The aesthetic has dominated our lives — and feeds — for the past four years. But what lies beyond it?
Can you still be a “Clean Girl” if you have sleeve tattoos? What if you have a septum and eyebrow piercings? The Clean Girl aesthetic has dominated Pinterest boards and Instagram pages for years, first popularized during the early days of the pandemic. Characterized by gelled eyebrows, blushed lips, and dewy, clear skin, Clean Girl makeup is our generation’s signature look — and a complete 180 from the full glam of the 2010s. It’s minimal, seemingly low-effort, and the face of maintaining a “quiet luxury” lifestyle.
The display shelves of Sephora and Ulta reflect this trend, as products are proudly branded with the “clean” label and lined with dozens of various clear brow gels and neutral eyeshadow palettes. With the beauty industry only growing bigger and bigger, it may seem like our makeup options are increasing, but in fact, it’s the opposite.
The makeup trends of this decade are sorely lacking in color and full expression of creativity. Clean Girl makeup consists of a nude blush and lips (or pink if you’re feeling adventurous), neutral eyes, and light mascara. Naturally, not everyone enjoys bright and bold colors, nor has the time to sit down for a full-glam face, but something about mainstream makeup trends and products feels uninspired. Lauren Bliss, a former MAC counter artist and beauty industry insider turned beauty influencer, believes that social media has inhibited our imaginations when it comes to makeup. “I think people are afraid to be creative with makeup because they’re not willing to let it look like makeup or to look ‘imperfect’," said Bliss. “They want it to look like how professional makeup artists do it, or like influencers who use thousands of dollars' worth of lighting equipment and beauty filters.”
Indeed, seeing beauty trends through a fixed, filtered lens has distorted our collective imaginations of the endless possibilities of makeup. And while the makeup that Bliss did on clients from 2011 to 2013 at MAC was bolder and fuller-coverage, perceived “imperfections” weren’t completely erased through a filter. Back then, makeup was allowed to look like makeup, skin texture and all. Isamaya Ffrench, an internationally renowned makeup artist behind the faces of many runway shows, from Junya Wantanabe to Collina Strada, said in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar that pervasive “Instagram Face '' makeup looks are misleading and misrepresentative. “We don’t all look a certain way, so how can this be real and sustainable? For me, there is nothing more beautiful than self-expression,” she said.
Bliss also yearns to go back to a time when makeup allowed more space for artistry, remembering long before social media that it was magazines and beauty counter artists that were the go-to source for inspiration and tips. And while social media has democratized access to this information, it has also twisted the whole purpose of makeup: to express yourself.
Whether that be a natural no-makeup makeup look, a dramatic winged cat eye, or a play with unconventional colors, makeup has no right or wrong. “Prior to social media, brands would launch a product and invest in a huge shoot for a magazine ad, almost guaranteeing viewership from readers. Now, if a brand launches a product, both your ads and organic content are going to get more traction if they fall under some sort of trend like ‘glass skin’ or ‘sunset blush.’ So, in a way, brands are sort of in a chokehold by the algorithms and what aesthetic or trend is taking over TikTok at the moment,” said Bliss.
That is why Clean Girl makeup is aspirational and deceptively inclusive. There are countless tutorials, videos, and affiliate lists that tout only a handful of products to achieve the look. What Clean Girl makeup and the aesthetic itself lack is originality, with extremely rigid criteria for being a “Clean Girl." Its simplicity is aided by the fact that the icons of Clean Girl makeup already have perfect skin and the desired Eurocentric beauty standards that are a built-in requirement to be a “Clean Girl." Of course, people without these features can still participate in the trend, but it’s no mistake that celebrities and influencers like Hailey Bieber and Leah Halton are the poster girls of the Clean Girl aesthetic.
Clean makeup implies there is dirty makeup — whether that means products that use unfavorable preservatives in products or break the Clean Girl-approved color palette. Makeup lovers and consumers shouldn’t have to feel like they’re limited to one type of aesthetic or product. Makeup is a sandbox of play — you can use eyeshadow to create liner, mascara to fill in your eyebrows, or lipstick on any part of your face. The possibilities are endless.
Thankfully, there are brands out there where creativity is at the core of their image. Half Magic, a makeup brand created by Euphoria’s makeup artist Donni Davey, features intense shades of pinks, blacks, blues, and glitters in their lip glosses, lipsticks, and cushiony soft blushes. Terra Moons Cosmetics is the master of cruelty-free eyeshadow pigments that come in every multichrome, duochrome, and matte shade that you can think of. Even international brands like the German Lethal Cosmetics roll out fabulously curated franchised collabs that are more than just another champagne highlight and a brown neutral palette.
As such, not everyone wants to be playful with their makeup. Some may need it out of pure functionality, which is more than fine. Makeup is meant to serve different purposes. As for Bliss, she just wants a world with no rules or expectations. “My goal with my content is to share my personal journey of being creative with makeup again so that my followers, who might have similar thoughts on the industry, are inspired to be creative with it again as well. There is no right or wrong way to do makeup,” Bliss said. 🌀
Niya Doyle is a forever East Coast-based writer, beauty buff, and cat lover. She is a freelance journalist for HALOSCOPE covering beauty. You can follow her makeup and skincare journey on TikTok.