her followers deserve. What sets her doll-like glam apart is the fact that she doesn’t just stop at the makeup — thanks to her background as a director, she transforms every look into an immersive experience, pairing her dreamy, hyper-feminine aesthetics with videos and photos that make it hard to tell if it was taken in the ’50s or today. Each beat feels like stepping into another world — one where blush is over-the-top in the best way and lashes are as fluttery as they come. The videos she shares aren’t just for showcasing her look du jour; they create a full-on cinematic experience of vintage glamour or modern-day fantasy.

The Bold Visionary: Ahkeebha Ali

Follow: @sweetmutual

Following: 123,000

Some people are scared to play around with color in their makeup, but not Ahkeebha Ali. The creator doesn’t just experiment with bright hues — she owns them. Her makeup looks are a celebration of vibrant shades and intricate designs that feel retro and exciting. Whether that’s manifested via a pencil-thin red eyebrow paired with a blue graphic eyeliner or a face full of ethereal glitter and gems, there’s a certain joy to Ali’s artistry that demands to be celebrated. Overall, she’s pushing the boundaries with unexpected colors, and it’s inspiring to see her play with the tools available in your makeup bag.

The Makeup Fairy Godmother: Laura Hohua

Follow: @theballerinabridemua

Following: 153,000

What if I told you romance wasn’t dead? At least, it’s not in the hands of Laura Hohua. She’s the ultimate hopeless romantic of the beauty world, turning her makeup into dreamlike expressions of whimsy and elegance. Known for her ethereal style, Hohua brings fantasy to life with her signature 3D butterflies and delicate flowers, which she expertly applies across her eyelids, eyebrows, and lashes. These detailed creations give her looks a soft, romantic feel, as if each butterfly is fluttering across her face in a perfect dance. Every detail is accounted for, adding to the overall softness of her makeup where nature and beauty collide.

The Life Of The Party: Frankie Darling

Follow: @frankiedarling

Following: 213,000

Frankie Darling is the coolest girl in the room. Her high-impact and unapologetic yet elegant makeup looks prove it. Each of her eyeshadow combinations are made with the intention to disrupt the space, and make a statement along the way. Whether she’s blending smoky hues with neon pops or going for an ultra-sharp graphic design, her eyes are the center of the show. There’s also an immense amount of attention given to her lips, which are always a contrasting surprise — one day it’s a soft nude paired with a dramatic dark red, the other it’s a vivid pink against a deep plum. She has all the makings of an it-girl, making her a non-negotiable follow for beauty aficionados.