6 of TikTok’s most unusual beauty trends - from tomato girl make-up to cold girl make-up and blue foundation

Every season there are new trends in fashion and beauty. Many of them are fueled by the Big Four fashion shows, celebrities, stylists, the media and popular culture such as TV and film. But, they are also increasingly coming from social media platforms, particularly TikTok as the site that young people look to first for their news and information.

The latest trends are sometimes designed to surprise and shock, and indeed that is why they get people talking and become trends in the first place. So, it’s no surprise TikTok has been home to its fair share of bizarre beauty trends.

The team at influencer marketing analytics company WeArisma have pulled together a list of the top six weird but wonderful beauty trends currently taking TikTok by storm. Keep reading to find out exactly what they are and, if you’re feeling bold, how you can achieve the looks yourself.

Meredith Duxbury’s Foundation Routine

We’re usually told that less is more, and that a thin base of foundation is all that’s needed to even out your skin tone but avoid the dreaded cakey look. More is more, however, when it comes to this viral TikTok trend started by beauty influencer Meredith Duxbury. In a video in which she shows her followers how she achieves her flawless make-up routine she can be seen layering on lots of foundation and concealer to achieve perfect skin. In fact, Duxbury uses a total of 10 pumps of foundation. 

This make-up challenge received a total of 31,189,549 engagements according to WeArisma.

Tomato Girl Make-up

As the name of this trend suggests, it’s all about giving yourself a deep rosy glow - but it’s not subtle. This trend pairs natural, clean skin with blood-rushed cheeks to give the skin a tomato-esque hue. Light amounts of both bronzer and blush are swept across the bridge of the nose and up to the high points of the cheeks to add colour to where the sun would naturally hit. Dubbed the ‘tomato girl aesthetic’ for its red-ish undertone, this trend has been sweeping TikTok with many users recreating the look.

 This make-up challenge received a total of 898,320 engagements according to WeArisma.

Straw Contouring

Straw contouring is exactly what it sounds like, applying make-up to the face using the end of a drinks straw. People have been uploading videos to TikTok of themselves using this TikTok to apply liquid foundation, concealer, blush and bronzer. They use the straw to dot the make-up evenly over every part of their face and then blend it out using a brush or their fingers.

This make-up challenge received a total of 20,687,287 engagements according to WeArisma.

Blue Foundation

Foundation tutorials are very common on TikTok, but this one has a very strange stand-out feature - it’s all about people turning themselves blue. It’s possibly not quite what you think though, as the blue foundation does not provide the finished look, it’s all about balancing skin tones and colour imperfections. One influencer, for example, said that blue foundation can be used alongside traditional foundations to help offset yellow undertones. This can make foundation a more true-to-skin colour for those with pink undertones, resulting in a more natural look.

 This make-up challenge received a total of 36,884,998 engagements according to WeArisma.

Cold Girl Make-up

The ‘Cold Girl’ make-up look is being recreated across TikTok, where users try to emulate the look of just coming in from the cold. Yes, it may still be summer, but some people are actually wanting their skin to look like it’s been exposed to an autumnal chill. They don’t want brown, sun-kissed skin, but instead are striving to achieve skin that is as pale as possible. Tutorials tell people how to achieve pale skin, coupled with rosy, pink cheeks and dark eyelashes and brows, with a pink-ish red lip stain.

 This trend received over 1,782,061 engagements, according to WeArisma data.

Latte Make-up

The ‘Latte make-up' trend has swiftly emerged as Gen Z's response to the classic 'bronzed goddess look'. Notably, influential figures like Hailey Bieber have enthusiastically embraced this trend, which revolves around a sophisticated interplay of warm brown and nude hues and is intended to capture the essence of the summer aesthetic. The celebrity approval is sure to help the trend gain an even wider following.

According to WeArisma data, this trend has received over 74,776,744 engagements.