Content mentioning the hashtag #cleangirl has more than a billion "views" on TikTok: we can decently call it a trend. But what is behind it? Advice on eating healthy or having a healthy lifestyle? Not really: it is mainly about guidelines to follow in terms of makeup and look to be able to claim to be part of the #cleangirl movement. Far from body positivity, behind these falsely natural looks hide a lot of injunctions. Decryption.
The #cleangirl trend in theory
Contrary to what one might think at first, the expression "clean girl" is not related to the healthy movement. This clean, which means "clean" in French, is in fact a fashion and aesthetic trend that designates simple looks, which evoke a girl who is in tune with her time, with codes surfing on the "less is more" trend, both in clothing and in makeup. The look is intended to be fresh, minimalist, comfortable, and the appearance healthy and natural. We are talking about #cleangirlaesthetic, #cleangirllook, #cleangirlstyle or even #cleangirlmakeup. The clothes are all timeless basics like white t-shirts, jeans, sweatshirts, but always with fairly neutral shades in a range of nudes, grays, ecru... a weekend style in a way. As for makeup, the complexion is glowy, the skin is flawless, the mouth just shiny, the eyebrows natural. This is the "no makeup" look: we let people believe that all it took was a touch of gloss, a little concealer, highlighter and a swipe of mascara to get the "clean" look. Finally, in terms of hairstyle, the hair is just clean and simply tied up, straightened or pulled back into a loose bun, as if we had spent very little time getting ready. Problem: the famous "I woke up like this" style, that is to say a "wake up" appearance, with a "simply perfect" face advocates natural perfection, which is purely unattainable and unrealistic.
The #cleangirl trend in practice
In the reality of the bathroom, this falsely simple style requires hours of preparation! And that's the problem: this aesthetic suggests that the young women associated with this trend are naturally like that. While it is actually a very sophisticated makeup... in fact, this appearance is the result of a sharp stylistic research and sought-after makeup techniques. To achieve this style, the girls who appear on social media spend hours getting ready, very far from the spontaneity and simplicity represented. You have to find THE trendy piece, have the perfect foundation, which conceals and corrects but has an invisible finish, you have to know how to handle the art of contouring and juggle with concealers to make any imperfection disappear. If the mouth is not plump enough, you have to know how to redesign it to increase its volume in an imperceptible way... or resort to injections to make it plump. Hair can be wavy but not too much, or straight, but under control. Studio makeup artists know that the hardest thing to achieve is "natural" makeup. For young girls with straight hair, already beautiful skin and naturally full lips, it goes without saying that it is already much easier than for anyone else who has some pigment irregularities, frizz and other spots. For the latter, adopting this trend is simply a programmed failure.
#cleangirl: the controversial trend poses a problem
The clean girl trend is not really clean. It is associated with mainly Caucasian, thin women… whose natural style - in fact ultra controlled - is established as the standard. In this perspective, what should we think of the term "clean"? Anything that does not fit into this aesthetic would therefore be "dirty"? This trend thus marks the return of injunctions and body shaming (shameful body) destined to disappear in the face of its counterpart, "body positivity", a tendency to revalue women's bodies and normalize their "flaws". This trend is thus doubly problematic since it imposes the injunctions of a normality that is not one, and claims to value simplicity and naturalness when it results, on the contrary, from real work on appearance. Enough to make you crazy... and depressed! Fortunately, many people have seen the hypocrisy and, thanks to social media, have launched a counter-offensive with the hashtags #cleangirlaestheticproblem (the problem with the "clean girl" aesthetic) or #cleangirlaestheticirony (irony of the "clean girl" aesthetic).
What to keep from the #cleangirlaesthetic trend?
We can keep the spirit of this trend which consists initially in promoting a simple look, not a headache: we keep the timeless style composed of basics, clean cuts and materials by adding ecological awareness in our choices. On the beauty side, we are inspired by it to adopt a simple routine, which emphasizes actions aimed at improving the health of the skin: we value cleansing, makeup removal, protection, and we choose clean formulas . Exit abrasive, aggressive, chemical formulas, finished with products that promise miracles, the idea is to take care of yourself, gently. We aim for balanced, plump, hydrated and luminous skin. Finally, from #cleanmakeup we keep the complexion unified with a tone-on-tone corrector, and highlighted with a highlighter, and the fresh side brought by a touch of blush and gloss. We emphasize the eyebrows which are the architects of the face: no heavy plucking, on the contrary we brush them upwards to open the eyes. A touch of mascara and that's it!
Trends always bring inspiration to keep up with the times, but you have to know how to decipher those that go against self-acceptance. Keeping a sharp awareness of what is hidden behind the perfect images on social networks is essential to not take literally what we are served as the norm for everyone. To do this, never lose sight of the fact that everything is staged, retouched, improved, and that very little content shows "real life": we are inspired by it but we are wary of it! An analysis work to be generalized to young girls in particular who still carry too many injunctions on their shoulders at the very moment when their self-esteem is being built.