She’s an “Los Angeles 10” but a “Chicago 7.” A “New York 9” but a “Miami 5.”
That might be meaningless at first glance, but these taglines are part of a growing “unrecognizable makeup” trend on TikTok, in which makeup looks are so transformative that they make the wearer appear to be an entirely different person.
TikTok creator @lottiestarrs has been spearheading the “LA 10” trend. In a video with nearly 60 million views, she goes from pink-haired and barefaced to a blonde bombshell, transforming downturned eyes into a smoky, upturned look with a heart-shaped lip. She “got bored one night,” and in another video with 22 million views, turned herself into an “LA 10” — not only looking unrecognizable from the previous clip, but completely different from her other “unrecognizable makeup” looks.
Praise flooded her comments section: “Girl this is talent… art even,” one user wrote. “I stood and applauded,” quipped another.
Other creators hopped on the trend, including Marylyn Chukwuekezie, a beauty content creator based in Nigeria. She recreated celebrity makeup looks — from SZA to Sabrina Carpenter (her favorite look so far) — and used wigs, contour, blush and eye makeup to turn herself into an “LA 10.”
Debates around makeup and “undetectable plastic surgery” have already been popping up on social media. Last year, Lindsay Lohan and Christina Aguilera shocked fans with fresh looks. Now, makeup is entering the conversation.
In July, “Bridgerton” Netflix star Charithra Chandran stole Andrew Garfield’s spotlight at Wimbledon after a video of her seated behind him went viral. But the replies just as quickly turned sour when the internet began picking apart Chandran’s appearance, posting side-by-side photos of her with and without makeup, calling her “mid” and accusing her of having filler and plastic surgery.
Some people are upset about these unrecognizable looks. However, others argue that it’s all in good fun and we shouldn’t take everything on the internet quite so seriously.
Makeup is an ‘enhancement’ and ‘art’
The problematic joke, “Take her swimming on the first date,” has been around for nearly a decade — it’s tossed around by men who claim that seeing a woman without makeup early on is the only way to avoid getting “bamboozled” into dating someone unattractive.
In 2021, actress Sydney Sweeney — who has often been praised for her looks (and is recently the subject of heated debates over her American Eagle ad) — cried on Instagram Live while trending on X (then, Twitter) for “being ugly.” In October 2024, Sweeney was photographed on set with a brunette curly wig, baggy clothing and no apparent makeup. Then, she was featured in an X thread with 11 million views titled “Catfish of the Year,” comparing a photo of her on a red carpet to candid paparazzi shots.
Another user came to her defense: “‘Sydney Sweeney is a catfish’ sir if you cannot recognize that a blonde woman does not wake up with jet black eyelashes and face glitter then you might be too stupid to reach.”
Many women have pushed back against criticism of makeup, arguing that makeup is “art” and not “a form of lying.”
“A beautiful woman, we’ve been taught, is beautiful naturally with no visible effort on her part,” Leora Tanenbaum, author of “Sexy Selfie Nation,” previously told USA TODAY. “But we all know that it’s impossible to conform to our societal beauty ideals with no effort.”
Chukwuekezie likes the way she looks without makeup, but wearing it gives her a confidence boost.
“I don’t feel less pretty when I’m not wearing makeup, but I actually do feel more pretty when I’m wearing makeup,” she says. “It doesn’t affect the way I see myself; it’s like an enhancement. It’s a form of art for me, and I just love doing makeup.”
When criticism goes too far
Chukwuekezie says people upset about a lighthearted makeup trend are taking it a step too far.
“Makeup does enhance your features, but it doesn’t change your features,” she says. “It still doesn’t mean that the person wearing makeup is wearing makeup because she feels ugly.”
Even amid praise in her comment sections, she admits that there are always people saying, “You’re not doing it right.”
Others have speculated that she is using makeup to emulate Eurocentric features. “I don’t even understand that at all,” she says. “I have to be like, ‘Calm down.'”
“I had a comment that was, ‘LA 10 girls are skinny, white and blonde or brunette,'” she continues. “I’m like, sorry, I don’t think this has anything to do with the makeup.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Unrecognizable makeup’ is taking with ‘LA 10’ trend
The post She turned herself into an ‘LA 10.’ It’s part of a growing ‘unrecognizable makeup’ trend. appeared first on USA TODAY.
