From undone waves and warm hair color to berry lips and botanical nails, the Owens sisters are setting the mood for fall beauty.
Practical Magic has always had a stronger beauty identity than most films. You remember the midnight margaritas and that spectacular Victorian house, of course, but you also remember the hair. Gillian’s long copper waves. Sally’s glossy brunette. The softly smudged makeup, dark nails and general sense that everyone had just wandered in from an overgrown garden.
Nearly three decades later, Practical Magic 2 is bringing Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman back as the Owens sisters—and putting the film’s romantic, slightly wild approach to beauty firmly back on our radar.
This isn’t about one specific Practical Magic beauty trend. Instead, the film is helping push several existing trends further into the spotlight. Rich brunette and copper hair colors already feel right for fall, while blurred liner, stained lips, and botanical nails are beginning to replace summer’s brighter, cleaner beauty looks.
The overall mood is feminine, mysterious and just undone enough to feel believable. Here are the beauty trends we expect to see everywhere because of it.
Undone Waves
The hair in Practical Magic has never looked overly styled. It moves, expands and falls around the face, often appearing better as the day goes on. That ease is a large part of its appeal.
For fall 2026, the look translates into long layers, brushed-out waves and natural texture with a soft, touchable finish. Instead of creating uniform curls, alternate the direction of each bend and leave the ends slightly straighter. Once the hair cools, loosen everything with your fingers rather than brushing it into a perfectly arranged shape.
On naturally wavy or curly hair, this might simply mean making more of the pattern already there. Apply a lightweight leave-in or styling cream, diffuse until mostly dry and allow some natural volume to remain. A few face-framing pieces can be refined with a curling iron, but the finished style should still feel free.
Loose braids also fit the mood. Try a relaxed side braid, two small sections woven away from the face or a narrow braid hidden among longer waves. It should look as though it was added on a whim, not planned hours before.
To add a bit of airy magic to your waves, reach for Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray.
Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray
Rich Brunette and Copper Hair Color
Sally and Gillian Owens may share the same family magic, but their hair colors tell two very different stories.
Deep espresso, soft black and dimensional brunette shades capture Sally’s quieter look. Rather than one flat color, expect to see subtle ribbons of cocoa, chestnut and muted caramel that become visible as the hair moves. A clear gloss or brunette-toned glaze can also give existing color greater depth and shine.
Gillian’s signature red opens the door to copper, auburn and warm cinnamon. These shades return every fall, but the renewed interest in Practical Magic gives them an especially timely reference. They don’t need to be intensely bright, either. A brunette base with copper warmth or balayage through the mid-lengths can create a softer version of the look.
For blondes, the shift moves away from icy tones and toward honey, antique gold and soft strawberry. The common thread is richness. These are hair colors designed to look especially good in candlelight.
Softly Smudged Eyeliner
After years of precise wings and barely-there eye makeup, liner is becoming softer and smokier again.
The Practical Magic version isn’t a heavily sculpted smoky eye. It is slightly blurred, closely worked into the lash line and easy enough to wear during the day. Brown, charcoal, plum and deep olive all create definition without the severity of solid black.
For best results apply Charlotte Tilbury Eyeliner in Pillow Talk close to the lashes, then soften the edges with a small brush or fingertip. A wash of shadow over the lid makes the color look even more diffused. For evening, extend the liner slightly outward and add shadow beneath the lower lashes. The finished effect should feel a little slept-in rather than perfectly drawn on.
Charlotte Tilbury Eyeliner in Pillow Talk
Berry-Stained Lips
Dark lipstick is another trend poised for a return, although this time it feels softer around the edges.
Blackberry, dried rose, raisin, muted cherry and warm brick-red all fit the mood. Instead of using liner to create a perfectly defined shape, press the color onto the lips and blur the edges. Blot once, then add another layer at the center for a naturally deepened finish.
A lip stain like Wonderskin Lip Stain in Whimsicle offers a sheerer way to wear the trend, while a satin lipstick gives it more presence. If cooler berry shades tend to pull too purple, cinnamon and warm wine tones create a similar effect.
This is lip color that can fade gradually over dinner—or midnight margaritas—without needing to be constantly reapplied.
Wonderskin Lip Stain in Whimsicle
Candlelit Skin
The arrival of fall doesn’t mean glow is disappearing. It is simply becoming softer.
Instead of a glass-like or highly reflective finish, skin is moving toward a diffused luminosity that looks especially good beside richer hair and makeup colors. Think fresh skin, natural texture and the kind of warmth usually created by flattering evening light.
Use a lightweight base only where needed, allowing freckles and natural skin to remain visible. Cream blush in rose like Charlotte Tilbury Cream Blush in Rosy Glow, berry or muted terracotta brings color back to the complexion, particularly when blended slightly higher across the cheeks.
Keep highlighter concentrated on the cheekbones and inner corners of the eyes rather than applying it across the entire face. The light should appear softly diffused rather than obviously metallic.
Charlotte Tilbury Cream Blush in Rosy Glow
Witchy and Celestial Nails
The return of Practical Magic is also arriving just as nail colors are becoming darker and earthier for fall.
Black cherry, oxblood, deep herbal green, plums and purples, smoky grey and glossy black all capture the mood without requiring any nail art. Short oval, almond and softly squared shapes keep those deeper colors looking clean and wearable.
For something more detailed, look toward the Owens garden and the night sky. Fine stems, tiny leaves, crescent moons and scattered silver stars can be painted over a sheer or milky base. Keeping the art to one or two accent nails stops the finished design from feeling like a Halloween manicure.
A midnight margarita manicure offers the most playful reference: translucent dirty-martini green finished with a silver micro French tip or a fine layer of shimmer.
Garden-Inspired Fragrance
The influence doesn’t have to stop with what we can see. The world of Practical Magic also lends itself perfectly to the shift toward greener, earthier fragrances.
Look for scents built around fig leaf, blackcurrant, blackberry, rose, lavender, sage, cedarwood, amber or smoky vanilla. Green aromatic notes bring to mind the Owens garden during the day, while darker woods and resins capture the candlelit atmosphere of the house after sunset.
These fragrances don’t need to be marketed as mysterious or witchy. The most appealing options simply smell a little botanical, a little romantic and difficult to place.
Why Practical Magic Is Shaping Fall Beauty
The timing makes sense. Fall beauty naturally moves toward deeper colors and richer textures, and Practical Magic 2 gives those seasonal changes a recognizable world to belong to.
It also offers a different take on witch-inspired beauty. The references are softer and more wearable: loose waves instead of elaborate styles, berry stains instead of black lipstick and botanical green instead of novelty nail art.
You don’t need to recreate the entire look at once. Pair undone waves with a stained lip, or softly smudged liner with a deep green manicure. A copper gloss can carry the mood on its own, as can a fragrance filled with herbs, woods and dark fruit.
Most of all, leave something slightly unfinished. Let a few pieces fall out of the braid. Smudge the liner with your fingertip. Choose a lip color that becomes better as it fades.
The beauty of Practical Magic has never felt polished within an inch of its life. Nearly three decades later, that may be exactly why it feels so right again.
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