A Different Canvas

People express their creativity through a variety of ways— through paint on a canvas, words on a page, or even notes in a song. But for some, it’s through the stroke of a makeup brush.

The earliest records of makeup can be traced back to nearly 3000 BC and throughout time, different cultures have taken the foundations of makeup and have created their own styles. The distinction between Western and Asian styles of makeup is vast and grows more and more as years pass. Today, the Eurocentric beauty standard has been nudged to step aside, and now other cultures are having their turn in the spotlight. While these styles all may deviate from the beauty standards in the West, they’re each beautiful in their own way, catering to a non-Eurocentric beauty standard.

Many Asian Americans feel torn in regards to their perception of beauty. For years, Eurocentric

beauty standards have been heavily advertised and heavily featured on social media. Standards in

the West aim for a tan, sunkissed glow, but Asian standards prefer lighter, pale features. Skin-whitening treatments are quite common in Asian beauty practices in an effort to appear as pure and youthful as possible. On the other hand, tanning treatments are extremely common in the West with

individuals spending hundreds of dollars in an attempt to appear tan. With the rise of social media in the past decade, makeup tutorials and influencers have been able to grow in size, with tags like such as #kbeauty or #douyinmakeup garnering millions of posts across apps like TikTok or Instagram. Subcultures that thrived in small communities or specific countries have been able to grow and amass creatives all over the world, utilizing makeup in a new and innovative way.

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One of the fastest growing phenomena is Douyin makeup, which has taken the makeup world by storm. Primarily sporting bright blush and glittery eyeshadow, Douyin style makeup gained its namesake by growing in popularity on Douyin, TikTok’s Chinese counterpart. Douyin makeup is mainly about enhancing natural features and lends more to the feminine, softer side of makeup. This style focuses on having an ethereal, doll-like complexion, with an emphasis on a lot of glitter. Douyin makeup favors a matte skin look, reinforcing the look of porcelain skin. In addition to this, another defining feature of this makeup style is the style of lashes. The lashes commonly used for Douyin makeup are referred to as manhau style lashes. These lashes are more dramatic than lashes used in other Asian makeup styles, and primarily split into large clusters to enlarge the eyes.

It’s intriguing to note that Douyin makeup directly juxtaposes another makeup style that was popularized by TikTok. On the Western side, “clean girl makeup” has risen to popularity, where the aim is to look as natural as possible. Sunkissed skin, with a natural flush and natural-looking eyebrows, a nude lip, and minimal mascara.

The difference between the two can even be shown in the makeup products themseleves. The Western makeup sphere is dominated by minimalistic packaging and design, a parallel to the current standard of “clean girl makeup”. Meanwhile, in China, two popular makeup brands called Flower Knows and Florasis emphasize gorgeous, maximalist packaging, a stark contrast to what an average consumer in America can find in a Sephora.

Douyin makeup in its entirety is about utilizing methods and techniques to bring a fantasy to life. Douyin makeup is all about pushing the boundaries of makeup to make yourself look unreal, and about experimenting with the fantastical whimsy that makeup can create.

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Crossing over the Yellow Sea to South Korea, where groundbreaking products are emerging into the international market at a high rate. South Korea is well known for their advanced beauty and self-care technology, with a heavy focus on skincare, and how it’s important to understand your own skin type. Many people forget that in order to achieve a flawless look, it’s not just about the makeup, but also the preparation beneath it.

Korean skincare has quickly risen up the ranks in the beauty industry, and as of recent years has even begun breaking into popular U.S. stores such as Ulta and Sephora. Some notable brands include Peach and Lily, Beauty of Joseon, and COSRX.

A majority of these products market towards a specific beauty standard in Korea. One of the most popular trends for Korean makeup is called “glass skin.” Glass skin is the look of skin being dewy and glowy, mimicking the reflection of glass. This look is achieved through innovative skin-care and revolutionary ingredients such as snail mucin. Achieving this look is heavily dependent on the products you use as well as your skin type.

Skincare routines can range from just a few steps to over a dozen. It all depends on what you want to achieve for your skin. A typical routine would be as follows: an oil cleanser, then a gentle

foaming cleanser, an exfoliator, toner, essence, treatments, eye cream, moisturizer and then SPF. Many people also have separate routines for morning and night and are generally some variation of the aforementioned routine.

In terms of actual makeup, Korean makeup tends to be more natural and subtle. Whilst Douyin makeup boasts a doll-like, porcelain effect, Korean makeup goes for more subtle eye looks. Makeup is softer and subdued, and many eye looks are inspired and popularized by idols. An example of this is Wonyoung from the K-Pop group IVE, who completely sold out the Rom&nd lip tint “Bare Grape’’ when news broke of her using it in many of her looks.

Korean makeup aims to enhance the natural features that are already there, and lend more towards the subtle and subdued look that is somewhat reminiscent of the West’s “clean girl makeup”, but with its own deviations.

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On the other hand, Japan is well known for its vast amount of fashion subcultures, including lolita, gothic lolita, gyaru and decora just to name a few. Each subculture has its own distinct makeup style, catering to the subculture’s overall aesthetic.

Gyaru, also the Japanese word for “gal”, refers to a subculture that aims to go against the norm. In a country where the beauty standard is pale skin and dark hair, gyaru directly opposes this. Featuring

bronzed skin, heavy eyeliner, and large lashes, the looks aim to rebel in a beauty standard where subtlety and natural looks are favored. Similarly to Douyin makeup, gyaru makeup features bright blush and purposefully enlarges your eyes to seem more prominent and bold. Another definitive feature of gyaru makeup is applying white eyeliner along your lower lashline to give the appearance of larger eyes, a tactic also used in cosplay, another Japanese subculture.

Lolita on the other hand, is more along the lines of Douyin makeup, aiming to appear doll-like in nature. Circle lenses and large fake eyelashes are used to open up the eye and appear larger. That being said, while lolita makeup does have similar aspects to Douyin makeup, what differentiates the two is primarily the style of the eyeshadow and eyeliner. Eyeshadow and eyeliner are much bolder than Douyin makeup.

While there are many more subcultures of Japanese makeup to be explored, these are just a few of the more prominent ones with a distinct makeup style. Each subculture is unique in its own way and allows for a lot of creative expression.

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The last three makeup styles covered have all been in East Asia. For Southeast Asia, Thai style makeup walks a tightrope between a glamorous makeup look and “clean girl makeup.” The look, while glamorous, is meant to be effortless. It takes aspects from other Asian makeup styles, and combines them to make it their own. For instance, Thai makeup favors the glass skin look and lightly flushed cheeks. Fluffy brows are incredibly prominent in an effort to cater to the “soft glam.” Rather than bright or dark eyeshadow, pigments are lighter and more diffused, creating a softer, less harsh look.

Thai makeup aims to accentuate natural features, with a heavy emphasis on the subtlety of the eyes. With a nude lip and a primarily simple base, attention is drawn to the eyes that are contoured and lined to pop. While Douyin makeup favors fully diffused eyeliner, Thai eyeliner is sharp and only diffused at the top, creating a subtle smokey eye effect.

Although paleness is still favored in Southeast Asian countries, the newer generation has slowly started to embrace their naturally bronzed skin and now aim for that sunkissed glow that’s heavily favored in the West.

Though Thai style makeup hasn’t gained as much notoriety as Douyin or Korean style makeup, it’s gorgeous in its own way. It embraces natural beauty in a style that differs from its counterparts but still captures the essence of its Asian roots.

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Though there are many deviations, at the end of the day, makeup is about self-expression. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There’s no right or wrong way to do makeup, it’s all about what you want to achieve with your looks and what makes you happy. Makeup is art and whether you prefer the glittery, doll-like look of Douyin makeup, or the subtle, smokey eyes of Thai makeup, it’s all about finding what you enjoy and feel confident in!