Doja Cat's Anime Blush Becomes Fall's Defining Kawaii Makeup Trend

Doja Cat wore layered rosy blush with pink diagonal lines across both cheeks at her 31st birthday party last weekend, turning anime-style "kawaii" makeup into fall's fastest-spreading beauty trend.

The singer hosted a Sanrio-themed celebration and dressed as Mocha, one of the Japanese company's characters. The costume included flower-adorned oversized floppy ears, a matching furry two-piece bikini and heels, and the look's centerpiece: what Harper's Bazaar has dubbed "anime blush."

What makes "anime blush" different?

The technique departs from the cherub-like blush celebrities have favored in the past. Doja's monochromatic flush stacked layers of rosy blush across the apples of her cheeks and nose. Two pink diagonal lines on each cheek completed the effect.

In anime illustration, those diagonal lines signal a character's embarrassment, shyness, or excitement — the shorthand that gives the makeup its name.

The blush matched her glossy pink lips and pink eyeshadow. Inner-corner highlights and defined jet-black lashes sharpened the eye look. The Harper's Bazaar report credits the makeup to her artist, Ivan Núñez, noting the lashes were "likely created" by him.

Doja Cat is not alone

Zara Larsson wore kawaii beauty makeup earlier this month, during night one of her world tour in Tokyo. The Swedish singer paired her flush with purple eyeshadow, winged liner, and graphic eyelashes.

The two looks share a lineage with a wider celebrity cohort. Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion both count themselves anime fans, according to the report — a fandom that keeps drifting from private interest into public beauty direction.

Why the trend has legs this season

Harper's Bazaar points to two drivers: the trend's ease and its visual impact. Anime blush requires blush placement and a few drawn lines — no advanced technique — yet reads as a deliberate graphic statement.

The second driver is timing. Halloween is just around the corner, and the look doubles as a costume-ready face that still works outside October 31.

The magazine's prediction is direct: more and more makeup lovers will wear anime blush "this season and beyond."

What to watch next

One data point worth tracking: the trend's spread runs through two distinct channels — a private celebrity birthday and an arena tour stop in Tokyo, anime's home market. If anime blush sustains momentum past Halloween, Larsson's tour dates and the coming awards-season red carpets will show whether kawaii blush moves from novelty to a standard editorial category, or stays a seasonal costume trick.