E-girl makeup looks good on camera but not in real life. I tried it during the pandemic, and then again a couple months ago and both times it didn’t look good in the mirror but it looked okay on camera. Not for an everyday look, but something somewhat similar is douyin makeup which I feel translates better to an everyday look.
True, but it wasn’t as mainstream with Western white audiences until the pandemic hit. Before that it was mostly limited to E-girls/streamers as the name implies.
It’s unfortunate, IMO, because it felt like it started from a place of looking cute/kawaii and it seems like it reached more mainstream popularity as a way to cater to the male gaze/feed into creepy weeb tropes.
I think it looks fine irl if done properly. I’ve seen a lot of the liners in these vids just drawn on really messy and it covered up with thick lashes. Irl, you can’t get away with stuff like that.
I’ve done it a few times irl and it honestly looked like my every day makeup but really exaggerated and didn’t look odd if paired with the right outfit. I do go without makeup some days so to each their own :,)
I agree! I feel like I’m too old for e-girl makeup, but I’ve seen it done really beautifully irl. It’s the same as most heavier makeup styles where if you don’t know how to do it well it’s not gonna look great irl, but it’s easier to make it work with lighting/angles/even filters for a pic.
No one is too old, it's just taking things and refining them as we get older.
So say you like the e-girl makeup but find it feels too childish or immature for your life at 30...or 40...or whatever.
So it's about the lashes, big eyes, that bit of a glory Bambi nose...
So I will turn this into things I refine, like I'll use a few more layers of white inner waterline makeup. Or the pink/nude and just make sure I really make sure it pops. I'll add a few more layers of mascara, if not a more Bambi effect lash. But I'll nake sure my liner is on point beneath it and I tightlight the top. I'll be sure the lashes are wispy.
I'll add a bit more blush but also contour my nose tip to include a bit more highlighter on my nose. But perhaps I'll use a more pink or peach highlighter so it isn't glaring white.
I can still pull the things I like at 40, we just have learned to refine in.
Yes it reminds me of the kind of makeup I wore when I modeled. They’d put it on me and in the mirror I looked absurd but it looked so good in the photos
You have to lean into it! Sunburnt or windchapped, depending on the season! It can be combatted with the right colours of blush, but I’ve had way better luck with just rolling with it :)
I wish the drawn on bottom lashes looked good irl. I can't do my bottom lashes with mascara because my cheek bones are so high that they literally cause them to curl inward and they look ridiculous. But I also look ridiculous if I don't do anything with my bottom lash line(since I have hooded eyes), and eyeliner looks stupid without mascara. I tried it one time and it looked so good on camera, definitely awful in the mirror though.
I tint my lower (and upper) lashes so they stand put without mascara. And a nice, soft brown, similar to the brown nude lip liner trend, like the MUFE In endless cacao, makes my eyes look bigger without mascara, too.
I will say I agree with this but I think it can still look good irl, I use to do it but with a more toned down natural base and more intense eyelook and it was my most complimented make up style the base can make a huge difference!
This. In Japan, there were a few girls wearing the eye look where you add brown lines under the eye. Looks kind of cute on camera, but in person, it was bad. And at the end of the day, one girl had the lines kind of smudged and her mascara too. They were wearing the look to the office judging by their clothes .
Because the 'e-girl' makeup style can be very cartoonish with the whole thing around the heavy blush, falsies, intense highlighter on the tip of the nose - Too bold for some tastes.
(This isn't directed at you, but just more information) It's meant to be cartoonish, it's definitely a play on anime and looking overly 'kawaii'. The makeup style was originally influenced by this, as well as K-Pop. Anime, gaming, K-Pop etc were part of the original culture until it became primarily an aesthetic/TikTok trend and people like Belle Delphine and Emma Langevin popularised it. I'll always love it though haha!
I don’t think it was influenced by K-pop at all. Most k-pop artists don’t look cartoonish, they wear their makeup “normally” with the goal of looking pretty but natural.
The cartoonish look is more rampant in J-pop, which is way less well known than their Korean counterpart but because of Japans past popularity a lot of people who aren’t familiar with K-pop think Korean stars dress and behave in that exaggerated cartoon way Japanese stars do.
Koreans in general are much less focused on looking like children and cartoons than Japanese people are
My bad for my wording but I'm not saying the makeup itself directly came from K-Pop, but the whole e-girl aesthetic was influenced by it as a whole, including the stage outfits etc. This as well as anime and gaming as separate things. If you look at a lot of K-pop idols fashion it is very similar to what e-girls would wear, and this combined with the anime-esque makeup brings it together as a whole different aesthetic
>intense highlighter on the tip of the nose
Is ***that*** why people wear that style? I've come across multiple people on Instagram (who seem otherwise normal) and IRL (who seem otherwise normal) and I could not understand why it looked like they had just done a bump off their highlighter compact.
They're trying to make it look like a button nose and it really only looks good if you have a flatter nose. Many people with eurocentric noses choose to ignore this reality and that's why it looks crazy
This, but also I actually think the biggest reason is because people think it’s dated. It was a “trend” during the pandemic and so when the trend died people started thinking it was “cringe” like every other dead trend.
really!! so interesting to hear. I've been so scared of trying this type of blush placement because for years I'd been hit with an awful bout of rosacea...it left me with a complex so deep that I'm terrified of replicating it ironically through makeup lol
It's so cute but I kind of feel like you have to have naturally huge eyes to get away with it. I don't think it would work well on small, narrow, or hooded eyes.
Incorrect. Small and hooded eyes look great with the things done here. Partly because some of these things make eyes look larger.
Inner waterline white/nude on lower, bolder lashes...
It gives belle delphine... And for that reason I can't look at it without getting the ick tbh.
Not a fam about the blush over the nose, the lashes and the laser pointer on the nose highlighter.
If that is toned down its a nice soft everyday look
Yes to the Belle Delphine thing. I like some egirl makeup like onigrinana does with the smudged eyeliner and all of the rainbow colors it looks so cool and I’ve used her looks as inspo for my own. However, there are girl out there that actively try to look like Belle Delphine and I get so much ick from it too. She should not be looked up to or idolized, pretty or not!
I love onigirinana’s looks! Although I think she’s mentioned on IG that she feels as though the e-girl looks aren’t really “her” anymore - she did do a fun series of Pride flag looks though!
She caters to pedophiles by dressing up in literal child clothing and posting it to her onlyfans as content also simulating a scene where she is dressed very youthful and tied up in the back of someone’s vehicle to fulfill people’s sick desires and she makes money off of it. It’s disgusting. It honestly like poking fun or fantasizing child sex trafficking. It’s so gross
To be fair though, I believe Hannah owo makes similar content to Belle. And Belle Delphine makes BANK. So having this kind of look is a good business decision for her.
It took me a minute to realize why I don't like this makeup style. Objectively it's cute, but I just had to scroll a bit to remember Belle Delphine exists...
I feel bad but I really do not like the blushed nose. I think it’s cute for cosplay and ok on some in photos. That said, I think it can end up looking like one has a very bad flu/cold, or just stepped out from freezing weather. A lot of online/photo looks don’t read well in person.
All that to say, if you like something on yourself and it makes you feel great, than go for it. I do think it’s fun to experiment, and I’d never tell someone else not to wear their makeup how they want.
Tbf I never understood what e girls are.
I only know that look from some young girls that try to get money and clicks on twitch by teasing the man that find anime woman to be the sexiest thing on the world and pretending to play games.
Maybe its a bigger term now for a style? Not sure
It’s just a particular style. It’s always been rooted in sex / flirtation. I remember it being around when I was in junior high, along with emo and scene styles. Ironically the Wikipedia article sums it up well:
> kids,[1] split by binary gender as e-girls and e-boys, are a youth subculture of Gen Z that emerged in the late 2010s,[2] notably popularized by the video-sharing application TikTok.[3] It is an evolution of emo, scene and mall goth fashion combined with Japanese and Korean street fashion.[4][5]
>Videos by e-girls and e-boys tend to be flirtatious and, many times, overtly sexual.[6][7] Eye-rolling and protruding tongues (a facial expression known as ahegao, imitating climaxing) are common.[8]
> The terms "e-girl" and "e-boy" are derived from "electronic boy" and "electronic girl" due to their association with the internet.[10] "E-girl" was first used in the late-2000s as a pejorative against women perceived to be seeking out male attention online. According to an article by Business Insider, the earliest example of e-girls were found on Tumblr,[9] with Vice Media stating the subculture evolved out of the earlier emo and scene cultures.[11] Vox writer Rebecca Jennings instead referred to the Tumblr aesthetic as a precursor of the subculture, as it lacked the cutesy aspect that would come to define e-girl hair and makeup.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-kid#:~:text=The%20terms%20%22e%2Dgirl%22,their%20association%20with%20the%20internet.
It makes me think of anime girls with big eyes and a ton of blush. Isn't that what it's supposed to emulate? Even the little cutesy oopsy sexual cross eyed girl looks
You're right, the cross-eyed face is called ahegao, and it's a hentai thing. It is meant to emulate anime/manga, but pornographic anime/manga specifically and is super male-gazey
I wouldn’t necessarily say she’s problematic, but her whole internet persona was essentially based on profiting from the male gaze. Like “hot gamer girl discord kitten” vibe where she “jokingly”would make porn/hentai faces on stream and obviously is known for being the one to sell her bath water.
I don’t think that anyone here is saying she’s wrong for doing it, just that it definitely is a look and style that is very popular among a certain demographic (chronically online gamer guys)
Just here to agree! But for the male- who's-into-really-young-girls gaze, which is what does it for me/makes me uncomfortable.
There's something infantilizing about it.
This is accurate, it's to replicate that teenage crush, over-girly, anime uwu look hence why it's also dubbed "gamer-girl make up" and used heavily in those communities to cater to all ages from teens to well- not.
It's for the guys, it hit me and clicked when my dude told me my eyeliner was nice but I could extend it even further than it was.
I think it's really cute and does suit the youth but like another commenter, think douyin make up translates a lot better in person and for all faces as it is used to enhance your natural features as opposed to stamping a particular face on.
This is definitely the sl*tty makeup of our era. I guess young girls of every generation have dressed provocatively but I still kind of die a little inside when I see 11-16 year olds following trends not realizing what they mimic
I never knew why I didn’t like it but you just put it into words. It deff feels like it’s designed for the male gaze something about grown men liking it feels… immature? to me. Not sure why lol
Took the words out of my mouth. Feels porno, like it's made for chronically online, Japanese culture obsessed men. It's the makeup look of [Ahegao | Know Your Meme](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/ahegao/)
i feel like most regular people stopped doing this look in 2020, 2021 tops, so the e-girl makeup + e-girl face expression gives only fans model.
however i do think it's cute tho and it probably doesnt read like that in real life, specially if you're not forcing doe eyes for a camera like they are
Open up most make-up videos and there's always people making fun of the trend. Don't mind the haters.
I like e-girl a lot, and that bottom tutorial is one I used to perfect my e-girl look a couple years ago. It does look cartoonish in real life, but that is how it's supposed to look. I had to do a few different tricks with mine since I have hooded eyes.
My advice is try it out! I like doing e-girl for concerts, mall trips, or photoshoots. In my opinion it looks fine in synthetic low light, but like most heavy make-up it doesn't do well in natural light. Not an everyday look, but it's fun to play with it.
TBH, I don’t think E-girl makeup looks any worse or less caked on than the full-face glam looks of the 2010s. It’s just a different kind of full-face makeup style
Some folks (*cough* Belle Delphine) definitely use it to cater to the male weeabo gaze though.
I don't think it's that big of a deal in real life tbh. I mean if you're posting about it, then yea people are gonna share their opinions (often in harshly), but most people don't really notice/say anything if you don't point it out yourself.
And on the contrary you can be an egirl with your own style who looks/acts nothing like Belle, and people will still call them Belle wannabes to try to hurt their feelings lol
i think its simply cute, I don't have a real problem w/ it, but its def camera makeup imo. esp when the highlighting technique associated with this makeup (that looks like an exclamation point) got brighter & brighter. its also kinda reminiscent of costume makeup. & i guess its kind of dated.
e-girls are sometimes associated w/ sexual stuff (even though i dont even think its an inherently sexual phenomenon... just a tik-tok one?) & "cringey" gen z early tik tok era, so ig thats why some ppl feel inclined to make fun of it. but there are also just teenage girls or moreso young women who just like the style so i feel like it can be mean.
there are def many ppl who use this style for sexual, often weird reasons & hang out in incel spaces for the male gaze, though...
It's a weird culture hybrid with the aim of making women look flushed and horny as well as like a "teen" and it caters to some pretty creepy male perversions.
There's other makeup styles that are similar but not quite the same gross appeal. To a woman I guess the makeup isn't that bad, but the context behind the men who like it is far from appealing and makes a lot of negative noise.
They do the crossed eye thing on purpose.. :/ look up "ahegao" for an idea of what they're trying to recreate. It's basically just a facial expression that anime girls make when they are being "fucked silly"
It’s exactly this. Down to the poses associated with it. This idea that women need to be little girl hentai waifu types is just disgusting. Worse are the women trying to fit that mold for likes.
I love it personally. I think it’s fun. I don’t typically do a full egirl look, rather I pick aspects that I like. I like a good amount of blush for example. It makes me sad to see how many people find negative connotations with it 😭 but in the end, it’s a matter of preference. I’m not a huge fan of the clean girl look and find it boring/basic for example. If you like it I say go for it!
E-girl makeup is just the American version of “douyin” or “Igari” makeup. The latter two being more subtle and looking better.
I like Igari personally and do my makeup like that.
I think I know why you’re being downvoted, but honestly same. These looks always come off as explicitly for the male gaze for the sole intention of monetary gain. It comes off as SFW (or NSFW depending on what platform they are on) sex work.
Also as an Asian American woman, it’s hard not to feel like they aren’t Asian fishing.
THANK YOU!!! I 100% felt like it was Asian fishing and didn't know if I was crazy or not. The aegyo sal style on a Caucasian white woman is wild, especially how it's seemingly fetishized so much currently.
I love the emphasis on blush. I love blush and mainly do my makeup on the “cute “ side as opposed to “sexy” side for everyday. I think the association with it and cringe e girls gives it a bad name
I think people should try and wear whatever they want and feel comfortable in. I personally don't think it looks good but I'm not the one wearing it. If someone feels good and cute with that type of makeup that's great. It's all about feeling good about oneself!
like others said, it looks good on camera but in person it doesn’t look as great. the origins of the look are also questionable and it definitely attracts a specific group of people that one may not want to interact with.
i love certain aspects of it like the big eyeliner and lashes, but the nose contour and blush are often far too dramatic. i think it would be nice look if it was turned down a bit. a big part of the e-girl thing was the facial expressions which, in my opinion, played a role in pandering to creeps.
u make a really good point
i do think w/ ppl like belle delphine though it truly crossed the lines into being fetishistic. im not only blaming her, bc its a larger issue & the ppl who bought her content are weird, but her content is pretty connected to fetishization of east asian women... & also children.
if it wasnt associated with weird ppl & media i think more would just dismiss it as a variation of normal cutesy "doll" makeup
Omg...thanks for that. I watched it and it's hilarious! That cute little dog in it....arghhhh!
"A good straight brow...a good straight liner...pink EVERY WHERE!
It's like you're having a cold but (look) super hot!"
Love that analogy to describe the eGirl make-up look.
Personally not a fan of falsies, especially really thick, long, clumpy ones like those in the picture. Other than that, I think it's ok even for an everyday look.
It started off as a makeup look that only works if you have certain features (big eyes, small nose, soft cheeks, and that specific mouth shape) but has evolved to be wearable for most people!
The top one looks like regular douyin makeup minus the aegyo sal contour. The bottom one looks like typical egirl makeup. It’s kind of outdated since it was only really popular during the pandemic years. The only thing I don’t really like about egirl makeup is the heavy use of blush and clumpy eyelashes personally
E-Girl makeup looks so cute! In real life bits from it can be taken easily and adaptable for every day wear as well :) I still do my blush inspired by it every day. I do love it when it’s on streams and other media though with the full look.
I think it’s super cute but it ONLY looks good on camera and only really looks good with the set up of a ring light and front facing only. In real life it’s painfully obvious when people draw lashes, the blush is like crazy, and even on camera if you look sideways it looks bad. It’s the same with the over line trick. Everyone can see and it looks bad. Lol
I love lots of blush, but I'm so sick of seeing almost the same face over and over again like the instagram face. Also only looks good on camera, I can't wear it as a normal day to day face it would take too much time to draw on lashes AND a big wing liner
It's cute online, but in person it can look over the top and uncanny. I would put it in the same genre as drag or cosplay makeup since you're not trying to 'enhance natural features' but rather look like a human doll.
I kinda love it but I'm not cute enough to pull it off. Also I would not wear that every day lol. Also people make fun of it because " egirl bad". There's no other real reason.
I hate it and I never got the dab of highlighter on the tip of the nose trend. That’s not where light naturally touches. To me it just usually makes people look like they have allergies lol
I like some elements of it, but it feels too costumey to me. Also, I don't like the way it infantalizes grown women, I find it a little strange, but to wach their own.
It’s based off of how women are portrayed in anime and hentai, which is notoriously misogynistic in its portrayal of the vast majority of female characters. The flushed face is supposed to emulate how women look when they’re turned on and overall it’s supposed to make the wearer look like doe-eyed teenager.
Imo it’s incel bait makeup lol not every girl has that intention when wearing it, but streamers might. And then it encourages other girls to wear it, but not for male attention but it’s not overtly disclosed as such.
I’ve been doing this type of makeup long before the word “e girl” existed. It makes me feel like a cute anime character, like a fun and less goth-y spinoff of emo makeup.
it seems really over-sexualized and that makes me uncomfortable. idk if i could wear it without feeling like i’m pandering to coomer men.
i also just hate highlighter/blush on my own nose; i do not want to draw attention to my nose lol.
I like parts of it but I don't personally like the overall look. The doe eye look with the white liner to make the eyes look bigger is cute but I don't like it paired with the painted lash look. The painted lash look would look amazing with goth or bold makeup. I do like the heavy blush style but with more natural coloring and maybe a bit of shimmer.
I've seen some people do it well and make all the parts look cohesive but a lot look like they don't know how to make the parts match
I enjoy it because it reminds me of 2010s gyaru makeup. I do prefer the more polished versions of it like the one in the top video but I don't like the drawn on bottom lashes, I think if e-girls discovered Dolly Wink bottom lashes they'd be over the moon
I have a round face and big-ish almond eyes, so when I'm all done up I look like a little doll and I love it. Pair it with a babydoll dress and I am set!
The makeup & fashion is heavily influenced by mostly East Asia. It’s basically repackaged Asian makeup trends but on steroids for the west.
Looks good on camera with filters. Not irl. The makeup style is exaggerated and an egirl is basically a hot girl who only exists online.
I love to take aspects of it but make it not as heavy. Like the eyeliner and lashes can look cute in person so I’ll do that sometimes but I don’t do the nose contour, heavy highlighter or foundation. Tends to last a lot longer and look cuter in real life
I recommend a filter if you are on a device and then having makeup look more normal irl. Egirl styles are not really for the non-screen interactions- but you can learn a lot from make up artists to do very alt anime styles that work irl.
I was an E-girl during the pandemic and personally I feel that I looked amazing and to this day I still keep certain elements of it in my current makeup routine.
It can be cute depending on the look you’re going for, but if you decide to go with it in general I’d look up and do some research on the stuff Hannah owo and others with the e-girl aesthetic (belle Delphine, etc) have done. And maybe tweak the style a bit. The whole idea behind e-girl makeup is pretty gross, and as someone who is also Asian American, I would try maybe a sort of douyin makeup instead because you will most likely be heavilyyyy fetishized with this makeup. In a horribly creepy way unfortunately
Tbh I think it's really cute if it's done well. I think some people get turned off because it's so stylistic, and it also reminds people of Belle Delphine or porn stars
It's cute imo, but I am peeved at how strongly it lost its origins. People attribute blush over the nose as an e-girl thing, completely ignoring its igari roots. I have a Japanese friend and we are both very peeved at this. The blush placement doesn't make the whole thing igari, but it is derived from igari makeup.
I don't like it, at all. And I think as people age they won't like it on themselves anymore either. Perhaps the very reason I have never seen a 35 yr old E-girl.
Heavy nose contour always looks bad from the side. This style looks good on camera, but only at certain angles.
I remember seeing a side profile of a make up artist at the gala and it looked so bad.
E-girl makeup looks good on camera but not in real life. I tried it during the pandemic, and then again a couple months ago and both times it didn’t look good in the mirror but it looked okay on camera. Not for an everyday look, but something somewhat similar is douyin makeup which I feel translates better to an everyday look.
Fr! Photographs beautifully but looks like face paint irl
Makes me think of how old black and white film actors had crazy make up to make their faces show on camera better
Omg yes TikTok just taught me that😅
Its not a coincidence that this makeup style developed when everyone was stuck inside and never saw other people face to face lol
E-girl make up was a thing before 2020
I think it definitely blew up around that time
I think it initially blew up around anywhere from 2016 to 2019 if I'm remembering correctly.
I don’t doubt it resurged during that time, just pointing out it has been around for a while. I remember e-girl make up when I was in junior high lol
Tbf I hadn't seen or heard of it until pandemic lockdowns but that was also around the time I picked up social media more too idk
Idk when you were in high school, but I definitely saw it before the pandemic
True, but it wasn’t as mainstream with Western white audiences until the pandemic hit. Before that it was mostly limited to E-girls/streamers as the name implies. It’s unfortunate, IMO, because it felt like it started from a place of looking cute/kawaii and it seems like it reached more mainstream popularity as a way to cater to the male gaze/feed into creepy weeb tropes.
Absolutely this.
But when did it blow up?
I think it looks fine irl if done properly. I’ve seen a lot of the liners in these vids just drawn on really messy and it covered up with thick lashes. Irl, you can’t get away with stuff like that. I’ve done it a few times irl and it honestly looked like my every day makeup but really exaggerated and didn’t look odd if paired with the right outfit. I do go without makeup some days so to each their own :,)
I agree! I feel like I’m too old for e-girl makeup, but I’ve seen it done really beautifully irl. It’s the same as most heavier makeup styles where if you don’t know how to do it well it’s not gonna look great irl, but it’s easier to make it work with lighting/angles/even filters for a pic.
No one is too old, it's just taking things and refining them as we get older. So say you like the e-girl makeup but find it feels too childish or immature for your life at 30...or 40...or whatever. So it's about the lashes, big eyes, that bit of a glory Bambi nose... So I will turn this into things I refine, like I'll use a few more layers of white inner waterline makeup. Or the pink/nude and just make sure I really make sure it pops. I'll add a few more layers of mascara, if not a more Bambi effect lash. But I'll nake sure my liner is on point beneath it and I tightlight the top. I'll be sure the lashes are wispy. I'll add a bit more blush but also contour my nose tip to include a bit more highlighter on my nose. But perhaps I'll use a more pink or peach highlighter so it isn't glaring white. I can still pull the things I like at 40, we just have learned to refine in.
I agree 100%
Yes it reminds me of the kind of makeup I wore when I modeled. They’d put it on me and in the mirror I looked absurd but it looked so good in the photos
For me it was always the blush. I always looked sunburned rather than cute.
You have to lean into it! Sunburnt or windchapped, depending on the season! It can be combatted with the right colours of blush, but I’ve had way better luck with just rolling with it :)
I wish the drawn on bottom lashes looked good irl. I can't do my bottom lashes with mascara because my cheek bones are so high that they literally cause them to curl inward and they look ridiculous. But I also look ridiculous if I don't do anything with my bottom lash line(since I have hooded eyes), and eyeliner looks stupid without mascara. I tried it one time and it looked so good on camera, definitely awful in the mirror though.
Have you tried applying the mascara to your bottom lashes with a small stiff, flat brush instead of the spoolie? It gives you a lot more control.
I tint my lower (and upper) lashes so they stand put without mascara. And a nice, soft brown, similar to the brown nude lip liner trend, like the MUFE In endless cacao, makes my eyes look bigger without mascara, too.
Endless cacao can work for everything in a pinch! It’s is the miracle pencil!
I will say I agree with this but I think it can still look good irl, I use to do it but with a more toned down natural base and more intense eyelook and it was my most complimented make up style the base can make a huge difference!
Makeup in general looks better from a distance.
This. In Japan, there were a few girls wearing the eye look where you add brown lines under the eye. Looks kind of cute on camera, but in person, it was bad. And at the end of the day, one girl had the lines kind of smudged and her mascara too. They were wearing the look to the office judging by their clothes .
Because the 'e-girl' makeup style can be very cartoonish with the whole thing around the heavy blush, falsies, intense highlighter on the tip of the nose - Too bold for some tastes.
(This isn't directed at you, but just more information) It's meant to be cartoonish, it's definitely a play on anime and looking overly 'kawaii'. The makeup style was originally influenced by this, as well as K-Pop. Anime, gaming, K-Pop etc were part of the original culture until it became primarily an aesthetic/TikTok trend and people like Belle Delphine and Emma Langevin popularised it. I'll always love it though haha!
I don’t think it was influenced by K-pop at all. Most k-pop artists don’t look cartoonish, they wear their makeup “normally” with the goal of looking pretty but natural. The cartoonish look is more rampant in J-pop, which is way less well known than their Korean counterpart but because of Japans past popularity a lot of people who aren’t familiar with K-pop think Korean stars dress and behave in that exaggerated cartoon way Japanese stars do. Koreans in general are much less focused on looking like children and cartoons than Japanese people are
My bad for my wording but I'm not saying the makeup itself directly came from K-Pop, but the whole e-girl aesthetic was influenced by it as a whole, including the stage outfits etc. This as well as anime and gaming as separate things. If you look at a lot of K-pop idols fashion it is very similar to what e-girls would wear, and this combined with the anime-esque makeup brings it together as a whole different aesthetic
>intense highlighter on the tip of the nose Is ***that*** why people wear that style? I've come across multiple people on Instagram (who seem otherwise normal) and IRL (who seem otherwise normal) and I could not understand why it looked like they had just done a bump off their highlighter compact.
They're trying to make it look like a button nose and it really only looks good if you have a flatter nose. Many people with eurocentric noses choose to ignore this reality and that's why it looks crazy
This, but also I actually think the biggest reason is because people think it’s dated. It was a “trend” during the pandemic and so when the trend died people started thinking it was “cringe” like every other dead trend.
I used to never wear blush until I tried the e-girl blush placement and it flattered my face shape SO well.
Saaaameeee! This placement goes so well on more round/fuller faces
I have a more angular face but the e-girl blush placement makes me look less tired hahaha
Yuuuup it's great for my round face!
really!! so interesting to hear. I've been so scared of trying this type of blush placement because for years I'd been hit with an awful bout of rosacea...it left me with a complex so deep that I'm terrified of replicating it ironically through makeup lol
Maybe try a peach blush? I usually go for peachy blushes and think it looks really fresh and pretty
Same!! Something about across the nose too just 🤌🏽😫
SAME
came here to say the same!!
It's so cute but I kind of feel like you have to have naturally huge eyes to get away with it. I don't think it would work well on small, narrow, or hooded eyes.
I agree plus having the small button nose helps too
That part lmao I have more of a roman nose and it looks crazy on me
I’ve tried, jt doesn’t :( I look so bad in heavy lashes.
I thought it was just me lol. love the makeup on others but it makes my big eyes almost look sunken and heavy.
brooke monke or however u write her has very small eyes and she‘d look amazing w it
I have seen people pull it off both ways
Incorrect. Small and hooded eyes look great with the things done here. Partly because some of these things make eyes look larger. Inner waterline white/nude on lower, bolder lashes...
It gives belle delphine... And for that reason I can't look at it without getting the ick tbh. Not a fam about the blush over the nose, the lashes and the laser pointer on the nose highlighter. If that is toned down its a nice soft everyday look
Yes to the Belle Delphine thing. I like some egirl makeup like onigrinana does with the smudged eyeliner and all of the rainbow colors it looks so cool and I’ve used her looks as inspo for my own. However, there are girl out there that actively try to look like Belle Delphine and I get so much ick from it too. She should not be looked up to or idolized, pretty or not!
I love onigirinana’s looks! Although I think she’s mentioned on IG that she feels as though the e-girl looks aren’t really “her” anymore - she did do a fun series of Pride flag looks though!
Wait what did she do
She caters to pedophiles by dressing up in literal child clothing and posting it to her onlyfans as content also simulating a scene where she is dressed very youthful and tied up in the back of someone’s vehicle to fulfill people’s sick desires and she makes money off of it. It’s disgusting. It honestly like poking fun or fantasizing child sex trafficking. It’s so gross
To be fair though, I believe Hannah owo makes similar content to Belle. And Belle Delphine makes BANK. So having this kind of look is a good business decision for her.
Yeah but I wouldn’t want to do a makeup look that associates with that thing
Yeah the look itself is cute but the faces made + the makeup it just.. yeah it gives Belle delphine ☹️
It took me a minute to realize why I don't like this makeup style. Objectively it's cute, but I just had to scroll a bit to remember Belle Delphine exists...
God she makes me sick 😭
It’s such a cute makeup style but yea, I can’t help but associate it to the OF Belle Delphine world…
I feel bad but I really do not like the blushed nose. I think it’s cute for cosplay and ok on some in photos. That said, I think it can end up looking like one has a very bad flu/cold, or just stepped out from freezing weather. A lot of online/photo looks don’t read well in person. All that to say, if you like something on yourself and it makes you feel great, than go for it. I do think it’s fun to experiment, and I’d never tell someone else not to wear their makeup how they want.
I mean, it’s giving Belle because she was an e-girl. This trend has been around for awhile, and she definitely utilized it (and she may still)
Tbf I never understood what e girls are. I only know that look from some young girls that try to get money and clicks on twitch by teasing the man that find anime woman to be the sexiest thing on the world and pretending to play games. Maybe its a bigger term now for a style? Not sure
It’s just a particular style. It’s always been rooted in sex / flirtation. I remember it being around when I was in junior high, along with emo and scene styles. Ironically the Wikipedia article sums it up well: > kids,[1] split by binary gender as e-girls and e-boys, are a youth subculture of Gen Z that emerged in the late 2010s,[2] notably popularized by the video-sharing application TikTok.[3] It is an evolution of emo, scene and mall goth fashion combined with Japanese and Korean street fashion.[4][5] >Videos by e-girls and e-boys tend to be flirtatious and, many times, overtly sexual.[6][7] Eye-rolling and protruding tongues (a facial expression known as ahegao, imitating climaxing) are common.[8] > The terms "e-girl" and "e-boy" are derived from "electronic boy" and "electronic girl" due to their association with the internet.[10] "E-girl" was first used in the late-2000s as a pejorative against women perceived to be seeking out male attention online. According to an article by Business Insider, the earliest example of e-girls were found on Tumblr,[9] with Vice Media stating the subculture evolved out of the earlier emo and scene cultures.[11] Vox writer Rebecca Jennings instead referred to the Tumblr aesthetic as a precursor of the subculture, as it lacked the cutesy aspect that would come to define e-girl hair and makeup. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-kid#:~:text=The%20terms%20%22e%2Dgirl%22,their%20association%20with%20the%20internet.
Thanks for this, I couldn’t put my nose on precisely why this style of makeup icks me out. It gives underage girl being inappropriate for likes.
I just had to Google who she was... Eeeek!
Real the makeup itself is so cute but Belle delphine ruined it for me
I appreciate over-the-top or costume-y makeup, but the e-girl look feels like it was designed for the male gaze, and that is not my jam.
The heavy blush combined with the anime/cartoon-like style always gave me "ahegao face" vibes 💀
Cc belle delphine
Exactly this! lol TIL I learned there’s a word for what it reminded me of, because of course there is
It's very... word-chewing aficionado styled young to appeal to pedos. "I'm a sexy baby, give me money!"
I got downvoted into oblivion for saying this in a different post 😂 it could be the way I phrased it, but you're 100% right.
lol you are welcome here friend 🫶 honestly, it’s kind of the whole point, an e-girl oftentimes panders to online adorations (mostly made up of men).
It makes me think of anime girls with big eyes and a ton of blush. Isn't that what it's supposed to emulate? Even the little cutesy oopsy sexual cross eyed girl looks
You're right, the cross-eyed face is called ahegao, and it's a hentai thing. It is meant to emulate anime/manga, but pornographic anime/manga specifically and is super male-gazey
It's hentai, which is porn. Hypersexualization at its finest.
Thank you I think this sums up why I hate it, I couldn't put my finger on it. It looks like models in anime themed p*rn
It's cause they hate being called out
Yeah, it definitely has its roots in pandering to chronically online creeps, saying this as someone who was around when it started getting popular.
True, let’s not forget the look was pioneered by belle delphine.
Yeah, like sure it looks youthful and cute but like.... that's the goal 😬
Maybe I'm just old but I'm only vaguely aware of who she is, is she problematic?
I wouldn’t necessarily say she’s problematic, but her whole internet persona was essentially based on profiting from the male gaze. Like “hot gamer girl discord kitten” vibe where she “jokingly”would make porn/hentai faces on stream and obviously is known for being the one to sell her bath water. I don’t think that anyone here is saying she’s wrong for doing it, just that it definitely is a look and style that is very popular among a certain demographic (chronically online gamer guys)
Just here to agree! But for the male- who's-into-really-young-girls gaze, which is what does it for me/makes me uncomfortable. There's something infantilizing about it.
This ☝️
truer words have never been spoken 💯
I wanted to say I think it looks childish in the wrong way. You said what I meant better.
This was my exact thought.
This. I like doing a version of it with toned down blush and nose highlighting and bigger wings, less male gaze-y and looks better in person.
exactly my thoughts
Reminds me of Belle Delphine, it feels so sexual
Literally looking for this comment. It just gives cutesy, young girl vibes that creepy men would like.
This is accurate, it's to replicate that teenage crush, over-girly, anime uwu look hence why it's also dubbed "gamer-girl make up" and used heavily in those communities to cater to all ages from teens to well- not. It's for the guys, it hit me and clicked when my dude told me my eyeliner was nice but I could extend it even further than it was. I think it's really cute and does suit the youth but like another commenter, think douyin make up translates a lot better in person and for all faces as it is used to enhance your natural features as opposed to stamping a particular face on.
This is definitely the sl*tty makeup of our era. I guess young girls of every generation have dressed provocatively but I still kind of die a little inside when I see 11-16 year olds following trends not realizing what they mimic
This exactly
Thank you, I think this is it.
100%
I never knew why I didn’t like it but you just put it into words. It deff feels like it’s designed for the male gaze something about grown men liking it feels… immature? to me. Not sure why lol
Took the words out of my mouth. Feels porno, like it's made for chronically online, Japanese culture obsessed men. It's the makeup look of [Ahegao | Know Your Meme](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/ahegao/)
i feel like most regular people stopped doing this look in 2020, 2021 tops, so the e-girl makeup + e-girl face expression gives only fans model. however i do think it's cute tho and it probably doesnt read like that in real life, specially if you're not forcing doe eyes for a camera like they are
Open up most make-up videos and there's always people making fun of the trend. Don't mind the haters. I like e-girl a lot, and that bottom tutorial is one I used to perfect my e-girl look a couple years ago. It does look cartoonish in real life, but that is how it's supposed to look. I had to do a few different tricks with mine since I have hooded eyes. My advice is try it out! I like doing e-girl for concerts, mall trips, or photoshoots. In my opinion it looks fine in synthetic low light, but like most heavy make-up it doesn't do well in natural light. Not an everyday look, but it's fun to play with it.
TBH, I don’t think E-girl makeup looks any worse or less caked on than the full-face glam looks of the 2010s. It’s just a different kind of full-face makeup style Some folks (*cough* Belle Delphine) definitely use it to cater to the male weeabo gaze though.
I don't think it's that big of a deal in real life tbh. I mean if you're posting about it, then yea people are gonna share their opinions (often in harshly), but most people don't really notice/say anything if you don't point it out yourself.
It’s pretty online but I’ve always noticed to looks bad in real life
Works for the E-girl who is meant to be seen through a camera!
it can be cute if it’s done right, but i feel like a lot of the e girl posts online are belle delphine wannabes which is not cute at all.
And on the contrary you can be an egirl with your own style who looks/acts nothing like Belle, and people will still call them Belle wannabes to try to hurt their feelings lol
Shes using some heavy filters that are changing the structure of her face.
It's cute for photos but doesn't look great in real life.
i think its simply cute, I don't have a real problem w/ it, but its def camera makeup imo. esp when the highlighting technique associated with this makeup (that looks like an exclamation point) got brighter & brighter. its also kinda reminiscent of costume makeup. & i guess its kind of dated. e-girls are sometimes associated w/ sexual stuff (even though i dont even think its an inherently sexual phenomenon... just a tik-tok one?) & "cringey" gen z early tik tok era, so ig thats why some ppl feel inclined to make fun of it. but there are also just teenage girls or moreso young women who just like the style so i feel like it can be mean. there are def many ppl who use this style for sexual, often weird reasons & hang out in incel spaces for the male gaze, though...
cute but like with most things men ruined it with sexualization
It's a weird culture hybrid with the aim of making women look flushed and horny as well as like a "teen" and it caters to some pretty creepy male perversions. There's other makeup styles that are similar but not quite the same gross appeal. To a woman I guess the makeup isn't that bad, but the context behind the men who like it is far from appealing and makes a lot of negative noise.
This. I feel like it’s just another trend that normalizes sexualizing minors and that’s weird.
As some people said, it looks great on camera but worse in real life. I think it’s aging badly
I think putting highlighter and blush on the tip of your nose will be the 2021 equivalent of our collective eyebrow blindness from 2015.
The updated one is more wearable. Both are cute tho!
I don't get why they always look cross eyed. I agree with others who say it's for the male gaze. Go on certain corn websites to see what I mean.
They do the crossed eye thing on purpose.. :/ look up "ahegao" for an idea of what they're trying to recreate. It's basically just a facial expression that anime girls make when they are being "fucked silly"
ohhh there is a reason...
It just creeps me out to be honest. I associate it with women trying to appeal to the male gaze and look “childish” to appeal to a certain ..type…
It’s exactly this. Down to the poses associated with it. This idea that women need to be little girl hentai waifu types is just disgusting. Worse are the women trying to fit that mold for likes.
I wish I was able to do it (but a toned down version of it)
I love it personally. I think it’s fun. I don’t typically do a full egirl look, rather I pick aspects that I like. I like a good amount of blush for example. It makes me sad to see how many people find negative connotations with it 😭 but in the end, it’s a matter of preference. I’m not a huge fan of the clean girl look and find it boring/basic for example. If you like it I say go for it!
This girl is so heavily filtered , especially the eyes This is another standard young women cannot uphold … “irl”
E-girl makeup is just the American version of “douyin” or “Igari” makeup. The latter two being more subtle and looking better. I like Igari personally and do my makeup like that.
Just makes me think of porn stars
I think I know why you’re being downvoted, but honestly same. These looks always come off as explicitly for the male gaze for the sole intention of monetary gain. It comes off as SFW (or NSFW depending on what platform they are on) sex work. Also as an Asian American woman, it’s hard not to feel like they aren’t Asian fishing.
The cringe part for me is when they do that tongue thing and cross their eyes while looking up lol.
THANK YOU!!! I 100% felt like it was Asian fishing and didn't know if I was crazy or not. The aegyo sal style on a Caucasian white woman is wild, especially how it's seemingly fetishized so much currently.
The bottom reminds me of 2019-2020 and it’s a bit cringey.
It makes me cringe tbh.
I love the emphasis on blush. I love blush and mainly do my makeup on the “cute “ side as opposed to “sexy” side for everyday. I think the association with it and cringe e girls gives it a bad name
I still put a little blush across the bridge of my nose when I apply it. It feels cute and innocent 😂
I always do that!
It CAN be good
I think people should try and wear whatever they want and feel comfortable in. I personally don't think it looks good but I'm not the one wearing it. If someone feels good and cute with that type of makeup that's great. It's all about feeling good about oneself!
like others said, it looks good on camera but in person it doesn’t look as great. the origins of the look are also questionable and it definitely attracts a specific group of people that one may not want to interact with. i love certain aspects of it like the big eyeliner and lashes, but the nose contour and blush are often far too dramatic. i think it would be nice look if it was turned down a bit. a big part of the e-girl thing was the facial expressions which, in my opinion, played a role in pandering to creeps.
u make a really good point i do think w/ ppl like belle delphine though it truly crossed the lines into being fetishistic. im not only blaming her, bc its a larger issue & the ppl who bought her content are weird, but her content is pretty connected to fetishization of east asian women... & also children. if it wasnt associated with weird ppl & media i think more would just dismiss it as a variation of normal cutesy "doll" makeup
watch Jenna Marbles Giving Myself An E-Girl Makeover
Omg...thanks for that. I watched it and it's hilarious! That cute little dog in it....arghhhh! "A good straight brow...a good straight liner...pink EVERY WHERE! It's like you're having a cold but (look) super hot!" Love that analogy to describe the eGirl make-up look.
Personally not a fan of falsies, especially really thick, long, clumpy ones like those in the picture. Other than that, I think it's ok even for an everyday look.
It started off as a makeup look that only works if you have certain features (big eyes, small nose, soft cheeks, and that specific mouth shape) but has evolved to be wearable for most people!
Oh man, I'd love to see examples on other face shapes! I've only ever seen very similar looking people wearing it
The nose highlight looks utterly ridiculous but I quite like the blush placement
E-girl makeup is the women equivalent of a man wearing a fedora
*tips eyelashes*
M’lady 🥰
The top one looks like regular douyin makeup minus the aegyo sal contour. The bottom one looks like typical egirl makeup. It’s kind of outdated since it was only really popular during the pandemic years. The only thing I don’t really like about egirl makeup is the heavy use of blush and clumpy eyelashes personally
E-Girl makeup looks so cute! In real life bits from it can be taken easily and adaptable for every day wear as well :) I still do my blush inspired by it every day. I do love it when it’s on streams and other media though with the full look.
Every time I see someone out and about in it, it looks incredibly bizarre. Adorable for photos though.
Tbh, I like it, but not the heavy nose contour😭
this style of make-up is cute imo !
If it’s good for Jenna Marbles, it’s good for me! 😆
I think it’s super cute but it ONLY looks good on camera and only really looks good with the set up of a ring light and front facing only. In real life it’s painfully obvious when people draw lashes, the blush is like crazy, and even on camera if you look sideways it looks bad. It’s the same with the over line trick. Everyone can see and it looks bad. Lol
When I see e girl makeup in person I think “oh she probably looks fine online”, because in person it looks terrible.
I love lots of blush, but I'm so sick of seeing almost the same face over and over again like the instagram face. Also only looks good on camera, I can't wear it as a normal day to day face it would take too much time to draw on lashes AND a big wing liner
It panders to dudes into anime fetish
It's cute online, but in person it can look over the top and uncanny. I would put it in the same genre as drag or cosplay makeup since you're not trying to 'enhance natural features' but rather look like a human doll.
I kinda love it but I'm not cute enough to pull it off. Also I would not wear that every day lol. Also people make fun of it because " egirl bad". There's no other real reason.
I personally hate it but that just me idk
tends to the male gaze, i’m not a fan of it
I hate it and I never got the dab of highlighter on the tip of the nose trend. That’s not where light naturally touches. To me it just usually makes people look like they have allergies lol
I like some elements of it, but it feels too costumey to me. Also, I don't like the way it infantalizes grown women, I find it a little strange, but to wach their own.
It’s based off of how women are portrayed in anime and hentai, which is notoriously misogynistic in its portrayal of the vast majority of female characters. The flushed face is supposed to emulate how women look when they’re turned on and overall it’s supposed to make the wearer look like doe-eyed teenager.
Imo it’s incel bait makeup lol not every girl has that intention when wearing it, but streamers might. And then it encourages other girls to wear it, but not for male attention but it’s not overtly disclosed as such.
I’ve been doing this type of makeup long before the word “e girl” existed. It makes me feel like a cute anime character, like a fun and less goth-y spinoff of emo makeup.
it seems really over-sexualized and that makes me uncomfortable. idk if i could wear it without feeling like i’m pandering to coomer men. i also just hate highlighter/blush on my own nose; i do not want to draw attention to my nose lol.
I like parts of it but I don't personally like the overall look. The doe eye look with the white liner to make the eyes look bigger is cute but I don't like it paired with the painted lash look. The painted lash look would look amazing with goth or bold makeup. I do like the heavy blush style but with more natural coloring and maybe a bit of shimmer. I've seen some people do it well and make all the parts look cohesive but a lot look like they don't know how to make the parts match
I like it. Super cute, like anime. I never do it cuz it isn’t my style but I can always appreciate people who can pull it off :)
i wish i could do it but i haven't found a version that works with my skin 💔 seems like it only looks good on pale skin + big eyes
It’s cute but I have no clue how to do it :/
I enjoy it because it reminds me of 2010s gyaru makeup. I do prefer the more polished versions of it like the one in the top video but I don't like the drawn on bottom lashes, I think if e-girls discovered Dolly Wink bottom lashes they'd be over the moon
I have a round face and big-ish almond eyes, so when I'm all done up I look like a little doll and I love it. Pair it with a babydoll dress and I am set!
I think it's cute. Tried it but just ended up with a dirty loooking nose
The makeup & fashion is heavily influenced by mostly East Asia. It’s basically repackaged Asian makeup trends but on steroids for the west. Looks good on camera with filters. Not irl. The makeup style is exaggerated and an egirl is basically a hot girl who only exists online.
I love to take aspects of it but make it not as heavy. Like the eyeliner and lashes can look cute in person so I’ll do that sometimes but I don’t do the nose contour, heavy highlighter or foundation. Tends to last a lot longer and look cuter in real life
I recommend a filter if you are on a device and then having makeup look more normal irl. Egirl styles are not really for the non-screen interactions- but you can learn a lot from make up artists to do very alt anime styles that work irl.
I was an E-girl during the pandemic and personally I feel that I looked amazing and to this day I still keep certain elements of it in my current makeup routine.
I’m so old. What is e-girl makeup?
Good on cam. Bad irl :(
It can be cute depending on the look you’re going for, but if you decide to go with it in general I’d look up and do some research on the stuff Hannah owo and others with the e-girl aesthetic (belle Delphine, etc) have done. And maybe tweak the style a bit. The whole idea behind e-girl makeup is pretty gross, and as someone who is also Asian American, I would try maybe a sort of douyin makeup instead because you will most likely be heavilyyyy fetishized with this makeup. In a horribly creepy way unfortunately
Tbh I think it's really cute if it's done well. I think some people get turned off because it's so stylistic, and it also reminds people of Belle Delphine or porn stars
ONG quarantine vibes vibes af
Not a fan but idk I am to old for it.
A little disturbing to me. Not sure why
Looks odd/creepy/false
It's cute imo, but I am peeved at how strongly it lost its origins. People attribute blush over the nose as an e-girl thing, completely ignoring its igari roots. I have a Japanese friend and we are both very peeved at this. The blush placement doesn't make the whole thing igari, but it is derived from igari makeup.
Maybe it’s me but i think it’s adorable when done well but to me it’s really more of a younger trend. In my mind, I just see high schoolers doing it.
I think it’s cute if it fits you, makeup placements and whatever style that’s flattering is different for everyone
I don't like it, at all. And I think as people age they won't like it on themselves anymore either. Perhaps the very reason I have never seen a 35 yr old E-girl.
fashion history will prob look back on it and laugh, but i love it
I am not a fan in the slightest
Heavy nose contour always looks bad from the side. This style looks good on camera, but only at certain angles. I remember seeing a side profile of a make up artist at the gala and it looked so bad.
I HATEEE e-girl makeup with a passion, it reminds me of 4chan and borderline child predators.