If you think makeup is just used to make you look prettier, you’re wrong, and maybe you are getting older.
The latest makeup trend that even Hollywood is embracing is all about looking ugly.
Yes, you heard that right.
It’s called the ‘Ugly Beauty’ trend very accurately, and it is so popular that the hashtag has over 13 million views on TikTok.
So what is ugly makeup?
Well, ugly is subjective, but basically, it is just unsubtle.
So instead of the dewy natural makeup look that used to be all the rage, there’s now a much brasher and in-your-face alternative.
Bright eye shadows, over-lined lips, smudged eye-make, hell, even smudged lip makeup.
The idea is that it is bold, creative, and the opposite of effortless.
There are also tutorials of artists on TikTok showing fans how to embrace features that the previous generation taught us how to hide.
Dark under-eye circles are now in.
You should want to accentuate them instead of covering them up.
The ugly trend is so powerful that even Gigi Hadid, who is a walking beauty standard herself, has been spotted in almost black lipstick.
It is officially everywhere and threatening to become mainstream.
Psychologist Carly Dober said that the ugly trend shows that young women are “poking fun” at beauty standards.
“It tells me that women who are playing around with makeup and exploring different looks are critically analyzing their relationship to makeup and self-expression and how their relationship to makeup can best serve them,” she told news.com.au.
The ugly looks aren’t just going viral on TikTok.
Model Julia Fox is practically an ambassador for the quirky trend.
She’s always being spotted with an over-powdered face, bright lipstick, wild eye make-up, or anything slightly eye-catching.
Eyebrow bleaching is a big feature of the ugly beauty trend and you saw it on Julia’s face first.
When you consider that Julia is most famous for her iconic fashion it says plenty that she’s been one of the first to embrace this trend.
Rapper Doja Cat is also often going viral for her wild make-up looks.
She’s thrown out subtle and has gone for giant eyelashes that look more clumpy than feathery and she’s never afraid to go for a bold look over a refined one.
Tasteful is out and fun is very in.
Dr. Dober pointed out that young women often start having fun with makeup and creating over-the-top looks but that “media, age and public expectations and beauty standards” can force them to abandon that sense of play and instead go for what makes them look the most conventionally attractive.
So what has changed? Well, women have.
“It’s trending for a reason, and maybe some people regret adhering to traditional beauty standards and eschewing fun makeup trends,” she said.
Dr. Dober said that young women not wanting to use makeup to just look pretty could also have something to do with their relationship with the male gaze.
“I think that Gen Z has a lot of capacity and social license to critically evaluate what the male gaze has and has not done for them, and to evaluate what it’s provided and taken away from previous generations of women, and they are asking themselves and each other, ‘is it actually worth it?’
The answer seems to be no.
Ugly beauty is far less about women actually looking worse and far more about women playing with make-up through the female lens – ironically it is beautiful to see.
