Whimsy's Return To The Beauty Scene
The world of beauty has been plagued by the so called “clean girl aesthetic” for the past two years. These beauty practices spanned from the runway to everyday wear, and the masses couldn’t get enough. Over time, it became apparent that this trend could be problematic.
“The truth is that behind every clean girl photo is a natural and flawed woman, but that can be difficult to understand while scrolling through countless pictures of perfection,” said Charlotte Healy of HerCampus.
The intersection of the fashion and beauty industries have been at a standstill, repeating the same stale techniques. However, in the past few months, beauty trends seen on the runway have shifted to a more eclectic and creative style of makeup.
For her Fall/Winter 2023 show, Simone Rocha sent models down the runway wearing bows attached to either of their cheeks. According to Vogue, Rocha’s inspiration for this collection came from the Irish rituals surrounding Lughnasadh, a harvest festival.
The gorgeous cheek accessorizing quickly spread to TikTok, with users such as @meicrosoft and @oldloserinbrooklyn recreating the iconic look. The trend has become so popular that there’s even a “Simone Rocha Bows” filter on Instagram for users to replicate the trend themselves.
Ribbons have been trendy in the fashion sphere for a while now, but only recently has this trend spread to the world of beauty.
These ribbons were shown on nearly bare faces, with the whimsy of the ribbons juxtaposed on a classic and timeless look. In the world of fashion, a bare face is commonplace—but Rocha flipped this concept on its head and made her mark.
Sandy Liang’s Spring Summer 2024 collection, which was just shown during New York Fashion week, had models walk the runway with subtly placed rhinestones adorning their faces.
Liang is known for her use of rhinestones, bows, and rosettes. At her S/S ‘24 show, she introduced these motifs to the beauty team, extending and strengthening her aesthetic.
Sandy Liang’s devotion to motif comes from her adoration of women who match unintentionally.
“They don’t realize how beautiful they are when they’re standing together,” Liang said in her studio just a few days prior to her S/S ‘24 runway presentation.
Like the whimsical simplicity shown by Simone Rocha a season prior, these rhinestones were paired with clean faces that served to complement the glimmer of the stones. These basic looks that lie beneath the intrigue of adornments serve as a canvas to spotlight the adornments themselves, to draw attention to the rhinestones and bows.
As fun begins to peek back into the beauty world, one can’t help but wonder what’s to come next. Whether it’s a cheek adorned with a bow, or an eye meticulously rhinestoned, one thing is for sure—as far as beauty is concerned, whimsy will never go out of style.
What are your opinions on whimsy style? Leave a comment below!