TikTok is the Wild West of beauty, where insanely expensive French perfume, £5 phamr foundation and tutorials on how to achieve perfect curls using a pair of leggings all vie for your attention.
It goes to show how much the industry has changed. Once upon a time, looks were designed for and by an elite few. Now, creators set trends and define pivotal moments that rock the beauty industry. But how does a hack become viral? What makes a trend buzzy? It’s alchemy, really ― the perfect storm of something that’s at once relatable and inspirational.
HuffPost went to work sourcing the best beauty moments of 2022. Ahead, find the creators and products that caught and kept your attention this year.
1. Cream balm makeup
Powder’s out. Cream is in. “Designed to be used on the eyes, lips and cheeks, cream balm makeup created a fresh new finish in 2022,” says Sebastien Tardif, celebrity makeup artist and co-founder of Veil Cosmetics. “They are easy to use, from fingertips to makeup tools, and no longer shift around nor look greasy like cream products from a few years ago.”
See the cream balm makeup trend here:
2. Heatless curls
Heatless curls were all over your feed ― especially if they were achieved with leggings or a belt. The method is a variation on old-fashioned rollers but is ingenious nonetheless. “For styling, I’m doing very natural looks. Air-dried hair, heatless curls and waves from sleeping in braids as far as casual days go,” says Maggie Hancock, a hairstylist and Blondme ambassador.
See the heatless trend:
3. High tech cover-up
The next trend utilises a noninvasive way to achieve the look of a facial procedure that was popular in 2022. “PRP, or platelet-rich plasma, is an autologous alternative to under-eye filler, and is definitely gaining in popularity for tear trough rejuvenation,” says Vanessa Coppola, a board-certified nurse practitioner and owner of Bare Aesthetic Medical Spa.
This procedure involves drawing blood and spinning it down in a centrifuge to separate the plasma from the rest of the components to be injected into your face. TLDR: This treatment helps to improve the formation of collagen and elastin, and is especially beneficial for use in the sensitive under-eye area, where it can help reduce under-eye pigmentation.
This year’s most popular undereye concealers include hydrating ingredients to create creamy, pigmented coverage that doesn’t crease. It’s the closest thing to PRP without needles.
When this creator found her holy grail concealer, Winky Lux Peeper Perfect Concealer, it became a viral moment on TikTok:
4. #PerfumeTok
TikTok loves a crazy-expensive perfume, and at over $300 or £250 a bottle, the year’s most explosive drop was Baccarat Rouge 540 from the French perfumer Maison Francis Kurkdjian.
For this creator, dupes of Baccarat Rouge are unacceptable:
5. A lip flip, but without a procedure
The lip flip was one of the most popular micro-injectable treatments of the year. A lip flip “is when a neurotoxin, such as Xeomin, Botox or Dysport, is injected above the upper lip. When done properly on the right person, it can give the top lip more red show and the lip may appear fuller,” according to Christine Adams, a board-certified nurse practitioner, master injector and owner of SkinSplendid.
“The right candidate is a patient with a slight gummy smile,” Adams says. “If the gums are not showing at all, the lip flip can drop the upper lip and hide the upper teeth when the patient smiles.”
To keep up with this look, the newest lip serums are formulated with humectants to plump without needles.
The Kardashian-approved Makeup by Mario MoistureGlow Plumping Lip Serum went viral on TikTok:
6. Glazed donut nails
This year, Hailey Bieber released Rhode, a skincare line all about that dewy glow where your skin is so moist and glassy, it resembles a glazed donut. The glazed donut look didn’t limit itself to skin care; it was popping off for nail trends, too.
Pro tip: to find a nail polish with holographic sparkle like Hope Soft Café Latte, look for a formula that contains micro-flakes.
See the glazed donut nail trend:
7. Skin cycling
Even though the concept of skin cycling is not new, this phrase was on heavy rotation this year. This practice avoids overbearing the skin with active ingredients. “I’ll have patients do a retinol on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and exfoliate on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On rest days, just a cleanser and a moisturizer,” Adams tells HuffPost.
For people looking for a more intuitive beauty practice, skin cycling has appeal, which could explain its popularity. “Always listen to your skin. If you feel like your skin is getting dry or irritated, skip the retinol for a few nights and add more moisturizer,” Adams says.
Dr. Whitney Bowe helped make skin cycling a major trend on TikTok this year:
8. Clean girl makeup
“The ‘clean girl’ aesthetic is a minimalist approach to beauty,” Adams says, and it’s being embraced by both makeup looks and cosmetic surgery trends.
“The clean girl aesthetic is similar to how I inject,” Adams says. “I focus on healthy, glowing skin and want my patients to be able to wear little to no makeup with confidence if they choose.”
The most popular types of foundations, both prestige and drugstore brands, are lightweight and serum-like, formulated to sink into skin without creasing.
Covergirl Clean Fresh Skin Milk went viral on TikTok, with creators loving the fresh, minimal look:
9. Baby bangs
“As far as cuts go, baby bangs and disconnected face frames are coming in hot. I never thought we would see the day curled bangs would come back around, but we’re here,” Hancock says.
See the baby bang trend on TikTok:
10. Skin barrier repair
Slugging isn’t new, but it had a moment in the pandemic when people were focused on skin barrier health. “Healthy skin barrier is at the forefront this year and is here to stay,” says Preeti Luthra, a skin care expert and founder of Pure & Cimple. “Our skin is the first line of defence against stressors and pathogens. Our skin microbiome is its armour.”
Check out the slugging trend:
11. Fluffy brows
Put down your tweezers. Instead, learn to work with what you’ve got. “Brow lamination, where you use chemicals to semi-permanently set the eyebrows in an upward position, is one of the hottest beauty trends right now,” says makeup artist Tomy Rivero. For a similar look without a salon visit, invest in a good brow brush.
A creator shows this fluffy brow hack:
12. Hot brushes
What’s up with home appliance brands owning the market on hot brushes this year? Dyson and Shark, with their respective Airwrap and FlexStyle, dropped styling systems that are engineered to avoid heat damage while helping you achieve a variety of curls and ’dos.
Here’s how the Dyson Airwrap works:
13. ‘Euphoria’ Eyes
Neon, high-drama eyes were the assignment. When the long-awaited second season of Euphoria dropped, fans went wild for the intensely pigmented and highly angsty eyes served up by Cassie and Maddy.
Pro tip: Danessa Myricks Beauty’s Infinite Chrome Flakes deliver a high-pigmented and textured look, no MUA required.
A creator shows Euphoria eyes: