This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s senior fall editorial intern Dalal Daher. Find her on Instagram at @dalalllldaher. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Pop star Charli XCX’s latest album “Brat” has become an internet sensation since its release this June, with tracks such as “365” and “Apple” becoming TikTok hits for their fun, y2k feel, and the former even making former President Obama’s 2024 Summer Playlist. The chaotic brat aesthetic has touched the fashion world, being identified by articles such as “old corded Apple headphones,” leather and messy hair. But if you’re looking to embrace the vivacious brat look in your everyday life without changing your wardrobe, there’s an artistic and adaptable way to do so: brat-inspired makeup!
What is “Brat” summer makeup, and what makes it so appealing? Brat makeup is a mix of effervescent y2k party girl and grunge aesthetics. It trades natural-looking mascara for neon green eyeshadow emulating the “Brat” album’s signature color and yesterday’s smudged eyeliner, and the idea of unnoticeable makeup for punchy, loud, messy beauty. It’s the revival of makeup that unashamedly looks like makeup.
Brat summer makeup is a shocking antithesis to the 2020’s penchant towards a “clean girl aesthetic” defined by sleek hair and natural makeup, and fashion trends that embrace the subtly elegant “quiet luxury” wave of pared-back clothing. It’s shaken up an internet culture that over the past few years has been largely favoring more understated beauty and fashion, striking a nostalgic, fun, and colorful chord within our collective consciousness. Especially for zillennials who grew up in a fashion and beauty culture steeped in expressive logo-mania, free-spirited boho chic, and colorful y2k styles, brat summer and brat makeup appeals to our innate nostalgia.
The Brat album, like last year’s Barbie movie, became a cultural hit whose empowerment through bright self-expression has inspired a revival of unashamedly fun makeup and clothes. Where 2023’s Barbie sparked a wave of pink makeup looks and outfits, brat embraces the messy free spirit within all of us. While not everyone may want to pat lime green eyeshadow and smudged eyeliner on, or be able to in their day-to-day lives, the beauty of brat makeup is that it’s so open to interpretation, and tests the limits of the beauty world.
While some trending social media brat-inspired looks simply allude to it via bright green eyeshadow, others fully embrace the over-the-top aesthetic. Brat makeup is truly accessible- and if you just want to try it out, a simple monochromatic green eye shadow look, paired with a black eyeliner drawn in any shape you like, could be a fun way to try it out!
And if you don’t happen to already own green makeup, liquid eyeshadow like About-Face’s Matte Fluid Eye Paint in “Vertigo Flowers” is the perfect product for you- you won’t have to buy a whole palette just to access that signature green hue.
If you’re looking for a more innovative interpretation of brat makeup, influencer Danielle Marcan’s “glossy brat” makeup, consisting of a shiny eye look, is achievable via some neon shadow and eye gloss. Another fun look for the artistically inclined could be lime green graphic eyeliner, either applied in a classic cat-eye shape, or even a green lip look bordered by black lip liner if you’re really feeling bold!
Other brat makeup looks have veered more editorial and abstract, opting for jewels, typographic elements like spelling out “brat” on one’s face, and even lime green wigs. While these elements may not be as beginner-friendly or wearable everyday, they represent the individualistic flair that anyone can add to their brat makeup. The fact that anyone can interpret brat as loosely as they want, simply by drawing upon the album’s famous lime green hue, is a refreshing revival of more creative makeup.
While lime green may not be everyone’s favorite hue to incorporate in a glam look, brat summer’s makeup represents more than just a color. It signifies the revival of a campy, bold, aesthetic where beauty isn’t solely defined by inspiration pictures on Pinterest and culturally favored looks.
By running so boldly against the understated trends of the 2020’s thus far, brat summer has carved out a mainstream space for messy beauty. It may not be a trend that will be remembered in our cultural consciousness or even one that we remember fondly, but in its homage to y2k party girls and grunge, brat aesthetic still has an important message for us.
Brat makeup is a symbol of the wacky, bright, over-the-top looks that are not meant to be neutral but polarizing, yet influence us to express ourselves. Y2k fashion is polarizing, but memorable- you may find it tacky, you may be obsessed with it, but it makes a statement. Grunge makeup isn’t for everyone but it’s instantly recognizable. By championing an unexpected and arguably ‘difficult’ hue in its embrace of neon green, brat makes a statement that your beauty is in your individuality and refusal to conform to existing expectations.
Even as the internet’s latest micro-trend revolves around embracing the “demure” attitude and aesthetic that TikToker Jools Lebron made viral this August, and the clean girl aesthetic overpowers our social media feed with brushed up fluffy brows and barely-there eyeliner, we’ll always remember Brat summer as the one where we went back to campy, nostalgic, fun makeup, even if it didn’t age as elegantly in hindsight as our natural beauty looks. As the lights turn on in the club and brat summer comes to an end, perhaps its success implies a revival of more energetic, bold makeup. Who knows? Maybe 2025 will be defined by a resurgence of 2016’s rainbow colored cut creases…
What do you think of brat summer makeup? Let us know your thoughts and if you’d be willing to give it a try!
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