Love Island USA’s sweetheart Olandria Carthen had quite the 2025. Since the season seven finale back in July, Carthen walked in a number of fashion shows like Theophilio and Sergio Hudson—when she wasn’t front row at others, of course. Additionally, she attended virtually every red carpet including the VMAs and CFDA Awards. And, that was all before ending the year on the covers of Harper’s Bazaar and Glamour. To kick off 2026, she’s applying her “go big or go home” energy to her glam. Specifically with her blushy look last night at the pre Golden Globes event, the Golden Eve.
The star attended the honorary event for recipients of the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Award and Carol Burnett Award—in blush that turned her cheeks entirely pink.
“There’s no such thing as blush blindness,” she told Allure back in November, layering NYX Sweet Cheeks with Juvia’s Place Blushed Duo Blush in both Vol. 3 and Vol. 4. But, last night, she took it even further. This time, blush was more than just a flirty little accent sandwiched between her Two Faced concealer. It was a statement that, for Black women, more is more and more is better.
Giving dark skinned women space to play, makeup artist Kimora Mulan turned the ball of Carthen’s cheeks into a budding pink flower—much like the one at the waist of her flower-beaded gown—surely setting the tone for spring 2026 trends.
As a self-proclaimed “’Bama Barbie,” her Golden Eve beauty defined what it means to be one. Barbie pink blush was the natural couple to her new, custom Barbie blonde hair installed by HTX celebrity hairstylist Micah and styled by Tai Simon. “New year, new hair,” Micah wrote in an Instagram caption. “Olandria love[s] switching it up!”
As we wait to see if she’s at the Golden Globes this weekend (our bet is yes), her new look proved one thing: Blush is in all 2026. And, softness looks good when it’s loud.
