Simone Ashley is a walking billboard for the cool-toned resurgence. On Mar. 5, the actor was spotted in New York City, likely for the U.S. leg of her press tour to promote her new movie, Picture This. In a chic street style moment, Ashley was spotted in a neutral, cool-toned outfit, with a sleek high ponytail and milk-bath manicure to finish the look.
The actor is a real-life case study on how to embrace the return of cool-tones, especially as someone with a deeper skin tone, and I, for one, am taking notes. Ashley’s outfit set the stage, with her oversized blazer, silk skirt, and belt, all living in the same muted, neutral-toned color family. Her makeup added a bit of edge to the look, thanks to the structured brow, deep burgundy lip color and the matching smoky eye. The cherry on top of the look? Her milky French manicure.
Simone Ashley, walking the walk.
Like many of the trends popping up in the zeitgeist, cool-toned makeup was extremely popular in the ‘90s and early ‘00s. For the past few years, beauty enthusiasts have slowly inched back toward the repopularization of the indie sleaze aesthetic—everything from super dark eye makeup to just-bitten lip colors and even barely-there blush has been making its rounds once again. As someone who was terrified of this aesthetic the first go around, I feel much more equipped to take part in the 2025 cool-toned beauty resurgence, thanks in part to celebrities like Ashley, who are proving how easy it can be to incorporate the shades into my hair, makeup, and nail routines.
I’m feeling particularly inspired by Ashley’s latest look, so if you’re also ready to give your routine an indie-sleaze-inspired makeover, add a few of the curated products below to your beauty routine and maybe you’ll be the next street-style icon to land on someone’s mood board.
While Ashley's jet-black hair is incredibly striking, what also caught my attention is how shiny it looks. Get a similar look by using a hair gloss like this one from IGK.
I love red lipstick but I know one of the biggest gripes that people typically have with them is that the formula transfers everywhere. This one from Maybelline still holds the trophy for the best transfer-proof lipstick I've ever tried in my entire life. It's that good.
Another staple if you want to recreate Ashley's look is a cool-toned sheer nail polish. This one from Essie is a translucent milky white that will allow your natural nails to shine through ever-so-slightly.
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