TEXT: MIA MEDAKOVIC
PHOTOS: POLINA TEREKHOVA
For the modern woman who lives her future in the present, makeup has become a blend of technology, intuition, and self-expression.
Elena Rachitskaya is a makeup artist and influencer who shares women’s secrets in a simple language and creates educational beauty content with a focus on modern techniques, innovative products, and everyday wearable looks. Her work blends creativity with precision, helping women feel confident in their own style.
Beauty gadgets as everyday mates
The biggest shift in recent years is the rise of beauty tech. LED masks, microcurrent devices, smart cleansers — they’ve moved from clinic shelves straight into our bedrooms. Do we fully understand how to track the results? Not yet. Much still depends on our overall health: hormones, sleep, nutrition, stress. But when I use my LED mask from Foreo, I genuinely notice that post-acne marks heal faster and my skin looks calmer. Of course, gadgets do not replace a professional facial or a consistent skincare routine — they live in between. Another futuristic leap is digital shade-matching: you simply open your phone, allow the camera to scan your face, and swipe left or right to “try on” different lipstick colors before buying. It’s not only convenient — it’s a very smart way to sell products for us busy people.
Makeup = Skincare
This is no longer a prediction; it’s our present. Textures are merging. Makeup is becoming treatment. Face tints with spf, niacinamide, and many other ingredients, exploded this summer and secured their place as a new type of base in every makeup bag. Hybrid formulas that go on creamy and set into a soft matte blush — like Rare Beauty — or lip glosses that adapt to your pH level – like Dior beauty – are reshaping the category entirely. The boundaries between complexion, care, and color are fading.
A new beauty cycle
After years of “no-makeup makeup,” the grunge makeup is back. We are craving a little chaos. Think smudged black pencil – like from aura cosmetics 601 black – instead of perfect eyeliner; hair that looks touched by life instead of slicked into a flawless bun. Yet we still want glowing skin, a soft flush, and an almost invisible base — the illusion of perfect skin without foundation, without harsh brown lip liner. Just gloss, or that stained, blurred lip effect.
Makeup as self-communication
Makeup has finally detached itself from the gaze of society. We no longer paint our faces for society approval. We do it for ourselves — to motivate, to shift our mood, to set the tone of the day. It’s like choosing an outfit for your soul. Are you a playful today, or a femme fatale? If you want red lipstick at 9 a.m., who will stop you? The rule of the red lip has always existed for a reason: red lips, mascara, and slightly undone hair remain the most iconic makeup look in the world — for our own mood.
Multipurpose everything — and smarter spending
Why buy five products when one can do the job? A simple brown pencil can replace an entire drawer of makeup: eyes, brows, lips, nose contour, cheekbone definition — if you’re creative, it does it all. And as we approach an economic slowdown, our buying habits reflects it. Instead of mindlessly chasing heavy luxury, we think twice. People now choose high-quality, lower-cost alternatives — intelligent dupes that deliver luxury results without the luxury price tag. Multipurpose products and value-driven routines are becoming the new normal, proving that brilliance doesn’t need a premium price.
