25 Viral Beauty Trends That Need To Go Away

The internet is a bottomless pit of creativity and things that make you go, “huh?” So, naturally, it’s also home to some pretty interesting viral beauty trends.

Since the dawn of Instagram, the internet has become a visual platform for you to post whatever you what, whenever you want, without the fear of judgment (ha!). It’s a somewhat safe place to do whatever makes you feel like you.

But just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

I mean… people are really stepping up their game and will do just about anything to get noticed. After all, it only takes one extravagant makeup look to catch on before the internet is flooded with unconventional beauty trends.

And if you’re the one that started the look, you can expect a tidal wave of new followers and attention.

Trends come and go, and thankfully, most of these didn’t stick around… but that doesn’t mean we can just forget them.

Here are some of the internet’s most disturbing viral beauty trends of all time (you’ll DIE when you see the last one on this list).

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1. Black Highlighter

This trend started around Halloween, with the release of Jeffree Star’s Onyx Ice Skin Frost. It was initially meant to be used as costume makeup.

But the people of the internet wanted more… and it quickly became a fan favorite.

2. Fishtail Brows

Spoiler alert: you’re gonna see some pretty interesting brows on this list. For some reason, shaping your eyebrows into, um.. unique shapes has been a pretty big deal lately.

The crazier, the better.

I mean… fishtail brows aren’t too crazy, but I’m still a bit disturbed by this viral beauty trend.

To create this look, just shape your eyebrows with a soft pencil (like the IT Cosmetics Brow Power pencil). Instead of having them end in the usual, predictable tail, the main browline should branch off into a second tail above the arch.

Bam. Now your eyebrows look like fishtails.

3. Lollipop Lips

This look might be disturbing to some, but it was actually quite popular a few years ago. In fact, it was started by MAC Cosmetics and used on runway models in the spring.

The goal is to look as if you were sucking on a lollipop.

It’s not really a hard look to create at home. Just line your lips and smudge them. Apply lipstick or lipgloss as you normally would.

4. Selfie Nails

Yep. This happened at one point.

5. Feather Brows

Remember how I said we’d be talking about some interesting eyebrow trends? Cue Exhibit A.

Mid 2017 brought us the gift of #featherbrows… the simple idea that you can shape your eyebrows into a feather, and look cool while doing it.

This look started as a joke by @stella.s.makeup, but quickly gained traction. Did people just do it for attention, or did they actually like it? We may never know the truth…

Either way, you can recreate this look on yourself with a spool brush and a stick of glue.

6. Fuzzy Lips

The furry lip art trend started in 2017 when MUA, Greta Agazzi glued some velvet flocking powder to her lips. The world has never been the same since then.

7. Nose Art

Okay, okay… I’ll admit that this viral beauty trend isn’t too crazy. I’m a big fan of creative, extravagant makeup and some of these looks can be pretty cool.

Just use your nose as a blank canvas for beautiful, beautiful art. Tie it in with your eye makeup for extra trend points.

8. Braided Eyebrows

I’m about 99.9% sure that braided eyebrows are impossible to achieve without the use of digital image editing software. Either way, pictures like this have been popping up all over the place since 2017.

9. Curly Lashes

I’m sad because the starter of this trend deleted her Instagram account after gaining attention from the curly eyelash look she created.

Now we’ll never know how far this look would have gone!

10. Pimple-Popper Nails

This horrific beauty trend leaves me utterly speechless. I literally have nothing to say.

11. Glitter Tongue

I’m a pretty huge fan of glitter anything, but I just don’t know if this viral beauty trend is something I can get behind.

I mean… it looks super cool and makes for a good pic, but I don’t even want to imagine how much glitter you’d swallow or get stuck in your teeth. Plus, it’s not really something you can wear long-term.

12. The Squiggle Brow & Wavy Makeup

When I think of the insane viral beauty trends of 2017, the squiggle brow instantly comes to my mind. This look was literally all over the internet.

And if the brows aren’t bad enough, wavy lips and eyeliner styles are also a thing.

13. Unicorn Armpit Hair

I do kinda hate having this viral beauty trend on my list because I know it will upset some people.

Yes, I know that women should do whatever makes them feel beautiful, and you don’t have to conform to society to feel good about yourself. Trust me… I get it.

On top of that, I admire every woman on this list.

But that being said, do you really have to flaunt your hairy armpits? Is it necessary to draw attention to them with glitter and rainbows?

Celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga helped propel the #dyedpits trend forward… which eventually led to rainbow unicorn armpits being a thing.

14. Glitter Soap Brows

In general, I’ll never understand why people like soap brows. There’s nothing better than clean, sharp brow… you couldn’t pay me enough money to walk out of my house like this.

But glitter soap brows just draw so much more attention to something already so horrible. I really hope this viral beauty trend goes away… soon.

15. Furry Nails

This beauty trend came to life during Fashion Week 2016, when co-founder of CND nail polish, Jane Arnold, glued faux fur on models’ nails.

Need I say more?

16. Colored Teeth

Soooo apparently, you can buy colored tooth polish that temporarily dyes your teeth whatever color your heart desires. It even comes in glitter, gold, and glow-in-the-dark varieties.

It’s a popular trend amongst the festival-goers, and you know the just internet ate it up.

17. Seasonal Eyebrows

Beauty vlogger, Taylor R is kinda known for transforming her face and hair into innovative art. She’s been associated with several viral beauty trends over the years.

Her “spring garden brows” and “Christmas tree brows” are amongst her collection of looks that quickly caught on.

18. Succulent Nails

While I’m a fan of creative nail art, can you imagine trying to do anything with tiny flowers glued to your fingers? It’s a cool concept, but impractical for everyday life.

19. Heart Blush

Applying blush to your face, in the shape of a heart, was a popular beauty trend during the past few years. Several companies even came out with heart-shaped blush stamps to make it effortless to engage in this trend.

It can be cute, but can also be a bit scary.

20. Eyebrow Wigs

To be completely honest, I don’t have any eyebrows. In fact, I just had them tattooed, so one day, I can leave my house without makeup on.

In other words, I can see how eyebrow wigs would be useful for people with no other choice.

However, I just can’t imagine that they would look good in real life… like maybe you cut up a toupee and glued it to your face. I also despise the idea of people shaving their eyebrows to put these things there instead.

21. Ear Makeup

As the people of Instagram become bored with everyday makeup, they look for ways to create new and exciting viral beauty trends. That being said, painted ear makeup was a thing for a while.

It could possibly look cool under the right circumstances, but I don’t know about some of these looks…

22. Sunburn Makeup

I’m pretty sure that sunburns are like the worst thing ever, and most people usually attempt to cover their red skin with globs of makeup.

But of course, the internet cashed in on this idea and created a look that makes most people cringe.

23. The “100 Layer” Challenge

At some point in the past few years, people of the internet decided that it would be a good idea to apply 100 layers of different things to themselves and call it the “100 layer challenge.”

100 layers of mascara? Check. 100 layers of foundation? You got it.

The sky’s the limit with this insane viral beauty trend.

24. Halo Brows

Okay, for real… who even thinks up this stuff?

25. Nose Hair Extensions

Soooo Instagram user, @gret_chen_chen thought that maybe it would be fun to glue fake eyelashes to the inside of her nostrils.

Two years later, the internet decided that they loved this idea, and several other influencers followed suit. Sometimes, I just can’t even.

Final Thoughts

If you want to gain traction on the internet, you have to do something crazy… something that sets you apart from the crowd.

Gluing things inside your nose, shaping your brows into inanimate objects, and testing some other viral beauty trends for yourself (no matter how horrifying they are) are good ways to start.

Thankfully, most of these looks were meant to be jokes and just used for attention. Either way, let’s hope they leave and never come back.

Until next time,

YOUR TURN: What do you think of these viral beauty trends? Would you ever try any of these looks? Drop your feedback in the comments section below! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

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