Low-Res 8-Bit Makeup Is Trending on Social Media

Amy, a 22-year-old master’s student in Sheffield, U.K. (and a damn good makeup artist), shared her take with her 14.4K Instagram followers. Similar to Wu’s look, Amy’s included blue cat-eye shaped liner, as well as 8-bit hearts and stars. “I create all of my makeup looks using the same core products: eye shadow, water-activated face paints, concealer, and small craft brushes from Amazon in sized 10/0, 5/0, and 4/0,” she tells Allure. 

After prepping her lids with concealer,  she mapped out the base of the design with eye shadow. Then, using the face paints, she created the pixelated detailing. “I dip my brush into the paint each time I apply a new stroke to my face to maintain control of the product,” she explains. “It can be very time consuming, especially on pieces with a lot of intricate detail, but it is always worth it when you get to see the final result.”

Instagram cosplay queen Snitchery got in on the fun as well, posting her take on the look, which included little pixelated details on her bottom lip.

Jenn Seren, another makeup artist on Instagram, added pastel rainbows with clouds to her eyelids, making two posts showcasing her makeup creation. “More than just pixels on a screen,” she captioned the second one.

London-based self-taught makeup artist Chelsea was clearly seeing green, creating an intense cut crease shadow look and adding matching pixelated hearts to her cheeks.

This trend is giving me intense nostalgia for my teenage years on avatar-based chat platform The Palace. I used to edit my avatars, and a low-res 8-bit editor was just what I used to decorate clothing, change hair color, or even give my avatars brown skin so they could look more like me. Now, folks are using the same techniques to bring their makeup looks to the next level. To that, this old Millennial tips her hat.

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