Kimberly McIntosh joins GLAMOUR as a Guest Editor for Black History Month. Over the course of the month, Kimberly will be spotlighting and celebrating Black women's stories across the digital, cultural, and physical landscape. For the third instalment in her series, she commissioned Victoria Goldiee to explore how Black British women are redefining beauty through the ‘Baddie' aesthetic…
The UK beauty industry is in its global gold rush era, exploding into a multi-billion-dollar business throughout the past decade. Despite the massive boom in new brands, trends, and products, Black makeup lovers still lack ample representation, shouldering the burden of fighting for their visibility on shelves and screens alike. They are using "The UK Baddie Aesthetic” a viral beauty trend consisting of a makeup look and killer outfits to help bridge this unnecessary gap for themselves.
With over 240 million views on TikTok and counting, The UK baddie aesthetic hashtag is home to thousands of step-by-step tutorials from the Black British creators who originated and spearheaded the look, like Mela Child, Cee Luvox, and Beauty by Bemi.
Taking cues from the classic "soft glam" routine, The look is a full-coverage method that appears effortless: think brightly buffed undereye concealer, a precisely blended (and yet seemingly undetectable) foundation finish, and a sultry lash.
The final result is a flawless base that draws attention to the centre of the face, rejecting the harsh contours of the late aughts and bringing back the soft-to-touch glam of the ‘90s. On the surface, it’s simply a makeup routine. But the trend has sparked a special community formed by Black women with thousands of miles between them. It’s the virtual version of walking into the ladies' bathroom on a late night out and into a group of strangers-turned-besties singing each other's praises. The impact of this newly formed allyship speaks to the disconnect between the beauty industry and the Black women it serves (or, more often, doesn't serve).
For 24-year-old beauty creator Hanifah Busairi, the aesthetic has become a staple part of her wardrobe as it allows her to feel luxurious at an easy cost. “My biggest influence in beauty is the soft glam which kind of comes from that '90s era of R&B music videos and the [Black rom-com] movies that were out at that time, where the makeup is subtle, it's there, but it's not quite there. And I think we just have that perfect medium. I think [Black British women] just really understand that when it comes to beauty it's about looking like you've transformed yourself but still very much looking like yourself,” she explained to GLAMOUR.
While this look is seen as understated and (somewhat) natural, it does require some decent makeup skills to recreate “I can spend 30 minutes on this look and sometimes two hours,” claims Hanifah. With less of a focus on harsh contouring and a shift to a natural, near-perfect skin finish, UK Black Girl makeup does seem like a close cousin to the “clean girl” makeup trend, an aesthetic that has seen itself in a fair share of debates recently.
“It's so liberating to see Black women feel free and expressive in their makeup.”
26-year-old makeup artist Shawntell Johnson who has seen firsthand the impact of the aesthetic of hundreds of her clients believes that it’s growing popularity came at a time when Black British women were in real need of a space to celebrate themselves, and their unique brand of glamour:
“It's all about the confidence makeup gives you; it allows people to be free and creative, and it gives us the platform to express ourselves and showcase our talent. Upon all the struggles, limitations, and unfairness we have faced as black women it is so liberating to see Black women feel free and expressive in their makeup.”
“We never really had products that suited Black skin, so it was very hard for Black girls with darker skin to achieve that easy, breezy, you know, ‘I'm going to apply my foundation with my fingers on the train’ type look that maybe the white girls could do. We couldn't do that, because there were no products for our skin tone. But now we can. And so we're embracing that. And we're showing different layers of our beauty.”
Beauty activist, expert, and founder of Ami Cole’ Beauty Diarrha N'Diaye-Mbaye is intent on moving the conversation forward and spreading the community across the globe. "We haven't been included in a lot of makeup trends or beauty brands," Diarrha says, commenting on the general lack of representation within the industry. "We've had to work with what was available to us." As Black women have been continuously underserved in this space, she credits social media for "allowing us to tell our stories in real-time." Speaking to its massive reach, Mela said, “Why not use it to hype each other up when others haven't for so long?”
Hanifah recommends using the Nars Soft Matte foundation, Fenty Beauty lip paint, Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze, Tom Ford Eye Colour Quads, Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Setting Powder, and Kiko Milano lip gloss if you want to take a stab at the look.
Overall, the camaraderie of the ‘UK Black Girl’ aesthetic has sprung within creators and audiences during its growth is what stands out the most, and if the comments, follower counts, and millions of views are indicative of anything, it's that a sisterhood that goes the distance has formed between Black beauty-lovers. That alone is worth the click.
Victoria Goldiee is a freelance writer and editor with a keen focus on headlining the untold stories of underrepresented communities through her platform. Her work has been featured in Business Insider, Architectural Digest, The Telegraph UK, The Metro UK and more as she cuts across issues focusing on women, culture and lifestyle.
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