Beauty Tiktokers’ Unfiltered Makeup Videos Reveal Real Skin Texture

• Beauty creators on TikTok are often revered for their stunning makeup looks and flawless skin.
• Fans frequently seek recommendations for the foundation that will make their skin look perfect. 
• TikTokers show close-ups of their skin with makeup to show that skin texture is natural and inevitable.

TikTok’s beauty creators are often revered for their flawless undetectable makeup and perfect skin, but a recent trend is revealing the concealed truth — makeup will always look like makeup. 

TikTokers are filming close-ups of their face to show how skin with makeup on actually looks in real life without any filters or editing. 

One such video by Indonesian beauty TikToker @beautybynaa begins with her presenting herself with flawless makeup skin. This is followed by contrasting close-ups exposing her pores and skin bumps, with the caption “skin texture is normal.” The video has almost 3 million views and close to 500,000 likes as of March 22. 

Foundation that’s clearly visible is often seen as “cakey” to many in the beauty community. The goal has always been to achieve an impeccable finish.

Especially on TikTok, imperfection sticks out like a sore thumb among the endless beauty filters that seek to eradicate even the tiniest facial blemish. 

But now many beauty TikTokers are showing how flawless-looking makeup will always look cakey in natural lighting, and that foundation cannot perfectly conceal skin texture. A video by beauty TikToker @yazmooremakeup shows how a different lighting and angle instantly changes how the skin looks on camera. 

A majority of social media’s makeup videos are uploaded with filters or editing to make the skin look perfect, when in reality, “makeup will always look like makeup,” said TikTok beauty creator Bronte-Marie, who goes by @thebrontemarie on the platform. 

“Beauty gurus lie to you. They sold you foundations while donning a blurring filter without showing you the way it truly looked. They told you that makeup was undetectable,” Bronte-Marie said in her video, which has almost 2 million views as of March 22. 

Using the TikTok sound from Bronte-Marie’s video, several other beauty creators have stepped up to show their skin texture under layers of makeup. Many have left positive comments on these videos, thanking the creators for their candor. 

“Thank you for sharing this, I’ve always struggled with makeup because I thought texture was a sign that you weren’t doing it right,” one comment read on a video by beauty creator @abbyroberts — who has a following of 16.8 million on the platform. The comment has 45,000 likes as of March 22. 

“Thank you for making this. This morning I started crying doing my makeup because I was insecure of my skin texture,” another similar comment on @beautybynaa’s video read.

The beauty industry has long been known for profiting off insecurities and setting unrealistic beauty standards.

So it may seem insignificant now, but this TikTok trend could be the much needed step towards a long battle of dismantling impossible expectations that seek to harm people’s self-esteem and self-perception.