If there’s a word, to sum up the 2022-2023 beauty trend, it’d be—erratic.
From siren eyes, bleached brows, and Julia Fox’s black-swan-esque eyeshadow, we can attest, once more, that trends will perpetually push beauty’s continuum. And right in the crevices of the algorithm, we found the limbo for the makeup junkies, experimenting between beguiling minimalism and striking maximalism.
Glam gore, faux cuts, to thin brows’ comeback. Here are the rising beauty trends that’d take you on a guttural aesthetic ride.
1. Distressque
Aside from the resurrection of the good ‘ole Illuminati conspiracy, we can’t deny that Doja Cat’s slow yet explosive rebranding stole the show in Paris Fashion Week.
The Swarovski mania left us in a chokehold, but who can miss her ‘beauty beat’ in a busted lip, black eye, and faux cuts in the Balenciaga 2023 Spring collection?
The singer expresses that the controversial look was her desire to literally show what the week-worth of strutting left her—busted and beaten—a challenge that Sophia Sinot compellingly executed.
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The London-based makeup artist, with her dexterity to concoct glam and gore, undeniably gave the “Say So” singer a perfect introduction to her new era with a series of distressingly satisfying looks in smudged lips, ultra-contrasted lippie combos, and studded brows.
2. Graphic Liners
As a chameleon, graphic liners can give an instant touch of editorial in any peg without trying. While pastel geometric eye looks are slowly easing down, punk graphic liners are here to stay. In fact, its presence became stronger in every cover, music video, and product launch.
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If you’re part of the ‘GIRL GVNG,’ you'd know XG’s new music video solidified another visual bookmark. The catchy girl boss anthem is induced with E.T-cyberpunk adrenaline, with the girls emblazoned in their 3D graphic liners.
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Watch their new music video below!
Isamaya French, celebrity makeup artist and editor, also launched a new version of her Industrial Makeup collection, an addition to her notoriously risqué makeup line Isamaya Beauty. The collection includes metallic liners, cream shadows, and ultra glosses that scream sharp and ultra reflect. See the beauty campaign frontline by the ‘it’ girl of alt beauty, Julia Fox, below!
3. Bleached/Shaved Brows
Unconventional wouldn’t be without sporting a relatively freer space on the forehead. Whether for liberation or experimentation, deleting the pillar of symmetry in your face can open possibilities in your makeup style.
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A recurring beauty trend since Elizabethan times, shaving or bleaching one's brows is a daring hit or miss make-over and has not stopped trending since its revival in 2021.
4. 3D Metals
Ditch your rhinestones. We’ll get more solid and metallic. The Euphoria series got everyone bedazzled and Twiggyfied. But for this year, content creators are amping up their graphic liners with faux metal embellishments to bring balance and texture to the face charts.
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Check out these Instagram content creators serving casual to haute metallic goodness. Let your eyes be full.
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5. Statement Makeup
From electrifying neon liners, lashes, blushes, and eye shadows—we all love an emphasis. In fact, picking a centerpiece can amp up your makeup effortlessly. With cosmetic companies bringing pro MUA artillery to vanity tables, content creators are plunging to the extremes.
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Rowi Singh, playing with monochrome and eclectic palettes to make captivating statements.
6. The Revivals
Makeup, like fashion, loves to throw things back around. The 2023 stepped on a time machine with lip combos, glosses, and thin eyebrows dominating the mainstream media.
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The prelude—Rihanna’s ultra-slim brows on British Vogue 2018 gave a nod to Jean Harlowe’s tea dancer era. Though fluffy and laminated brows subsequently rose, thin brows kept making appearances on everyone's faces. Eventually, it found a pair in the alt beauty.
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The nostalgia never ends with the glossy two-toned lips making a comeback. And though it came with a bit of a racial stir (the cola lips debate), dual-toned lips are undeniably a catalyst in making the peculiar pretty.
Makeup As Mirror
In the premise of art imitating life and vice versa, the crazy in makeup is a mere reflection of the obscure future and distant past.
Who wouldn’t love to throw things back around to make makeup relatable? Steam off the anxiety by pushing boundaries of color and symmetry? Jive with the AI’s threat to humanity by at least getting the lookbook ready for the dystopian strut? Or maybe just liberating our imaginations by the tip of our brushes and, by chance, opening a conversation for the taboos?
Whatever the case is, 2023 gave our post-mental-breakdown look a faux pass.
Would you rock an alternative glam?
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