Editorial
Is "Clean Girl" Makeup Inclusive?
By Tori Roderick, Staff Writer
Dec. 12, 2023
Beauty trends come and go over the years but one of the most recent trends to come from Tiktok is seemingly here to stay.
“Clean Girl” makeup is inspired by the aesthetics of fashion icons and Tiktok such as Hailey Bieber, Madison Beer, Olivia Rodrigo, and Selena Gomez.
The look is a new take on the popular “no makeup” makeup where you essentially have more skincare on your face than foundation. Some of the basic defining features include simple, slick back hairstyles or big luscious curls, a skin tint or glowy face product, feathered brows, glossy lips, a pink-toned blush, and lots of highlighter.
Some popular products used to achieve this aesthetic are Charlotte Tilbury’s Flawless Filter, Soap brows, Ilia mascara, Drunk Elephant and The Ordinary Skincare, and Kosas Concealer.
Picture eating avocado toast every morning, going to pilates with your girlfriends, following a routine to the t, and that’s the “Clean Girl” lifestyle.
So is “Clean Girl” makeup really inclusive?
Many of the brands promoted and earning a profit from the trend don’t offer a large range of shades for darker skin or even people with super light skin, such as those with albinism.
For instance, Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter offers about ten different shades for lighter skin but only two darker shades. A lot of people defend this controversial choice by saying that since the product is sheer, it doesn’t matter anyways.
The trend’s it girls also are predominantly very thin, fair toned, and use expensive products, which could negatively impact a girl’s image of herself if she watches too many.
A lot of people tend to compare themselves to others that they see on social media and their feed, which can contribute to depression, FOMO (fear of missing out), body issues, anxiety, and more problems.
According to helpguide.org, a website that focuses on mental health and wellness, “Even if you know that images you’re viewing on social media are manipulated, they can still make you feel insecure about how you look or what’s going on in your own life. Similarly, we’re all aware that other people tend to share just the highlights of their lives, rarely the low points that everyone experiences,”.
To explore the claim that "Clean Girl" beauty doesn’t include a lot of women with varying features or skintones, I scrolled through the famous Tiktok tag and analyzed the videos.
17/20 of the videos I watched were created by white and skinny women.
All of the comments on one video were supportive citing how “glowy” her skin was. Some comments even remarked the compliment “you ARE the beauty standard,” which is not untrue.
However, when I specifically searched for a Black creator’s take on the trend, the comments varied from positive and supportive to demeaning especially when one commenter compared the makeup artist to ASAP Rocky.
On other videos, some comments stated the women of color looked “greasy” compared to the first girl’s “glow”.
While the principal skin tone and makeup brands shown in the trend provides an issue, so does the hair.
Like Hailey Bieber, most girls who do their makeup in this way have pin straight, slick back hair. By not representing the diverse hair textures and beauty of people all over the world, it implies this trend isn’t for people with those traits.
All of these exclusions and insulting remarks point to one thing, that "Clean Girl" beauty isn’t very inclusive.
The basic idea and appeal behind these "Clean Girl" celebrities is their wealth, their body, their youth, their skin, and their hair, and it implies everyone who doesn’t fit this mold is dirty or disorganized.
Comments and language used towards other women who try the look promotes racist and classist stigmas.
While makeup can seem harmless, this trend could make conditions worse towards others who already feel discriminated against and further the appeal of unachievable beauty standards and lifestyles.
In the future, makeup trends should be more diverse and include more skintones, skin types, and hair textures so everyone’s differences can be celebrated.
Everyone deserves the chance to feel beautiful.