VILLEPINTE, FRANCE - OCTOBER 02: Doja Cat attends the Balenciaga Womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 show ...
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Beauty

9 Grotesque and Gory Beauty Trends Having A Moment Right Now

For Halloween and beyond.

by Laura Pitcher

Throughout history, artists have dabbed in the grotesque. From Roman paintings that merged the human form with animals and plants to Lady Gaga’s iconic 2010 MTV Video Music Awards “meat dress”, grotesque art explores all things strange, mysterious, fantastic, hideous, and ugly. But after years of ubiquity of “clean makeup”, this exaggerated (and often messy) aesthetic is making its way back into the beauty trend cycle.

With Halloween on the horizon, there’s no better time to try the most shocking and cutting-edge grotesque beauty trends than now. Here are nine trends to experiment with (if you dare).

Heavy Metal Piercings

At London Fashion week Poster Girl showed their Spring-Summer 2023 Collection accessorized with slick heavy-metal makeup featuring temporary silver face jewelry by Isamaya Beauty.

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Claw Manicures

Recently, Doja Cat has been getting more experimental with her beauty looks, including these claw “gloves” that are made entirely from makeup.

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Faux Bruises

Many of Doja’s fashion month looks pushed the boundaries of modern beauty standards, including her faux bruised and split lip special effects makeup with glam eye makeup for the Balenciaga show.

Botched Lips

At the Victor Barragán show this year, models sported fake botched lips, metal teeth, and “Karen wigs”. While too extreme (and potentially problematic) for most people, it serves as modern Halloween makeup inspiration.

Smeared Makeup

Just completed a full face of makeup? Why not get it wet and smudge it completely? Jazzelle aka @uglyworldwide shows us how.

Ill-fitting Corsets

Designer Michaela Stark’s work is all about wearing lingerie that doesn’t fit right, distorting the body into new, interesting shapes.

Oil-Slicked Hair

Take a note from Julia Fox’s unconventional beauty book and oil your hair into a grungy wet-look style.

Alien Nails

While impractical, these long, wavy nail tendrils look totally out of this world.

“Swollen” Lipstick

After Grimes teased on Twitter that she “did something crazy” to her face, she posted a selfie on Instagram wearing purple lipliner, giving her lips a swollen, bruised look.