This winter, TikTok’s viral “clean girl” aesthetic has a competitor that could completely take over in popularity – the “cold girl” aesthetic. The “cold girl” look is focused on achieving the underestimated beauty that comes after a walk in the frigid winter air. Flushed cheeks, frosty lids and perfectly fluffed eyebrows are key to achieving this look of cuteness for the winter season.
Much like the “clean girl” aesthetic, achieving the “cold girl” look means understanding that less = more. The “cold girl” look is essentially the base makeup of a “clean girl” with a little more blush, a little less bronzer and a lot more highlight. To help you master the “cold girl” look this winter, we’ve rounded up four must-have products you need to get your hands on!
Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush
The absolute key to the “cold girl” look is blush (and let’s be honest, there’s no such thing as too much blush). This liquid blush by Rare Beauty is weightless and long-lasting with a buildable formula that truly stands out across skin types.
For that perfect just-built-a-snowman-but-really-I-just-walked-to-get-a-coffee flush in your cheeks, we recommend the shade “Happy”. It’s by far the most popular shade of Rare Beauty’s liquid blush, and its cool pink undertones are perfect to achieve a natural-looking yet show stopping rosy cheek.
To achieve an authentic look, be sure to apply this liquid blush from the apples of your cheeks up to the high points of your cheekbones with a small amount on the very tip of your nose. By adding a bit to your nose, you can embody what really happens after a walk in the cold.
Shop: Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Soft Pinch Liquid Blush, $20.00
NYX Professional Makeup Jumbo Eye Pencil
Next up,make that skin shimmer. Adding strategic points of highlight around your cheeks, nose and eyes gives you a true fresh-out-of-the-snow look. Although this NYX product is technically an eyeshadow/eyeliner pencil, its pen-like structure gives you the perfect amount of control to highlight only the areas you want.
There are many ways to use this blendable, creamy pencil to achieve the “cold girl” look. Our favorite technique is to blend the highlight in the inner corner of your eye, the arches of your brow bone and on the tip of your nose. Alternate approaches can include on your cheek bones and even directly on your eyelids to give that perfect shimmer.
NYX’s shades “Milk” and “Cottage Cheese” are both suitable options for your cold girl shimmer – “Milk” gives a brighter look while “Cottage Cheese” is off-white with more shimmer.
Shop: NYX Professional Makeup Jumbo Eye Pencil All-In-One Eyeshadow Eyeliner Pencil, $5.50
FLOWER Beauty Lip Stain
Some may opt to utilize liquid blush as a dual-product by using it for their lips. This is totally doable, but to really keep this look throughout the day, we recommend pairing the look with a true lip stain.
FLOWER Beauty’s Bitten Lip Stain offers a shade, “Sass”, that serves as the perfect pairing with your cool-toned blush to complete the look. The stain applies like a gloss and truly lasts all day long to keep your “cold girl” look even after you’re hibernating for the night.
The formula is water-based with a gel texture so that your lips stay moisturized and glossy at the same time – which is a huge plus when facing a real winter cold. Paired with a liquid blush and white, shimmery highlight gives you the perfect rosy combo!
Shop: FLOWER Beauty Bitten Lip Stain (Sass), $11.99
NYX Professional Makeup Brow Glue
The must-have last touch for any look, but especially to achieve the “cool girl” aesthetic is perfectly sculpted yet fluffy brows. Our favorite long-last brow gel comes from NYX with its extreme hold brow glue.
This product allows beauty pros and amateurs to complete their brow fill-in routine as normal and apply the brow glue as a last-step to keep your shape all day long. The brow glue also helps to achieve the ever-trending “feathered brow” look by fluffing your brows up to keep them in place.
Shop: NYX Professional Makeup The Brow Glue, Extreme Hold Eyebrow Gel – Clear, $7.33
