The GuardianThe Guardian

‘Sadness is a trend’: Why TikTok loves ‘crying makeup’

By Alaina Demopoulos

31 Oct 2022 · 4 min read

Editor's Note

Misery – or the performance of it – is taking over TikTok and the beauty community. The Guardian look at what is behind the trend.

Beauty magazines once taught readers how to use makeup to conceal a recent sobbing sesh. But now, one TikTok trend encourages us to embrace those misty eyes and rosy noses. “Crying makeup,” it seems, is in.

In a clip that has gained over 507,000 likes, the Boston-based content creator Zoe Kim Kenealy offers a tutorial “for the unstable girlies” to achieve the look of a fresh sob even “if you’re not in the mood to cry”.

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