If you have been on TikTok the past few weeks, you’ve likely come across the newest beauty trend: “Unrecognizable Makeup.” The trend involves creating looks that completely transform one’s appearance. While experimenting and expressing creativity can be fun, trends like these negatively define our understanding of beauty and could have a detrimental impact on our self-esteem.

The Desire To Be Unrecognizable
When analyzing trends like these, the first question to ask is “Why do we want to be unrecognizable?” When beauty challenges spread across social media, people immediately join and don’t necessarily think about why they are joining.
Unrealistic beauty standards have plagued pop culture for centuries, but with the rise of social media, the pace of microtrends has only sped up. Whether it’s transformative makeup or plastic surgery, our constant need to keep up with these trends prevents us from truly understanding their harm.

The Invisible Cost of These Trends
We often scroll on social media and see pictures of perfectly filtered influencers plastered on our feeds. Over time, we begin to believe that transforming our appearance is required to lead a satisfying and fulfilled life. This process of thinking eventually results in feelings of insecurity and low self-esteem. Instead of finding ways to embrace our individuality, we are searching for “perfection”, but the definition. of perfection is ever-changing, leading us to feel forever unsatisfied.
What About Creativity?
Makeup is one of the ultimate forms of self-expression. It can push cultural norms, experiment with colors, and broaden our perspective of individuality. However, is it really considered self-expression if it is our goal to conform to someone else, someone “unrecognizable”?

The Power of Self-Esteem and Authenticity
Apart from being entertaining to watch in the moment, trends like the “Unrecognizable Makeup” challenge offer no benefits and only bear disadvantages.By attempting to completely transform ourselves, we are hiding behind and succumbing to unrealistic beauty standards. Instead, we should be using platforms, such as TikTok, to empower real, natural beauty. For example, makeup challenges could be used to embrace the features that make us unique, such as lip shape, arched brows and freckles. By elevating the self-esteem of women around the world, social media will become a much more positive environment that prioritizes authenticity, not artificiality.
What are your thoughts on the “Unrecognizable Makeup” trend? Tag us on Instagram @VALLEYmag and let us know!
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