The trend of “clean girl” that dominated social media for years is faltering. The challenger is “tired girl” that emphasizes the tiredness. Clean girl emphasizes neat and healthy beauty. She aims for smooth skin and natural perfection. Tyred girl is the opposite. Her eyeliner is smudged and her dark circles are red. Her lips are far from lively. She looks tired as if she has been sleeping all night, but that is the key point.
There are tutorials (guidelines) on social media that guide makeup that looks tired. The overall appearance gives off a chaotic and rebellious atmosphere.
CNN has cited Wednesday Adams from the original Netflix series “Wednesday.” Jenna Ortega, who plays Wednesday in the series directed by Tim Burton, has emerged as a symbol of grim and tired charm with her smudged eyes. Singer Billie Eilish has long had dark circles, smudged eyeliner, and blemishes as her trademark.
“The intention was to show that he wasn’t someone who spends hours on hair or makeup,” said Nirvana Jalalband, Ortega’s stylist for Wednesday. “He has many more important things to do.” The indifference to appearance reverses the conventional notion of femininity, showing the opposite of traditional beauty standards. It is true that tiredness is linked to negative perceptions of poor health, old age, or lack of charm. Experts interpret the trend as a resistance to perfection. Over the past few years, clean girl trends led by models Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber have instilled uncluttered perfection by eating healthy, exercising, keeping your surroundings tidy, and maintaining a smooth and lively appearance without blemishes. By praising the opposition, however, Tyd Girl recommends that you acknowledge the natural flaws and imperfections that we have tried to hide.
Culture researcher Angie Melzner said through Newsweek, “The younger generation feels tired from the pressure of over-polished perfection, which is dominant in social media culture,” adding, “Now they long for the pleasure and freedom of enjoying and being free regardless of other people’s gaze or evaluation.” “This is about recognizing and celebrating who I am,” said Kim Brown, a beauty director and makeup artist at Glass magazine. “Tired girls have personality and intensity. They are tough and cool.” Tyred girls are also linked to the trend of messy girls, which are often shrewd and unorganized. “Messy girls are not just TikTok trends but a change of mindset and a cultural reset,” said Alexandre Ashcraft of the digital magazine Trend of the Times. “If clean girls are sophisticated and fashionable and seek perfection in pictures, they are disorganized, out of the digital world, and don’t care about others’ eyes. Messi girls are not obsessed with algorithms, they don’t follow trends, and they don’t buy clothes to be liked.”
“Tired girls are not just a matter of makeup,” Jalalvand said. “They even post pictures on social media these days. Rather than posting a well-done picture, they post it in a lump or intentionally blurry way,” Jalalvand said. “We are tired of overly-done perfectionism. We have to go all the way to perfection and go back to the drawing board.”
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
