‘Clean Girl’ Trends Killed the Beauty Industry

Every year, the holiday season brings out the best in beauty industry releases, with a projected $240.8 billion in online sales between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, according to Beauty Matter.

Sephora runs its iconic once-a-year holiday sale in November, while Ulta and other retailers run cyber specials throughout the season. 

Typically, I spend the weeks leading up to sale season selecting my favorites or sending my mom links, hoping she’ll splurge so I don’t have to. But this year, I was both underwhelmed and unamused by the latest beauty launches. 

It seems every makeup line — drugstore and luxury alike — is releasing the same set of products over and over, most of them aligning with the “Clean Girl” makeup aesthetic, which has been viral on social media since 2022 and continues to trend regularly. 

The Clean Girl look includes glossy lips, glass skin, fluffed-up eyebrows and an ultimately minimalist look using mostly neutral tones. While this look is quite lovely, it’s far from the only style of makeup out there. 

Yet it seems now it’s the only style the industry caters to.

A conflicting example to the trendy clean aesthetic are the outlandish makeup looks of 2016, which put artistry at the forefront and made creative use of bright colors, bold brows and chiseled cheekbones — think Kylie Jenner lip kits and Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance. 

Although the style of 2016 makeup is often ridiculed in online spaces, I miss the emphasis on artistry it brought to the beauty world. 

This holiday season, most of the releases I saw were some variation of lip balm sets attempting to dupe Summer Fridays, lip oil collections, neutral eye shadows or some new sets of liquid blushes all circling the same shade of baby pink. It’s a clean girl’s dream. While it makes sense — because what’s on trend is ultimately what sells — I’m tired of it.

In my mind, makeup is first and foremost an art form rooted in self-expression, but it seems the industry has decided to limit the beauty artist’s tools by focusing on one style. 

While it’s completely valid to express oneself through the Clean Girl look — I have, numerous times — its market dominance has killed colorful eyeshadow palettes and made brightly colored lip products scarce. The industry has lost its edge in favor of the norm.

Not only has the beauty world begun to lose its spark, but pricing is out of control — the gap between high-end and drugstore cosmetics is constantly shrinking. 

e.l.f has nailed the Clean Girl trend with their grippy primers, liquid blushes and dreamy lip oils, but all that’s done is allow this once affordable makeup brand to slowly raise their prices. Drugstore favorites like NYX and Covergirl have followed suit, as some of their products have reached viral status, allowing them jack up prices as well. 

The high-end makeup sphere has also been growing more out of touch as brands have shifted from simply upscale to true luxury. While many justify these prices due to makeup’s status as a luxury good, there are some prices I find frustrating — such as Patrick Ta’s $42 holiday eyeshadow duos. 

The formula used to make these eyeshadows is highly complex — making it extremely pricey — but what brands prefer to label as innovation can feel a lot like price gouging.

I understand these products are high-end, high-quality goods, but they’re just the beginning of brands moving deeper into the luxury sphere, making the joy of makeup and the thrill of its artistry that much less accessible. 
This year’s Sephora sale has come and gone, and I bought nothing. For the first time in four years, I’ll be losing my frequent customer Rouge status and I’m okay with that. I’ll open my wallet when I finally feel re-inspired. Hopefully that day comes soon.