We Attempted 2021’s Viral Makeup Trends — These Are Our Favourites

2021 was the year of celebrity beauty lines, skincare gadgets and of course, makeup trends that made us bring our beauty A-game — be it for Zoom meetings or much-needed, in-person intimate gatherings.

In the fifth episode of BeauTea Talk, our video series where we talk about what’s brewing in beauty, we recapped 2021’s viral makeup trends with a fun twist! Host Roanna and Features Writer Sheryl engaged in a face-off challenge, where they each created a full makeup look comprising the year’s hottest makeup trends for the eyes, cheeks and lips.

How did their looks turn out? Watch the video above for more and discover this year’s top 12 makeup trends below.

Eyes: graphic liner and reverse cat-eye

Left - Graphic liner. (Photo from: @beatsbylizzie). Right - Reverse cat-eye. (Photo from: @daniamariemua)

The graphic liner look became even bolder this year as we continue to mask up and place greater emphasis on enhancing our peepers. Extend those eyeliner wings and attempt heavier strokes if you wish to; it’s about making a lasting impression. Another dominating eye makeup trend that was quite tricky yet fun to attempt was the reverse cat-eye look. As its name suggests, you’re required to draw the classic cat-eye just below your waterline as opposed to using the traditional technique.

Eyes: coloured eyeliners and pastel-toned lids

Left - Coloured eyeliner look. (Photo from: Clement Percheron via Pexels). Right - Pastel-toned eyes. (Photo from: @camiladerizans)

From lime green to azure blue, coloured eyeliners made a major comeback this year as we delved deeper into the world of vibrant shades to brighten up our eye makeup game. On the other hand, those with a penchant for romantic hues preferred to go the pastel route and opted for dreamy, cotton candy colours.

Eyes: Zoom-ready lashes and E-girl lashes

Left - Zoom-ready lashes. (Photo from: @rainiercramer). Right - E-girl lashes. (Photo from: @sir.cu)

It’s an open secret: Zoom-ready lashes helped us to look more awake for our morning Zoom meetings! This ‘my lashes but better’ makeup trend called on beauty lovers to add a few more coats of mascara to their lashes. On the other end of the spectrum, we saw the E-girl lashes trend taking over our social feeds too. The look was all about embracing bolder, false fluttery lashes on the top of the lids and individual false lashes at the bottom.

Cheeks: high blush and drunk blush

Left - High blush. (Photo from: @marijanadjoricmakeup). Right - Drunk blush. (Photo from: @crisgl0ss)

Moving on to cheeks, many of us aimed for the skies with the ‘face-lifting’ blush technique to help us create a more lifted and sculpted appearance. This hack saw us applying our blush above the hallows of our cheeks as opposed to the apple of our cheeks. Back to our fascination with E-girl makeup this year, there was also the drunk blush look, which is signature to TikTok star Bella Poarch. To rock this look, simply apply a generous amount of blush across your nose and on the upper half of your cheeks.

Cheeks: purple blush and coral blush

Left - Purple Blush. (Photo from: @strwbrrymrmdbeauty). Right - Coral blush (Photo from: @izzycarmeliarose)

Soft pink blushes were placed on the back burner this year as purple blush and coral blush took centre stage. Purple blush bode well with our obsession with Y2K-inspired trends, while coral blush helped us to create a beautiful, post-vacation glow, even when we were mostly cooped up indoors.

Lips: barely there tint and popsicle-stained lips

Left - Barely there tint. (Photo from: @ujoonote). Right - Popsicle lips. (Photo from: @sofitamakeup)

Finally, we also puckered up to the barely there tint and popsicle-stained lips trend. The former complemented our desire for natural-looking makeup for Zoom meetings. As for the latter, it inspired us to attempt candy-coloured, ombre lips that bore a very subtle touch of shine. So, which of these makeup trends will you be bringing with you into the new year?

Subscribe to our BeauTea Talk channel now to discover what’s brewing in beauty.