What is the Latte Makeup Trend? Meet TikTok's New Viral Summer Beauty Aesthetic
Vanilla girl who? Tiktok's latest summer beauty trend "latte makeup" is taking over our feeds.
The Tomato Girl? The Vanilla Girl? The Weird Girl?
We've long since accepted that we will never know what niche aesthetic to expect next on TikTok, and alas, we've been proven right. The latest aesthetic to emerge all over our feeds is the "latte makeup" trend. A fitting beauty trend that can be translated from summer to fall, latte makeup primarily consists of warm, brown shades.
On TikTok, fashion and beauty influencer Melis Ekrem breaks down the look, calling a key factor to latte makeup being "hydrated summer skin" with the goal of achieving "a warm, glowy, bronzey look."
Caramel and coffee tones take center stage — think, nude lips, brown eyeshadow, sculpted cheeks, and bronzing powder layered atop matte foundation. Rosy hues and pink gloss are officially last season — at least by TikTok's standards.
But perhaps where the appeal of latte makeup really pulls its attraction is its inclusivity. Unlike aesthetics like the Vanilla Girl and the Clean Girl which were criticized for their lack of inclusion, latte makeup can be applicable on a range of skin tones. As with most beauty looks, certain adjustments must be made depending on your complexion, as applying brown tones on brown skin can unintentionally make your face look washed out.
However, find just the right just right shades, and you can easily achieve the glowy latte makeup look on darker skin tones. Beauty content creator Monica Ravichandran gives a detailed breakdown of how to do a latte makeup beauty look on brown skin.
Like every other TikTok fashion and beauty aesthetic, the latte makeup trend is a rebranded beauty moment from the past. In the early 2000s, one of beauty's biggest trends was the heavy application of bronzer and brown tones — though its reasoning was to look as tan as possible. An iteration of the trend resurged in 2015 amidst the major contouring phase where celebrities aimed for their faces to look extremely sculpted. Now, latte makeup takes cues from the past while adding a modern edge, accomplishing a sculpted, bronzey face whilst still looking warm and soft.
Key products to accomplish the look include: a tinted moisturizer for the base, brightening concealer to cover additional blemishes, blendable, cream contour to sculp the face, brown eyeliner for a subtle smudge effect, dark brown eyeshadow for better eye definition, a touch of shimmer in the inner eyelids, and a nude lip from a plump pout.
Regardless of skill level, latte makeup is a simple yet pro-worthy beauty look that will be everywhere for the rest of the summer season — and easily transitional for the fall.