published on Stories on Zalando
Wind-tousled hair, flushed cheeks, main character energy: Catherine Earnshaw, Elizabeth Bennet and other literary icons are taking over our beauty moodboards. Here’s how to recreate their romantic looks just in time for Valentine’s Day.
It’s a great time to be a fan of romance novels, but for beauty lovers, it might be even better. As BookTok revives literary classics and Hollywood brings them back to the big screen, romantic heroines are everywhere again.
Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights is the latest to get the cinematic treatment, thanks to Emerald Fennell’s provocative new adaptation. When Catherine Earnshaw (played by Margot Robbie) appeared in the first teaser, it wasn’t just the cellaphane and latex dresses that got everyone talking but her flushed cheeks and untamed locks, too. But Catherine is not the only protagonist stealing our hearts. From Elizabeth Bennet’s wind-tousled hair and rosy lips to Anna Karenina’s soft curls and dark, romantic eyes, these classic characters have taken over beauty moodboards in 2026.
Now, it’s your turn to be the main character. Just in time for Valentine’s, hair stylist Diego Fraile and makeup artist Leana Ardeleanu are breaking down four hair and makeup looks inspired by romance novels so you can turn these iconic looks into your own love story.
Get the Anna Karenina look
Think soft smokey eyes and a demure up-do inspired by Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
Makeup tutorial:
1. Warm the NARS eyeshadow stick on the back of your hand and work it into a big, fluffy brush. Apply it lightly over the eyelids for a soft look.
2. Use the same technique with a smaller brush and feather the product under the bottom lash line.
3. Buff the Pat McGrath Legendary Glow Colour Balm cream blush onto a brush, tapping off the excess on your hand to control the intensity. Feather it over the cheeks for a soft finish.
4. Apply a minimal coat of the Armani Beauty Eccentrico mascara, smudging the wand on the cap first for a natural tint.
5. Dab the PeriPera Water Bare lip tint into the centre of the lips and press them together. Use a brush to diffuse the colour toward the edges for a soft-focus finish.
Hair tutorial:
1. Spritz the Bumble and Bumble curl reactivator through the hair to bring back definition and moisture.
2. Apply a few pumps of the Sebastian Professional Dark oil and run your fingers through the hair to minimise frizz and break the curl pattern for a voluminous texture.
3. Divide the hair into a front and back section. Create an anchor point by securing a bobby pin under your hair tie.
4. Take random sections from the front and back-comb the roots for extra volume. Twist each section and pin it back to the anchor point.
Get the Daisy Buchanan look
Think rose-tinted eyes and a flapper-style bob inspired by The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Makeup tutorial:
1. Blend a light pink, creamy shadow from the Danessa Myricks Beauty Groundwork palette into the crease for a soft, diffused base. Using a slightly darker shade from the same palette, tap the pigment into the centre of the crease.
2. Using a small brush, apply both shades again and blend them along the outer corner of the bottom lash line.
3. Press MAC’s Macximal Sleek Satin lipstick into the centre of your lips and blend outward with a fluffy brush. Then re-apply the lipstick to the very centre.
4. Warm the same lipstick on the back of your hand and use a brush to buff it onto the tops of the cheeks for an elongated, lifted effect.
Hair tutorial:
1. Prep your hair with heat protection. Then use a flat iron to mold the front hair into a swoop on both sides.
2. Apply the Bumble and Bumble Thickening Full Form soft mousse through the lengths for a natural, defined texture that provides hold.
3. Use the L’Oreal Fix Max gel to set the front pieces in place, folding them in and securing with a setting clip. Then side-comb the front sections and flatten with your fingers to create a sleek, even surface.
4. Create the illusion of shorter hair by gathering the lengths in the back and tucking them under with a small elastic.
5. Mist with the Sebastian Professional Shine Define hairspray and finish with a diffuser to set the shape.
Get the Catherine Earnshaw look
Think flushed cheeks and Victorian braids inspired by Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.
Makeup tutorial:
1. Pick up product from the Charlotte Tilbury Unreal Healthy Glow blush stick with a large, fluffy brush and diffuse it on the back of your hand. Then stamp the brush slightly lower on the cheeks to create a natural flush.
2. Softly apply the same blush on the chin and the eyelids to unify the look.
3. Now, using a smaller brush, gently diffuse the blush along the lip line, building more intensity in the centre for a stained effect.
Hair tutorial:
1. Prep the hair with the Drunk Elephant heat protectant. Now, separate two small front sections and apply the Slickhair wax stick from roots to ends. Then, create a classic braid on each side.
2. Bring both braids to the back, cross them over, and secure with a hair tie and a clip.
3. Use a large-barrel curling iron to create loose, voluminous waves through the rest of the hair.
4. Set the look with a light mist of the Redken Quick Dry hairspray for a lasting finish.
Get the Elizabeth Bennet look
Think barely-there makeup and windswept waves inspired by Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
Makeup tutorial:
1. Using a nude-orange colour from the Makeup Revolution Ultra Blush palette, softly apply the shade all over the lids with a fluffy brush.
2. Use the same shade and brush to softly shade underneath the bottom lash line.
3. Switch to a bigger brush and apply the same tone across the cheeks and bridge of the nose.
4. Lightly outline the lips with MAC’s lip pencil in “Stone” to create a natural shadow, then blend the edges with a brush to remove any harsh lines.
5. Gently press a nude, orange-toned lipstick into the centre of the lips and blend outward with a brush.
6. Finish with a coat of MAC’s Lipglass lip gloss.
Hair tutorial:
1. Prep your hair with the GHD Bodyguard heat protectant. Then spritz the lengths with Ouai’s wave spray to create texture and blow-dry the hair.
2. Take small sections in the back and curl them with a medium curling iron, alternating directions for a lived-in look.
3. Use a smaller curling iron at the crown to add extra volume and texture, then mist with the Living Proof texture spray.
4. Gather a section from the crown into a half-ponytail and secure it with an elastic. Then pull in small sections from the sides to softly frame the face.
5. Finish by braiding the half-pony into a loose, undone plait.