11 Truly Unexpected Beauty Trends That Went Viral on Instagram in 2018
It's going to take a lot to shock beauty editors in 2019. We've seen it all this year — eyebrows chopped and screwed into museum-worthy works of art, hair razored and styled within an inch of its follicles, and nail art you basically need a Ph.D. to try at home. Thanks to the ever-growing amount of makeup artists on Instagram, these stunts can captivate the Internet for a moment and bring the entire beauty community together, if just for a day or two, to argue about the latest freaky brow "trend." These flashes in the (shadow) pan can sometimes be forgotten just as quickly, which is why we're taking a moment to remember the weird Instagram beauty trends that rocked and shocked us in 2018.
We rounded up the wackiest, more bizarre, and downright divisive trends from beauty Instagram this year — including brow art, nose art, and all the spaces in between. Keep scrolling to find a trend you'd be willing to try (or at least screenshot) in 2019.
1. Fishtail Brows
Never doubt the power of the Internet to come up with a new brow concept. In 2018, we saw the advent of fishtail brows, thanks in part to beauty tastemaker Huda Kattan. In this case, Kattan's swoopy brows were Photoshopped on, but here's hoping she inspired at least one of her 30 million Instagram followers to take the fish-themed dive.
2. Heart-Shaped Nail Art
Valentine's Day nail art — sounds like a concept everyone can get behind, right? But this video by nail artist Park Eunkyung managed to divide the Internet with a process that takes much more work than you'd think (just like relationships). The manicure involves cutting and shaping of acrylic nails into hearts, which are then glued onto the nails, then painted.
3. Halo Brows
Also known as a reverse unibrow, the halo brow look somehow managed to make its wearers look angelic and devilish at the same time. It was also a reminder that artistic innovation knows no bounds: The creator, 16-year-old Hannah Lyne, explained that she was influenced by fishtail brows to create this look.
4. Half-Long, Half-Short Hair
Much like Yanny and Laurel, this bob haircut with layered extensions divided the Internet. Is the cut short or long? Does it look more like a jellyfish or a fancy lampshade? Either way, it was created by salon owner and Wella global brand ambassador Darren Ambrose with tape-in extensions, a razor blade, and a lot of guts.
5. Glittery Soap Brows
When we think of products one can use to create a brow look, the list includes gel, a spoolie, and thanks to 21-year-old Holly Aldous, a bar of soap. U.K.-based Aldous brushed bar soap through her brows to create a feathered look, then went over them with Lime Crime Diamond Crusher Lip Topper in Unicorn Queen. The final look is brows that look like they've been put through the Kira Kira filter. Might we suggest trying these for New Year's Eve?
6. Wave Brows
Dutch makeup artist Rebekka Theenaart elevated the viral brow trend into a bonafide art form with her Hokusai-inspired (not to mention emoji-inspired) wave brows. As Theenaart explained to Allure, she accidentally combed her eyebrows into a wave and decided to build a look around it. She shaped the hairs with soap, then used white and blue liquid lipstick to paint on each individual wave.
7. Sunburn-Inspired Eye Makeup
2018 was the year that makeup artist Terry Barber created a sunburn that Allure editors actually approved of. Barber, the director of makeup artistry at M.A.C., used the creamy red and violet shadows in M.A.C.'s Pro Eye Palette in The Romantic to create an eye look that resembles a particularly gnarly sunburn. Recreations welcome — the makeup kind, not the IRL kind.
8. Full-Hand Swatches
Allure editors get quite used to spending a full day covered in product swatches, but 2018 taught us a whole new way to test out makeup shades. Two indie cosmetics companies, Chaos Makeup and Dawn Eyes Cosmetics, shared photos of hands completely covered in color-changing pigment. The full coat of color is quite a commitment, but it does make these shades look especially striking.
9. Flower Vase Hair
This was the year that beauty innovators proved that if you're going to put flowers in your hair, you need a vase. Canadian blogger Taylor R. took inspiration from The Grinch's Cindy Lou Who with a tiered updo held in place with an empty plastic water bottle and artfully placed elastics. The finishing touch? An actual bouquet nestled right into the hair.
10. Shrek Brows
If these Shrek brows aren't peak brow art, then we have to hope they're at least pretty damn close. Not only do these painted-on brows feature our favorite ogre, zoom in to see that the Shrek pictured is in fact nude and laid out like a Playboy centerfold. Australian makeup artist Audrey Addams created this incredibly extra take on winged liner that may or may not have ruined a beloved childhood cartoon.
11. Nose Art
With brow art still going strong, beauty pioneers also started to expand into a new frontier: nose art. These looks ranged from a swoop of liquid liner across the bone, not unlike winged eyeliner, to even bigger statements like makeup artist Karla Garcia's painted-on hearts.
More of what we learned this year:
Red Velvet Reveals All Their Favorite Beauty Moments of 2018
These Are the Hair Color Trends You'll See Everywhere in 2019
Now, watch Hayley Kiyoko try nine things she's never done before:
