Smudged mascara, messy lipstick and glitter freckles from eyeshadow fall-out are all familiar sights for the morning after a big night out. So why are we now seeing these makeup looks all over social media feeds before we leave the house?

The rising popularity of the rockstar girlfriend aesthetic and mob-wife makeup, defined by heavy eyeliner, sparkly eyeshadow and bold lips, is a stark contrast to the subdued, soft-paletted beauty trends of 2023.

Last year was all about neutral tones and natural glow, with latte makeup and glazed doughnut everything. But in 2024, beauty is going maximalist and ‘more is more’ is where the beauty scene is currently at.

Influencers like Hailey Bieber and Sophia Richie led the charge in the era of quiet luxury, that focused on simplicity and quality in everything from makeup to clothes. However, with costs of living rising around the globe, these ‘clean girl’ influencers started to become less relatable, and so did their luxury minimalist aesthetics.

The messy girl aesthetic emerged in late 2023 as a revolution against the backdrop of beige luxury. From Maeve’s slept-in eye looks in Sex Education to Venetia’s smudged eyeliner in Saltburn, celebrity makeup artist Kasey Spickard says the beauty trend “captures the undone, messy lived-in eye looks of the mid-2000s.”

The latter example is an ironic example of the shift away from quiet luxury, given that the character was part of an incredibly wealthy, upper-class family. However, her undyed roots and slept-in makeup are representative of an era where ‘shabbiness’ was in, a stark contrast to the primed and perfected clean girl aesthetic that has dominated culture up until recently.

With costs of living rising and a state of permacrisis around the world, people don’t have the time, money or energy to spend trying to look perfect. And that’s where messy girl makeup comes in.

Messy-girl makeup gives more freedom to experiment without getting it wrong – messing up is quite literally the aim of the look. It’s a pushback against aesthetically rigid, perfectly pleasing and curated social media feeds, with people able to dip their toes into this trend without having to have a complete style makeover.

The mid-2000s aesthetic evokes a feeling of going out to have fun, rather than to look good. Jane Krauss defines this party girl Kate Moss-era as “the embodiment of messiness and hedonism, an ode to imperfection”.

By incorporating mistakes into beauty looks in 2024 and harking back to funner, more experimental beauty times, people are taking the pressure off of themselves to be perfect. It’s a carefree approach where playing by the rules isn't recommended.

However, in an introvert economy where Gen Zers are more likely to swap the club for their bed, this aesthetic is a different reflection of partying hard than it used to be. Whether at home in their rot-girl era, or making it to the club in their feral-club-rat era, messy-girl makeup has become a no-pressure option for Gen Z.

And as maximalist beauty with its loud glam signals a shift away from more understated aesthetics and cleaner makeup styles, it's being replaced with messy girl makeup that is bold, unapologetic and in-your-face. After a period of minimalist domination, maybe this self-expressive era is exactly what the beauty space needs.