In 2023, social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube introduced us to several thousand viral beauty trends, tutorials, tricks, tips and hacks. With new ‘aesthetics’ coming into play every other day be it through skincare, hairstyles and make-up, beauty enthusiasts around the world had a lot to experiment with and make their own.
As we near the end of the year, we’re looking at some of the most viral beauty trends that took the internet by storm — be it recreating the Hailey Bieber-inspired ‘strawberry’ make-up or trying to achieve glass skin like your favourite K-drama stars. Check it out:
7 Beauty Trends That Went Viral In 2023
1. Strawberry Make-Up
Strawberry make-up was one of the biggest and most viral beauty trends. Introduced by supermodel and Rhone Beauty founder Hailey Bieber, this trend comprises a dewy base, flushed strawberry-pink cheeks with peeking freckles and glossy lips. Adopted by celebrities and beauty enthusiasts worldwide, this trend works as the perfect summer look and by adding some blush on the bridge of your nose, it works as the perfect “cold girl” winter make-up. Come 2024, we don’t see this make-up look going out of fashion.
Read the full guide to Strawberry make-up here, and click here for a list of recommended products.
2. Glass Skin
Breaking away from years of matte make-up being the norm, healthy glowing skin is what became popular in 2023. Achieving that elusive Korean ‘glass skin’ wasn’t limited to choosing a foundation with a dewy finish, our skincare routines were updated and lifestyle changes were encouraged. From ancient home remedies to active-ingredient skincare, 2023 was all about that natural glow.
Here’s a hack that promises to give you glass skin and some products to help you get glowing skin.
3. Food-Inspired Beauty
While we’ve already discussed strawberry make-up, that was the only food-related make-up trend to storm the beauty world this year. Latte make-up was another viral make-up sensation that popularised warm-toned make-up. From the tomato girl summer to the sugar plum make-up look and striving for donut glazed nails to hair and make-up, 2023 had the beauty community really embody the ‘you are what you eat’ philosophy.
Click here to learn more about doughnut-glazed skincare and nails trend.
4. Candle-Lit Brunette Hair
When it came to hair colour, browns seemed to be the preferred colour of choice. One trend that came celebrity-approved was candle-lit brunette hair, which elevates the natural beauty of glossy brown hair through multi-tonal babylights that illuminate the hair surrounding it like little Christmas lights, giving your mane a soft-focus effect. And if brown doesn’t speak to you, we also saw a rise in the popularity of autumnal shades in the same family like copper and caramel.
Here’s everything you need to know about candle-lit hair and cowboy copper hair.
5. Skin-Flooding
More than make-up, skincare took centre stage this year. From K-beauty and J-beauty to ceramides, beauty enthusiasts put all their resources behind cultivating meticulous routines that involve multiple steps and an army of products. Amid all this, came skin-flooding—a trend that promised to help you lock in the moisture and help you achieve the glowy skin of your dreams by layering serums and moisturisers—which led to the debate of overusing products and whether this was necessary.
Decode the skin-flooding trend here, to see if this trend is for you.
6. 90s-Y2K Resurrection
2023 was the year of comeback trends, especially from the 90s and 2000s era. And while you may be thinking of the embarrassing blue eyeshadows and pale lips, the biggest makeup and hair trends of the Y2K got a 21st-century update in the form of Slavic make-up and concealer lips. Even when it comes to hair, the Rachel haircut made a comeback, along with the 90s supermodel bob as well as the shaggy mullet.
Click here to read more about the return of the concealer lips and the shaggy mullet.
7. Natural Beauty, For The Win!
Be it through flushed cheeks, glowing skin, opting for neutral colours and investing more time into actually improving and protecting your skin, accentuating your natural beauty was the biggest trend of the year. Collectively, we became more aware of our skin’s needs and learned to pay more attention to the ingredient labels on our products. We celebrated the things that made us unique and broke away from traditional beauty standards.
With a mix of nostalgia and some much-deserved attention to preserving our natural beauty, 2023 was a whirlwind of fun beauty trends to experiment and play around with. What are your predictions for 2024?
