The Vanilla Girl look is taking TikTok by storm. In recent months, beauty enthusiasts have flooded the video-sharing app with the hashtag, highlighting the look characterized by dewy skin, light blush, and barely-there eyeshadow.
This trend doesn’t come as a surprise since minimalist makeup looks, particularly on TikTok, have dominated beauty trends in recent years (think the “Clean Girl” and “Cold Girl” aesthetics).
As someone who appreciates a simplistic makeup look, the Vanilla Girl makeup look is right up my alley. On a journey to discover the intrigue of the Vanilla Girl makeup trend, I consulted with content creator Emely Moreno to find out why it’s trending. I also chatted with Global Makeup Artist for Sigma Beauty, Dani Schmidt, to learn how to recreate the look.
What’s the Vanilla Girl Makeup Trend?
The Vanilla Girl’s makeup is a minimalist makeup routine that highlights your natural features, according to Moreno. “The Vanilla Girl look is meant to convey the idea that you can feel just as beautiful without makeup as you would with it,” she said.
According to Schmidt, the look uses warm hues like champagne, gold, and caramel, as well as muted pinks and nudes, to create a soft and carefree appearance.
Schmidt also shared that it may be a rebrand of the viral “Clean Girl” aesthetic that trended last year, characterized by a minimal makeup look. “Similar to the Clean Girl trend, it’s a take on applying makeup in a way that enhances your features naturally without putting in too much thought or effort.”
Why is the Vanilla Girl look trendy?
Schmidt acknowledged that beauty trends focused on enhancing natural beauty rather than covering it continue to surge, thanks to mainstream media and celebrities like Hailey Bieber, Lili Reinhart, Zendaya, Kate Hudson, Emma Ratajkowski, and Zoë Kravitz, who veer away from intense glam.
Moreno believed the pandemic played a massive role in the need for a simple yet put-together look. “During this time, many of us were wearing loungewear and little to no makeup,” she said. “This allowed people to see that even with little effort, you can still feel good.”
How to achieve the Vanilla Girl Makeup trend
When it came time to sit at my beauty counter and try the look for myself, I turned to Schmidt’s expert advice to even out my skin with Sigma Beauty’s Spectrum Color-Correcting Duo. To keep the skin looking fresh and natural, Schmidt advised using it under the eyes to brighten and around the nose to conceal redness.
Next, she suggested swiping a coat of the Tint + Tame Brow Gel from Sigma Beauty in the shade Clear to give the brows definition and hold.
Schmidt said to search for a lipstick shade that elevates your natural lip color. For light to medium complexions, she recommended the Sigma Beauty Infinity Point Lipstick in the shade New Mod since it’s the perfect pinky-nude. For medium to deeper complexions, she recommended the Red Velvet shade, which she described as a “stunning warm nude.”
The results
Following Schmidt’s advice to achieve the look was super simple, and her product suggestions helped keep the look minimal. I love that it was effortless to create, enhanced my natural beauty, and took less than 20 minutes to complete.
Noticing that the trend comes with a specific fashion look (think cream and beige clothing), I completed the aesthetic with my soft and comfy Julia Sweater from Grey Bandit and One Button Closure Coat from NA-KD. Like they say, commit to the look!
Finally, I completed the look with Lavanila’s Pure Vanilla Fragrance, which left me smelling like buttercream. My entire appearance racked up tons of compliments from my family, friends, mailperson, and those I walked by. I’ll be keeping this aesthetic in my daily rotation.
The conclusion
Although the trend has been criticized for not being inclusive due to the blonde hair visuals seen in many inspirational videos, we at Glowsly believe that beauty isn’t limited to a single skin tone.
When I asked Schmidt about her thoughts on this, she shared that any skin tone can rock the trend. “The cool thing about a trend is that we can cater to our desired look,” she said. “The shades are classic colors that can be customized to your skin tone and undertone.”
Moreno reminded me that the bottom line when recreating the Vanilla Girl look is that the goal is to let your natural beauty shine through.
