11 beauty trends that should have never happened
Avoid these beauty buzzkills at all costs
Recent years have seen particularly vibrant, eccentric and unpredictable movements in the beauty sphere. Don’t get us wrong; beauty is an aesthetic concept that is indeed subjective to the eye of the beholder, but some of these recent trends aren’t as appealing as you might think.
While you’re recovering from the traumatic fashion trends embedded in our history, take comfort in knowing that just about every decade has encountered questionable decisions – whether that be sartorial or cosmetic. If the thought of sporting orange Crocs and popcorn shirts makes you cringe, consider discarding these unflattering beauty trends as well.
As proven peeves for guys, makeup artists and job employers alike, these 11 beauty trends actually do the opposite of their intended purpose.
Overly sticky lip gloss
We all love to sport a glossy pout, but when your lips are so sticky that they begin to look like you doused your mouth in maple syrup, that’s a problem. Wearing it outside especially doesn’t help; nobody likes spending the day with sticky, raspberry pink-streaked strands. Not surprisingly, men aren’t fans of it either; surveys have found that the majority of men vote against women donning it on a dinner date.
Not only does it diminish the whole effortless, woke-up-like-this impression you’re trying to pull off, but nobody wants to make out with super glue. Instead, try opting for long-lasting lip tints that moisturise with a subtle sheen.
Extensive self-tanner
Unless you’re naturally blessed with the wondrous genes of a luminous rose gold complexion, the rest of us mere mortals have been turning to self-tanners to bestow that subtle bronze glow.
This doesn’t come with no strings attached however; not only can it ruin that expensive white cashmere sweater you just bought, one coat too many and you’ll begin to resemble a baked pastry. Instead of that “fresh-out-of-the-oven” look, try a tinted moisturiser instead.
Stiff hair
Applying too much hairspray can make your locks crunchier than a forest floor during September. Instead of spritzing half a bottle of hairspray on your poor scalp, keep it minimal or natural.
Hair add-ins
While synthetic clip-ons can be cute on a kid or at Coachella, feathers, extensions, and bells on a regular basis can come off rather childish.
To prevent looking like a walking Christmas tree (and avoid making your hair look like an arts-and-crafts project), opt for dangling these trinkets on handbags or sporting them as jewellery instead.
Neon lips
While we’ve all seen the numerous images floating of (admittedly cool-looking) vibrant lipstick styles all over Pinterest, we’re still left scratching our heads as to what public setting one can don a neon green pout.
Sporting electrifying colours too drastically divergent from your natural lip colour may make yourself come off as unprofessional and overly aggressive, so it’s best to stay away from the popping lips if you’re attending a job interview.
Wet hair look
Makeup artists worldwide have predicted this to be the major hair trend of the year. With celebrities like Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Kim Kardashian West donning it on red carpets and said to have been inspired from Calvin Klein’s campaigns in the ‘90s, it has caught major spotlight everywhere.
Although the tousled, wet hair look may look nice on the beachside, having a twist with too much slick on the streets may just come across as greasy, unwashed hair.
Colour-blocked makeup
Colour-blocking on clothing is undeniably chic, but colour-blocked makeup can make your face appear much too angular, and not in a good way. If you want to avoid looking like a makeup novice, don’t neglect the blending brush.
Hangover makeup
You know those mornings after a particularly rough night out, and you awaken to the sight of a bloated, saggy face? Well, now there’s a makeup trend striving for just that. A new trend known as “hangover beauty,” this look praises “aegyo-sal” (translated into “charming fat”), striving to highlight the puffiness under one’s eyes.
To achieve the look, one has to line the bags underneath the eye and add blush above the cheekbones before blending them together into a reddish hue. This one’s pretty straightforward: don’t try to enhance what the rest of society usually tries to cover up.
While having your eyes appear puffy and red-rimmed may have been an intentional choice for you, chances are people are just going to wonder how much sleep you got last night.
Furry nails
Ever since Jan Arnold, renown co-founder of CND nail polish, showcased furry nails on the runway, people have been plastering actual faux fur on their nails. Several obvious questions arise to the impracticality factor of this trend (how do you even eat or wash your hands with those?), but this nail art might be stretching it a tad too far, even for nail aficionados.
You don’t want someone holding your hand to feel like he’s on a date with Sasquatch, so stick with the gel and acrylic for first impressions.
Stark ombre hair
Don’t get us wrong; we love ombre for many reasons – when done right. The biggest advice you could take for this is to seriously invest in a reputable hair stylist, or else your hair may just end up looking like you are in desperate need of a root touch-up.
Never go cheap with ombre, and make sure your colour transition is gradual as opposed to stark.
Bleached brows
We have Cara Delevingne to thank for sparking the brow obsession; the pencil-thin arches reminiscent of the ’90s have officially been eliminated for thicker, fuller brows. But if you thought microblading was a bold move, think again.
Stars like Katy Perry, Kendall Jenner and Rita Ora have all plunged into the peroxide party, inciting an entire movement of people grabbing the bleach to make their arches completely invisible. While that’s fine and all – if you’re into that sort of thing – fuller brows are proven to make you look younger.
Image credits: Getty Images
This article was originally published on Reader's Digest.