Nevertheless it wasn’t simply Del Rey influencing that tired-yet-glamorous aesthetic—the British TV collection Skins was one other main reference level. The teenager drama’s cult standing on Tumblr can’t be overstate. The cool, indifferent Effy Stonem, together with her patterned tights and lived-in blue eyeliner, grew to become the poster lady for Tumblr’s signature soft-grunge vibe.
These weren’t by far the one magnificence traits Tumblr catalyzed again then. There was the thick brow craze impressed by Cara Delevingne’s meteoric rise (and that one specific photo of her by Matt Irwin that everybody had on their weblog); matte plum lips à la Lorde; candy-colored hair had a second because of the affect of individuals like Lime Crime founder Doe Deere (who initially gained notoriety on one other microblogging platform, LiveJournal, whose customers left in droves within the late 2000s earlier than discovering a brand new dwelling on, you guessed it, Tumblr).
Whereas some would possibly say these appears to be like are of a selected, bygone period, I would argue they will by no means die. Traits do not disappear fully; they only shapeshift. Traits of many years previous shapeshifted to type Tumblr’s signature appears to be like, and now Tumblr’s signature appears to be like are shapeshifting to suit trendy instances.
For instance, Euphoria, with its ever-viral makeup, is simply at the moment’s iteration of Skins. Effy’s aforementioned eyeliner and Cassie Ainsworth’s frosty eye shadow are the religious predecessors of Rue’s glitter tears and Maddy’s sharp double liner. It’s no coincidence that two of Euphoria’s stars have been 2010s cool women—Barbie Ferreira was a Tumblr it-girl, and Alexa Demie as soon as modeled for the platform’s most coveted clothes model, American Attire.
The brilliant, cutesy Starface pimple patches adorning the face of each cool teen on the subway remind me of one other Tumblr it-girl, mannequin Joanna Kuchta, who wore sparkly star-shaped stickers in her make-up appears to be like lengthy earlier than that was a factor. The model not too long ago launched a campaign for its Marc Jacobs collaboration starring a handful of artists together with Grimes, one other former Tumblr icon, sporting tiny tattoo-inspired pimple patches.
At the moment’s TikTok clear women, armed with Rhode skincare, Laneige lip masks, and buns slicked again with Olaplex, owe a debt to Tumblr as properly. Its magnificence wasn’t at all times maximalist or experimental. There was a bare-faced coolness to it, too—a form of minimalism that prioritized recent, dewy pores and skin over full protection basis and concealer, a barely-there flush on the cheeks, and as soon as once more, full, bushy brows. I’d argue this sensibility helped pave the way in which for the blockbuster success Glossier, which launched within the fall of 2014 and had a chokehold on me and each blogger I adopted. On sunny weekends in New York Metropolis, you’ll nonetheless see strains forming exterior the model’s brick-and mortar-store in Williamsburg, a neighborhood that has managed to stay synonymous with hipsterdom regardless of its demographics wanting increasingly just like the Monetary District day by day.
