The Newest Beauty Trend: Looking Like a Mess

You now have the right to look like crap. Well, you always did; but now beauty experts and The New York Times have given their hearty thumbs-up to hair, makeup, and style that is minimalist, imperfect, and a little bit messy.  As the Times reports, the trend this year is to look like you’re ‘“coming home from the party,” not “going out to the party”. While I’m sure women everywhere are fist-pumping to the idea that now we’ll have a sartorially-supported excuse for looking like we just rolled out of bed (or rolling into it after a night of debauchery), there’s a few – like me – who are a little more skeptical.

One example of a “coming home from the party”-look [via]

While I’m down to support style laws that encourage freedom of expression, I have to wonder how easygoing this trend actually is. Just being labeled a trend has to mean that it’s enforcing a set of rules, and dictating which of those rules we should follow every day. A rule is a rule, even if it says to skip the mascara and go au natural instead. Besides, that hardly constitutes a trend. I may have been convinced to follow a lot of bad advice when it came to my style – blue hair, high tops, perms and stirrup leggings are just a few of my transgressions – but I won’t be tricked into believing it’s ok to not wash my hair every day.  Because guess what? It’s always been ok. I’ve been doing it for years. Who’s the trend-setter now?

The article may sound ridiculous, but it also highlights a few actually awesome trends to watch out for and try on this year, including a dewy metallic twist on smoky eyes and something called “popsicle mouth”. Which gives me hope that – should I decide to embrace the so-called trend of looking undone – all I need to do is put on make up like a nine-year old would. Or eat a popsicle. Either way, I’m gonna look good (read: sorta bad) this year.

Top image [via]