Let’s talk about the ‘Instagram Baddie’ look aka The Kylie Jenner look aka The Basic Bitch look. Call it what you want, but it’s been the most popular makeup style over the last few years and it only seems to be getting stronger. It’s the look that started our obsession with ‘fleekiness’. We’re talkin’ eyebrows on fleek, winged liner on fleek, contour on fleek and, of course, highlight on fleek!
Whether you’d die for it or you’re sick of it, I think we can all appreciate the precision and artistic skills that go into creating these Baddie looks. Beauty Instagrammers have certainly shown off their talents using (and also helping the promotion of) makeup products that have quickly become cult favourites in the beauty community, because of the fact that they help achieve the Baddie look.
These products, however, are often high end and therefore hella expensive, or sometimes they’re just not easily available in the UK and charge shipping for triple the price of the product you’re trying to buy. If you wanna create that trendy af look without breaking your student bank then read on, because we’re about to hit you up with some drugstore dupes and substitutes so you can slay like just like an Instagrammer.
Facial Oil – Pixi Rose Oil Blend, £26
The product that you almost always see Instagrammers applying on their faces at the start of those mini make-up tutorials is Farsali Unicorn Essence. This is an essential step for this look as it ensures that the skin is well prepared for a smooth and silky application, and it also helps the foundation melt onto the skin rather than sit like a mask. Unicorn essence, as you can imagine, is expensive, so the next best thing is the Pixi Rose Oil Blend which, although may still seem a bit pricey, actually costs half as much as the Unicorn essence. The Pixi facial oil is infused with sweet almond, rosehip, jojoba, pomegranate seed, and rose geranium oils to nourish the skin and give it back its luminosity.
Foundation – L’Oreal Paris True Match Foundation, £9.99
The foundation of choice for makeup Baddies is the Too Faced Born This Way Foundation because it’s matte (which is an important feature of the look) while also somehow providing a radiant finish (another requirement of the look). The only other foundation that can meet such demands is the L’Oreal Paris True Match Foundation which has a semi-matte finish and so provides the same effect, making the complexion look flawless af.
Eyebrows – Nyx Tame and Frame Tinted Brow Pomade, £6 Have you always wanted to be in the ‘eyebrows on fleek’ club but don’t wanna spend all your money on the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade or on Benefit’s extensive brow range? Why not try out the Nyx Tame and Frame Tinted Brow Pomade? It pretty much does the same thing but for under £10.
Contour – Maybelline Master Contour V Stick, £7.99
To get that fleeky contour, cream contouring sticks are the way to go, and it’s clear to see that many Instagrammers appear to be in love with the KKW Beauty Crème Contour sticks. They’re obviously quite hard to get a hold of, so go for the Maybelline Master Contour V Stick which pretty much does the same thing for those perfectly sculpted cheekbones that are more structured than life.
Highlighter – Makeup Revolution Liquid Highlighters, £6 each
The Anastasia Beverly Hills highlighter palettes are definitely the queens of the Instagram glow; they basically look like crushed jewels. Another cult favourite product is the Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops which look as extra as they sound, but honestly make you look like a golden goddess when blended into the skin or even mixed in with the foundation.
A blinding gold highlight is what it’s all about nowadays and Rihanna picked up on this nicely as she wowed us all with her dramatic gold Fenty Beauty highlighter in Trophy Wife. Turn to Makeup Revolution for dupes of all three of these hyped highlighters. Makeup Revolution’s Ultra Pro Glow palettes, Liquid Highlighters, and Strobe Highlighter in ‘Gold Addict’ are highly pigmented, good quality, and just as blinding but for a fraction of the high end prices.
Eyeshadow – Morphe 25A Copper Spice Palette (left) and 25B Bronzed Mocha Palette (right), £19 each
Obviously the Urban Decay Naked palettes are the royals among the eyeshadows, but a lot of other palettes have been gaining almost equal status, such as the Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette, the ABH Modern Renaissance Palette, and the Huda Beauty Rose Gold Palette. The most desirable eyeshadow colours are the warm-toned browns and peaches, which are something all these palettes have in common.
They can be anywhere from £39 – £56 which is super expensive and we think that you can totally find these types of colours in more affordable palettes. The Morphe 25A Copper Spice Palette and 25B Bronzed Mocha Palette have some gorgeous, warm, rusty, burnt shades which, if you ask us, rival any high end palette.
Eyeliner – Nyx Matte Liquid Liner, £6 Okay this bit is my favourite. Every Baddie needs a thick, black, sharp af killer wing and it needs to be on point. The Kat Von D Tattoo Liner Pen has been getting a lot of hype lately because it ticks all the boxes for the perfect wing. It’s around £16 but if you’re a liner fanatic, you’ll know how fast the stuff runs out so it can be quite costly. We would recommend the Nyx Matte Liquid Liner as a more affordable option because of the precision and control it allows you to have. The results? Wings that can cut like a knife.
Eyelashes – Eylure Exaggerate False Lashes in No. 141, £5.95 This look is incomplete without a pair of fluffy, wispy lashes. The most popular lash brands right now are Huda Beauty and Lily Lashes which are both Kardashian approved and frequently used by celebrity makeup artist Mario. The lashes retail from around £13-25 and can be worn over and over again. But, as ever, there are cheaper options that can give a similar sultry effect. Two pairs of lashes which definitely give off Baddie vibes are the Ardell Double Up Lashes in ‘Double Demi Wispies’ and the Eylure Exaggerate lashes in ‘No. 141’.
Lipstick – Nyx Lip Lingerie, £7
The final and probably most important step of the Baddie routine is the nude matte liquid lipstick. I think we’ve all heard the hype of around Kylie Cosmetics and their infamous Lip Kits which are not only expensive but also almost always sold out. However, all is not lost: Nyx actually do some stunning matte nude liquid lipsticks. Check out their Lip Lingerie and Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick collections for the perfect, velvety Kylie dupes.
Edited by Tia Ralhan
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