If you’re a member of the beauty community, you have most definitely encountered the “U.K. Black girl” makeup style. It’s a trend that has gained traction every year since 2021, and that should inform how much of a chokehold it has on the community. They manage to combine challenging aspects of a full face makeup look, like the “bright undereye,” with techniques that ensure a seamless finish and highlights Black women’s features. The popularity is well-deserved.
Recently, there has been even more buzz around this famed makeup look. Uche Natori, a beauty and lifestyle content creator in the U.K., has always had a solid fan base that consistently tunes into her makeup tutorials, mainly on TikTok and YouTube. Still, she recently started to go viral on TikTok for her makeup looks, and her content soon made it to the X app. User @niccoyat reposted a picture of Uche and wrote, “THIS GIRL BE LYING OMG?? It don’t matter how many tutorials I follow MY FACE DO NAWT BE COMING OUT LIKE HERS?? LIKE SHE GOTS TO BE HIDING SOMETHING FROM US THAT WE DONT KNOW??.” This post garnered 3.5 million views and sparked a week-long conversation about makeup techniques, facial structures, etc.
Why is this relevant?
Like all trends, makeup is cyclical. This is why “2016 makeup” accurately describes the distinct makeup trend most beauty community members participated in. We are experiencing what is left of the clean girl makeup trend, with the first makeup video tagged #cleangirl by user @xolizahbeauty going viral in 2021 and the trend fully taking effect in 2022. The trend entails using lighter coverage products for an effortless, glowy skin-like look meant to embrace the skin instead of concealing it.
This is not without scrutiny, as many have felt that the trend is exclusionary and indirectly bashing the other end of the makeup spectrum with the term “clean” because it implies there is “dirty girl makeup.” It also does not account for people without flawless, blemish-free skin whose looks will differ from the tutorials and examples seen on social media.
Though the trend is plateauing, many have permanently adopted the look for convenience, skin health, and plain preference. I have borrowed some “clean girl” techniques to incorporate into my makeup style because the goal is never to have “cakey makeup” or thick layers of unblended product on the face. But many have found it challenging to find the balance between “too much” and “too little,” so when Uche Natori posted a TikTok video saying, “That half a pump of foundation, dot-dot of concealer, dot-dot of contour, is not going to get you this full beat. Put the product on your face. Don’t be scared,” I fear something shifted in the beauty community. Her reference to a beauty trend called exclusionary and insulting, and her telling people not to be afraid of makeup is compelling because of the subtle, negative connotations around full-coverage makeup in the past two years.
The video gained 1.1 million views, which started the multitude of recreation videos done by fellow beauty influencers, all with differing levels of expertise, and the many conversations about the obsession with wanting to be perceived as natural even when not. Although this seems new to most, many Black women in the U.K. have been wearing this look before it was trendy, and their makeup style has brought many Black women from different parts of the world together. I am excited about this renaissance of full-coverage makeup looks because it reminds me of 2016 makeup but with well-needed adjustments (no block brows, please, and thank you). I, for one, know that my baking materials are back like they never left.