After several seasons of glossy skin and barely-there make-up, the front row has found its way back to the smudge. On 3 October 2026, at Vivienne Westwood's spring/summer 2027 womenswear show in Paris, Paris Jackson arrived with one of the boldest beauty looks of the month: a huge black smoky eye that went far beyond the lid, a streak of purple underneath, and almost nothing else.

What Paris Jackson actually wore

According to HOLA! USA's beauty coverage, the defining feature was the sheer size of it. A classic smoky eye stays on the lid and is blended out neatly at the edges. Jackson's black pigment instead circled the whole eye: it stretched from the lash lines up towards her brows and out towards her temples, and sat heavily below the eye as well, for a deliberately slept-in effect. Her brows almost disappeared into the shadow.

The clever detail was colour. A hazy violet-purple sat under the eyes, especially at the inner corners and along the lower lash line, which gave the black some depth so it didn't look flat.

Everything else was kept quiet. Skin looked natural and softly perfected, lips were nude, and there was no bright lipstick or obvious blush. Her hair, long, highlighted and with visible darker roots, was left loose in tousled, lived-in waves that matched the raw finish of the make-up.

Wait, "raccoon make-up"?

That's the name beauty coverage has been giving the emerging look: deliberately messy black eye make-up that wraps all the way around the eye. It suits Westwood perfectly, a house built on punk, where something a little undone looks right. The challenge for everyone else is wearing it so it looks like fashion and not like a Halloween costume or last night's mascara.

The rules that keep it from looking costumey

One feature only. The eye is the whole look. Nude lip, minimal cheek.

Skin stays fresh. Light, even base, so the dark pigment looks chosen, not tired.

Soft edges, not sharp ones. No graphic wing, no crisp outline. It should look diffused.

Add a hint of colour. A touch of purple, plum or deep navy under the eye stops black from looking flat.

Undone hair. A polished updo plus a grungy eye can clash. Texture ties it together.

How to do the Westwood smoky eye: step by step

1. Prep and prime

Apply a thin layer of eye primer over the lid and up to the brow bone, plus a little under the eye. It holds the pigment and stops creasing. Do your eyes before foundation so you can clean up fallout afterwards.

2. Lay a pencil base

Using a soft black kohl or gel pencil, scribble along the upper lash line and across the lid, then along the lower lash line and waterline. Don't aim for neat. You're building a base to smudge.

3. Smudge outwards, fast

Before the pencil sets, use a dense smudge brush or your fingertip to push the colour up towards the crease and out towards the temple. Work in small circles. The shape should be a loose oval around the eye, not a wing.

4. Set with matte black shadow

Press matte black eyeshadow over the pencil with a flat brush, then use a fluffy brush with no extra product to diffuse the edges up to the brow and out to the temple. Build slowly. You can always add more, but taking it off is messy.

5. Bring in the violet

Using a small pencil brush, tap a cool purple or plum shadow along the lower lash line and into the inner corner, letting it blend into the black. Keep it hazy.

6. Lashes

Two coats of black mascara top and bottom. Clumps are fine. They suit the look.

7. Clean up and do the skin

Sweep away fallout with micellar water on a cotton bud, then apply a light foundation or skin tint and concealer only where you need it. Skip heavy contour.

8. Nude lip, undone hair

A balm or nude lipstick close to your natural lip colour. Rough-dry the hair with a texturising spray and leave it loose.

Make it wearable

For daytime, keep the shape but shrink it: take the smudge only to the crease and a little past the outer corner, and swap the purple for a dark brown. For evening, go all the way up to the brow, the way Jackson did.

The takeaway

Paris Jackson's Westwood eye is a reminder that make-up doesn't have to be perfect to work. Keep it big on the eye, bare everywhere else, soften the edges and add a touch of violet, and this trend looks deliberate rather than dressed-up.

Source: HOLA! USA, "Paris Jackson's smoky eye just took goth glam to a new level", 5 October 2026.