Karol G’s Blue Beauty Transformation: Inside Her New Album Era

Colombian superstar Karol G’s latest album release signals more than just a sonic shift. With “No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto” (I Don’t Regret Feeling So Much), the artist is moving away from the hyper-saturated, tropical aesthetic of her previous era into something deliberately moodier and more intimate. Where “Tropicoquetta” celebrated maximalism and brightness, this new chapter embraces introspection through color, texture, and a willingness to embrace imperfection.

The visual transformation mirrors the music itself. While “Tropicoquetta” was unabashedly celebratory—a summer album brimming with energy—the new record strips everything back. Ballads like “Después de Ti,” featuring Greg Gonzales of Cigarettes After Sex, sit alongside fiercer tracks such as “Matadora.” The tonal complexity required a complete reset in beauty approach, and Karol enlisted her longtime makeup artist to help articulate this change through cosmetics.

The Artist Behind the Shift: Duván Foronda

Duván Foronda, Karol’s makeup artist for nearly a decade, has become the architect of her visual identity during this pivotal moment. His background in Colombian beauty runs deep. Before establishing his own reputation, Foronda learned the craft by assisting his mother, Adriana Pérez, a recognized makeup artist who shaped Colombia’s visual beauty landscape. That foundation eventually led to his own professional collaborations, including work with Leonisa, one of Colombia’s most recognizable brands in the lingerie space.

What makes Foronda particularly suited to guide this transformation is his understanding of Colombian visual culture from within. When Karol decided to evolve her aesthetic, entrusting this shift to someone who grasps the nuances of her country’s beauty traditions added an additional layer of authenticity to the process.

From Orange to Blue: The Color Philosophy

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For Karol, color has never been merely decorative. According to Foronda, the singer views aesthetics as deeply connected to emotion. “She is someone who puts color to everything; for her, a song has a color; for her, a feeling has a color,” he explains.

The Tropicoquetta Standard

During the “Tropicoquetta” era, that feeling was unmistakable joy. Karol wanted an album that felt tropical and celebratory, and she identified orange as the color that best expressed that happiness. The makeup followed suit, featuring defined red lips, brown lip liner, and orange-tinted cheeks—a cohesive visual language that extended across promotional materials and performances alike.

The Hawaiian Shift

The shift toward blue came unexpectedly. While on a trip to Hawaii, Foronda noticed Karol gravitating toward the color in her personal wardrobe and accessories. She appeared in blue shirts, carried blue purses, and even switched her phone case to blue. When asked about the pattern, she explained that this new era—more personal, more vulnerable, more authentically hers—simply felt blue to her.

The blue that now defines this era is not the electric cobalt or vibrant neon blue that would have belonged in the tropical universe of “Tropicoquetta.” Instead, it’s a softer, airier shade. “It’s not a vibrant blue; it’s like a sky-blue,” Foronda says. “It’s calming.” This cooler palette is even visible on the album cover, where Karol appears nearly makeup-free, bathed in a cool blue hue that evokes the nostalgic quality of Britney Spears’ 2003 album “In The Zone.”

The Makeup Transformation On Stage

Karol’s “Viajando Por El Mundo” tour—or Traveling Around the World—is where the aesthetic evolution becomes tangible. The tour recently completed sold-out performances in Los Angeles, with special guests including Becky G and Bruno Mars. Rather than abandoning the tropical spectacle entirely, Foronda has found ways to weave both eras together during live performances.

Layering Two Aesthetics

“In the show, we’re still doing the Tropicoquetta aesthetic, but we’re starting to add some new touches,” Foronda explains. The performances now feature Swarovski crystals and glitter layered into makeup looks, alongside darker, more atmospheric makeup. This hybrid approach allows fans to experience both the artist’s past and her present simultaneously.

The Smudgy Eyeliner Moment

The most significant departure, according to Foronda, is the introduction of darker, riskier makeup that reveals Karol’s rebellious side. The centerpiece of this look is deliberately imperfect eyeliner. “It has to be messy; it can’t be glam or perfect, like a perfect line,” he emphasizes. This intentional messiness stands in sharp contrast to years of hyper-polished beauty standards that have dominated social media. Where the “clean girl” aesthetic demands pristine, minimal makeup, Karol is embracing the opposite: drama, texture, and visible imperfection.

The Glitter and Crystal Technique

Foronda’s inspiration for the crystalline elements comes from unexpected sources. He draws heavily from the work of Zara Larsson’s makeup artist, Sophia Sinot, particularly her sophisticated use of glitter and rhinestones. “I love all the glitter she uses, and the little rhinestones she adds to the eyes. I love all the glitter she adds to her body,” Foronda says.

His execution method is refreshingly unglamorous. To achieve the glitter effects, Foronda mixes eyeshadow from Question Beauty, a New Zealand-based brand, with body lotion. This simple technique allows for controlled application and longevity on stage. The approach underscores a practical philosophy: bold beauty doesn’t require expensive or complicated methods.

Adding another dimension to Karol’s new product ecosystem is MIM, Foronda’s own beauty brand. A new body lotion, inspired by the lyric in Karol’s song “Ivonny Bonita,” is set to launch globally soon. The brand already includes the Hydrating Gel (containing hyaluronic acid and vitamin B5) and the Gentle Makeup Remover that has become essential to Karol’s routine.

The Skincare Foundation

Beneath the layers of glitter, crystals, and dramatic eyeliner lies a rigorous skincare regimen. Before any performance, Foronda prioritizes skin preparation. His secret weapon is the Medicube Booster Pro massage device, which uses LED technology, microcurrent, sonic vibration, and electric muscle stimulation (EMS) to provide temporary rejuvenating effects. A 15-minute session becomes the base for all subsequent makeup application.

Following the Medicube treatment, the MIM Hydrating Gel steps in to lock in moisture. The combination ensures that heavy stage makeup sits on a plump, hydrated canvas.

Removing all of this requires equally thoughtful care. Karol previously struggled with makeup removal, particularly when taking off the heavy mascara required for performances. She would inadvertently remove her eyelashes in the process. The MIM Gentle Makeup Remover solved this problem, becoming so integral to her routine that Karol told Foronda, “There’s no makeup remover like this one.”

The Philosophy Behind the Drama

This new chapter represents more than an aesthetic preference. It signals a larger shift in how Karol relates to beauty standards and self-presentation. The move away from the polished, controlled “clean girl” aesthetic toward intentional messiness and drama feels like a quiet rebellion.

The beauty of this approach, Foronda suggests, lies in its impermanence. The rhinestones can come off. The glitter can be washed away. The darker makeup can be removed. What remains is the person underneath—the more vulnerable, more personal version of Karol that the album and tour are meant to showcase. This philosophy transforms makeup from permanent identity statement into temporary emotional expression, allowing her to embody different versions of herself night after night.

The album itself hinted at this approach months in advance. In a promotional video for the tour, Karol opens a suitcase filled with sparkles and says, “No, I’m not packing that one yet.” It felt cryptic at the time, but now reads as a preview of an artist in transition—choosing which elements of her previous identity to keep and which to leave behind.