Egirl makeup started to reach its peak in 2020 following other unconventional TikTok trends such as the VSCO girl. It rooted from E-girl fashion, a style trend meant to 'glamourise' or 'quirkify' one's exclusively digital persona through a mixed trends bag of ‘90s grunge, the noughties' emo-culture and Harajuku-like visuals. Think Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn from Birds Of Prey, minus the white base makeup and plus the drunk blush. Formerly a purely digital aesthetic, it has gradually transformed into a 'real-life' beauty trend.
It's not the most friendly look to wear, but it's definitely an interesting trend to try out during this stay-at-home period (for upcoming Zoom parties, perhaps?). Chances are, you’re reading this because it captured your interest too. Curious as to how you can ace this interesting makeup look? Here are our top tips on perfecting Egirl makeup IRL.
Bold eyes make the look
With the look originating from replicating augmented-reality beauty filters, it's no wonder why it has a very quirky and experimental appeal. Its key element? Over-the-top eye makeup. Be it bold colours, a full-blown smokey lid or two different colour stories per eye, theatricality is the way to go with this aesthetic.
Its more wearable but still nothing short of traffic-stopping variation is the ‘sick-cute’ eye makeup look, which mimics the natural pinkness/redness of puffy lids often present when — as you guessed it — one catches a cold. Taking your eye look one step further with shimmer or glitter is also always welcomed. The main goal is to give the eyes a cartoon-ish vibe that's as far from 'natural' or 'neutral' as possible.
Don’t forget that cat-eye
If you think playing with tons of colours is enough for this look, another key element in E-girl makeup is getting that on-point cat-eye. This trend really banks big on bold doll-like eyes, so a sharp and sometimes, over-the-top cat-eye — or is eyeliner art a more proper term? — must be in order. Top it off with the fullest, lushest falsies you can find and voilá! Eye makeup, done.
Pack on that blush, Igari-style
An old makeup rule states that if you go bright with your eyes, you have to tone down the rest of your look. But that’s totally not the case with E-girl makeup. Your blush must also keep up with your eye look for this aesthetic, which means it has to be just as bold. The E-girl way of doing so is by incorporating the Igari or drunk-blush technique, which makes the cheeks — and the tip of the nose — really pop with colour. This helps the look achieve its cuteness element, which paradoxically contrasts or complements the edginess of the eyes.
Blurred lips
Gradient lips are so 2015. At present, its evolved version — the blurred lips — is the more fitting option for this look. Fusing the popularity of matte lipsticks in the West and powdery lip tints in the East, this lipstick trend ties the look together by complementing the sharpness and vividness of the eyes and the cheeks with its soft and diffused yet still noticeable finish.
Top it off with a drawn-on accent
You already went all out with the eyes and the blushed-up cheeks so why hold back on the most important element of this look? E-girl makeup was originally meant to be worn by your digital persona, which means adding filter-inspired drawn-on accents like hearts (the most common) or stars to complete the look is nothing but valid. Want to kick it up a notch? Get creative by moving past basic shapes and try outlines, liner-sketched emojis, face stickers and face jewels to your look, as if attending Coachella is part of your every day routine.
(Cover photo from: @emmanmagpantay)
Looking for a more wearable makeup look? Check out our guide on the trending fox eye makeup.
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