Is the "Clean" Skincare & Makeup Trend Classist?

As someone who has been actively pinning things on Pinterest and watching videos on YouTube since junior high, I have seen numerous trends come and go. I’ve even participated in numerous style, or aesthetic, trends. My high school years (2016-2019) saw the rise of “full glam,” heavy makeup looks. These looks were characterized by sleek, perfected brows, smokey eyeshadow (no shame because I still use my Anastasia Beverly Hills “Modern Renaissance” palette), thick winged eyeliner, literally blinding highlighter, and matte lipstick (and let’s be honest, none of us could pull off those lipsticks). I remember watching so many makeup tutorials and hauls on YouTube where people wore heavy makeup for day-to-day life. And not that that’s an issue (makeup is a form of expression and everyone has their own tastes and styles), but I never realized until recently how much those videos promoted consumerism.

YouTuber Jordan Theresa made a video explaining the excessiveness of makeup during the late 2010s. Various makeup products were constantly thrown into our faces during the late 2010s: the “Modern Renaissance” palette, Kylie Jenner Lip Kits, Nars blush, Huda Beauty bronzer, and the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz and DipBrow just to name a few. However, these products weren’t exactly affordable for the average person, so people began to turn to drugstore “dupes.”

Over the past few years, however, these products and “full glam” looks have slowly gone out of style. In Jordan Theresa’s video, she suggests that the fall of these trends was a combination of the accessibility of products (more affordable drugstore dupes) as well as COVID. Since people were stuck indoors during quarantine and lockdowns, people were not doing full faces of makeup. Additionally, the 2020 pandemic caused a spotlight to be put on health and wellbeing. This shift has allowed for the rise of skincare, and the “clean girl” “model off-duty” aesthetics have gripped the Internet.

The clean, model-off-duty look revolves around a clean base— clean skin, clean hair, clean products (no harmful chemicals, not tested on animals, etc.). There’s also the fascination with “no-makeup makeup” looks that involve either minimal makeup or making it look as natural as possible, simply trying to accentuate natural features. Natural features such as freckles and rosy cheeks are “in,” meaning some people have taken to drawing on freckles and using blush on their cheeks and nose to cheat these natural features. Also, while the late 2010s were obsessed with products that had a matte finish (lipstick and foundation), dewy, glowing skin is trending. I think the classic, chique French-girl makeup look has heavily influenced the clean aesthetic; French makeup emphasizes “no-makeup makeup” but you can add in a bold lip or eyeliner (there’s a “rule” that you can only do one or the other because both would be too heavy). Despite the different simple makeup looks tied to the clean aesthetic, it all rests in the foundation of clean, healthy skin. But you have to wonder if the clean, model-off-duty look caters to the upper class. I don't think the trend was created with the intent of excluding middle and lower classes, so it may simply (or maybe not so simply) be a matter of equity.

I was recently watching a series on Harper’s Bazaar’s YouTube channel called “Go to Bed With Me” where celebrities show you their nighttime skin routine and embrace the "clean" look. Almost every celebrity utters the sentence “I love makeup, but I also love not wearing any and having clean skin,” or something to that effect. And while that’s great, it feels like these celebrities are trying to come across as relatable and the average person. However, that’s a little difficult when they’re ambassadors for brands, doing their skincare routine in million dollar bathrooms, almost exclusively using high end brands and products, never mentioning any expensive facials or procedures they’ve likely had done, and the fact that photos and images can be edited to make their skin look clearer. I feel like all of this takes away from the simplicity of skincare, taking it from simply trying to take care of yourself to consuming as many products as possible. How much is too much for our faces and wallets?

The facials celebrities get cost anywhere between $1000 and $3000, which the average person can obviously not afford. Also, to see how unaffordable some of the skincare routines featured by Harper’s Bazaar are, I decided to add the cost of all the products certain celebrities use. Celebrity makeup artist Lisa Eldridge’s night routine consists of 20 skincare products and tools, and I was able to find prices for 15 of those 20 products. The 15 products amounted to $1407. I don’t know about you, but I definitely do not have $1400 lying around to spend on skincare.

But it’s more than skincare products and tools; YouTuber and content creator Valeria Lipovetsky has said in numerous videos about how skincare is more than what you externally use. It’s also influenced by the vitamins, beverages, and foods you consume. However, even these things can be unaffordable or unattainable. Vitamins sold at Target, for example, range in price from $8 to $60. Drinking water is also vital to taking care of yourself and your skin, but there are people who don't have access to clean water. Vitamins and water aside, eating healthy itself is expensive in America as processed food is more affordable to produce and buy. Also, while skincare products can have more affordable drugstore dupes, eating healthy is naturally expensive. If skincare is both about the products you buy for external use, as well as dietary consumption, will using drugstore dupes alone give you healthy skin?

When I first heard that more people are arguing that the “clean” makeup and skincare trend is classist, I honestly didn’t buy it. However, it's apparent that the average person can't afford all of the products and procedures that are being marketed as "must haves" for skincare, so while the trend is not fundamentally classist, it is not readily available to all people. What first appears to just be keeping your skin clean is actually a culmination of consumption, class, media, nutritional issues, and equity. Perhaps this post is a bit all over the place, but the beauty industry brings together a multitude of issues. While I’m a big fan of the side of the skincare movement that celebrates embracing natural features and feeling confident, I have to ask: how much is too much?