The strangest beauty trends of Tiktok in 2021

(CNN) -- Another year of masks, "Zoom" face and too much screen time seems to have turned the beauty industry upside down.

In 2021, TikTok, the video platform with a history of catapulting cosmetics to such success that they sell out for weeks, was inundated with weird, wonderful, and downright weird skincare hacks and beauty tips. .

The app has proven to be a big player in the beauty industry over the past two years, influencing consumer habits by reigniting interest in products launched years ago (searches for this color corrector launched in 2016 are now hitting all-time highs thanks to TikTok) and also fueling new trends, including some that still have real-life beauty junkies scratching their heads.

A bewildering mix of hair tricks, slimy creatures and theatrical makeup looks; here are some of the weirdest TikTok beauty fads of the year.

In-app beauty trends have taken an often unexpected turn. Credit: Abby Roberts, Ameliaolivia09, Blinkaria

Rush on the nose

In 2021 it became clear that masks weren't going anywhere.

Noses were hidden in many situations: covered while riding public transportation and going out on errands. Some, more than others, seem to have missed this central facial feature: the meteoric rise of nose blush enters the picture.

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Applying pink blush to the tip of the nose was a makeup trend no one could have predicted. She got her start on TikTok as part of the app's E-Girl look, an internet subculture characterized by heavy eyeliner, thick brows and often a faux heart-shaped freckle.

But this year, nose blush found its way into mainstream culture (the hashtag has more than 850,000 views) as a growing number of TikTokers achieved Rudolf levels of pigment on the tips of their noses.

"Squid Game" Makeup

A dystopian drama filled with blood, sweat, and masks might not seem like a natural source of beauty inspiration, but Netflix's surprise hit "Squid Game" about a contest in which players compete in children's games with life and death bets got it.

TikTok's Weirdest Beauty Trends in 2021

On social media, users including YouTubers James Charles and Raiza Contawi created their own makeup looks inspired by contestants on the show, like Kang Sae-Byok, the wily North Korean refugee. The looks mimicked the "Squid Game" characters' eye bags, sweat shine, and even wounds, and topped them off with a sprinkling of faux freckles to match Sae-Byok's.

Of course, the terrifying doll from the series that sings “Red Light, Green Light” was also a popular Halloween costume choice for stars like Blackpink's Lisa, who completed the look with larger-than-usual drawn eyes. and pigtails.

“Cheerful” Dark Circles and Under-Eye Bags

Instead of the bright, dewy, youthful eyes that used to be popular online, Gen Z began championing eye bags painted on with bronzer or eyeshadow.

However, some users go after a very specific type of eye bag known as "aegyosal" in South Korea. Aegyosal is a puffy eye bag that, according to the K-Beauty Soko Glam website, helps "look younger and makes eyes more perky and attractive."

In addition to TikTok tutorials and aegyosal-specific products launched by brands like Etude House, more long-term cosmetic procedures such as filler injections and plastic surgery treatments have also appeared in the United States. get the look.

On TikTok, a popular filter known as "Belle," which superimposes “aegyosal” on users' faces, has also raised eyebrows for advocating an Asian beauty standard, rather than a Western one.

The app gave new meaning to beauty, from home hacks to clever editing software. Credit: Courtneeypark, Chloewolchock, Audreyvictoria_

Lube Primer

It's not uncommon for TikTok users to turn to random products in the name of a beauty hack, but lube is perhaps one of the most unexpected.

After TikTok user Lukáš Kohutek kickstarted the trend this year, starting his beauty tutorials with a Durex cape, others jumped on the bandwagon. The gel is applied with a brush or with the hands all over the face and, once it dries, the foundation and the rest of the look are applied.

According to YouTuber Grwady, the lube helps create a "smooth and fine texture" on the skin.

Rice Water Hair Tricks

Most people throw out the water when they finish washing the rice. However, some social media users have taken to fermenting and bottling the milky liquid.

Although this beauty practice has existed in Japan since ancient times, according to researchers, it has become popular around the world this year after social media influencers said washing your hair with rice water made it grow faster. The instagramer @anisasojka stated in one of her reels that her hair grew "5 centimeters in a month".

Snail Facials

Snail mucin, the slimy, protein-packed secretion that comes from the snail's mucous glands, has long been a popular ingredient in Korean beauty products for its qualities to induce luminosity.

This year, TikTok seems to have taken note of snail mucin as a holy commodity. Corsx, a maker of snail slime-based skincare products, has its own TikTok hashtag with 3 million views. Google searches for their product "Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence" are also up 140% this year.

But users found a cheaper way to get their beautifying goo: straight from the snail.

Some Tiktokers began putting snails directly on their faces and letting them run across the surface, before massaging the shiny trail into their skin. Many have found that their giant African snail pets can serve as a beauty treatment at home, while others have jumped on the ball and gone for regular garden snails.

“Yasification”

Perhaps the most incredible beauty trend of 2021 had, in fact, almost nothing to do with our actual faces. The "Yassification" meme was technically born on Twitter, after someone posted two images for comparison: a screenshot of actress Toni Collette from the 2018 horror movie "Hereditary," and the same screenshot after a few rounds. FaceApp editing.

Collette's round mouth is still open in terror, only now it's been filled in with scarlet lipstick. The disconnect between the context ("Hereditary" is a horror movie) and the altered image (Collette looks like an influencer in digital makeup) was what caused the original meme to spread like wildfire.

Now, so-called “yasification” has migrated to TikTok, where users mock clever editing software that renders their faces unrecognizable through AI-generated layers of airbrushing, lip liner, and hair thickening.

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