The Guide You Need for the Best Douyin Makeup Products
This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s fall editorial intern Celeste MacMurray. Find her on Instagram at @clsmsanchezx. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Douyin style makeup has been taking over TikTok and creating a community of its own. Characterized by its beautiful use of color and glitter, the makeup style has really made waves for those who love to wear girly makeup looks. The Douyin makeup style originated from the Chinese app Douyin (抖音), which is essentially the Chinese version of TikTok. In addition to Douyin, another app people get inspiration from is Xiaohongshu (小红书, or “Little Red Book”), the Chinese equivalent to Instagram.
If you’ve seen these makeup looks online and have wanted to recreate them, you’re not alone. There is a huge community for people learning the makeup style and sharing their tips and tricks. There are many creators on TikTok and YouTube who provide resources for recreating these looks according to your features, no matter your skin tone or eye shape. As someone with hooded eyes, it’s hard to recreate many of the makeup looks I want since my eyelids rest differently than others. However, thanks to social media, I’ve been able to learn tips from people with the same eye shape as mine on how to do the looks I want.
A great resource to use in order to understand how to do makeup according to your features would be Dear Peachie’s YouTube channel. Their channel specializes in showing people how to use East Asian makeup techniques with their makeup looks along with tips for fashion and hair.
The reason why I am emphasizing eye shape at this current moment is because the bread and butter of Douyin makeup is your eye look. This is where most of the attention is applied and where the heart of the style lies. In this style guide we will go over the staples of the style and the best Douyin makeup products to help you achieve the looks of your dreams.
Eyeshadow
What I find unique about Douyin makeup is that the most common colors used range from neutral to pastels, and the eyeshadow palettes used contain multiple shades that can all work well together. The key to Douyin eyeshadow isn’t anything complex at all, but just requires blending and a good understanding of how to layer colors. There is nothing wrong or too extra with lots of glittery eyeshadows, as you can use it to build on your eyelids the colors you’ve previously added. You can also opt for winged eyeliner as well, which can be achieved with either liquid eyeliner or a dark eyeshadow like brown or black.
Aegyo-sal (애교살) or wò cán (卧蚕) is a huge part of the Douyin eye look. People with aegyo-sal have prominent pieces of fat that out underneath their eyes, and it’s viewed as a good thing to have! It’s believed to give the person a very cute and youthful appearance, and even if you don’t have it naturally, there are ways for you to draw the aegyo-sal line using contour and shading. Here is how you can do it if you have it naturally and here is how you can do it if you don’t have it.
Eyelashes
There is no requirement for what you need to use on your eyelashes as it’s completely up to you. Mascara or false eyelashes can be used according to your tastes, but if you do like wearing false eyelashes, you are in for a treat. The popular style of eyelashes for Douyin makeup are called manhwa or manga eyelashes. Voluminous, attention-grabbing and sweet, these eyelashes make your eyes pop and give them a doe-like look. While you can buy packs of false eyelashes, there are also individual eyelashes in clusters that you can place individually to give them your own unique pattern. This means you get to dictate where the longest and shortest eyelashes go and how they sit on your lash line.
Glitter
If you love glitter or have wanted an opportunity to use more of it in your looks, then this is your chance. Glitter is something that is used a lot on top of different eyeshadow looks in Douyin makeup. You can use it underneath your lower lash line, your inner corner, or even on your eyelid to add something extra to your eyeshadow look. Much like highlighter, I have also seen the eye glitter be used on the nose bridge and tip.
Blush
When it comes to blush, think: keep it cute. When looking at photos from Douyin and Xiaohongshu, the blush used is dusted on the cheeks to give a cute and lively look. Spread on the cheeks and the nose, use the blush to give your face a sun-kissed and innocent look to compliment the doe eyes achieved with your eyeshadow and eyelashes.
Lipsticks
The most common lipstick shades used in makeup looks are reds, pinks or nudes. A popular go-to choice for lipstick are actually lip tints that stain your lips; this way you won’t have to reapply at intervals like you would with regular lipsticks. With your lips now stained with your lip tint, you have two choices. Either you can leave it as it is, or you can build on it with a lip gloss of your choice. The lip routine you do can be as simple as a natural lip, or maybe pink colored lip gloss, or it could be as complex as a gradient if that’s something you want to experiment with. Like this TikTok, for example.
You don’t need expensive makeup brands or any specific Douyin makeup products to create these eye looks. There are lots of ways to achieve these makeup looks with the products available to you. There are also sites like YesStyle that carry a multitude of products you can’t find on Amazon. If you would like to see more products that are viral on apps like Xiaohongshu, here’s an example.
That being said, Douyin makeup is a very fun and artistic style that can range from angelic and cute to sultry and alluring. There is no one way to do this makeup style, and you are free to experiment with it in a way that makes sense to you and your features.
Are you a Douyin makeup fanatic? What are some of your favorite Douyin makeup products products to use to achieve this makeup look?