Beauty’s Barbiecore Boom

“Barbiecore beauty embodies everything that is powerful and pink,” said Saffron Hughes, make-up artist at False Eyelashes (UK). “Barbiecore make-up looks come in many forms but are all tied together with their similar nod to Y2K fashion and a heavy presence of pink. As we approach summer, muted ‘clean girl’ Hailey Bieber-inspired make-up will be replaced with 90s-inspired hyper-feminine make-up looks.”

The iconic doll’s beauty aesthetic is being recreated by make-up enthusiasts on TikTok, with a new dot contouring filter revealing the ideal placement of concealer and blush to achieve the Barbie look. For example, the distinct application of blush above the cheekbones and on the outer eye area is a nod to Barbie’s iconic pink shade to make the eyes pop.

Searches for “bright pink blush” also jumped by more than 300%, with “fuchsia blush” a particular focus, growing by 39%. We anticipate that maximalist blush colour will be big throughout 2023, as consumers experiment with alternative contour shades. New products are speaking to this consumer demand, such as US-based Haus Labs’ Colour Fuse Blush and Kulfi’s Mehndi Moment Blush, and British-American Pat McGrath Labs’ Divine Blush. Each delivers a highly pigmented finish, available in various pink shades for different skin tones.

Additionally, pink eye shadow searches increased by 85%, while pink mascara and eyeliner rose 161%, highlighting how beauty creators are finding bolder and more unconventional ways to embrace Barbiecore.

For more on Barbie’s modern-day infiltration, see The Brief and Pop Culture Pulse: July 2022.