This summer, new fashion and beauty trends were appearing overnight and taking over Tik Tok and Instagram. These trends were very simple and common in color and style, but what made them so eye-catching and popular are their names.
This phenomenon started with “blueberry milk” nails. Many people wanted to go to the nail salon to get a manicure with “blueberry milk” nails. Others voiced their opinion saying “blueberry milk” was simply light blue, one of the most popular nail polish colors. Regardless, the term became very popular, and people were posting about it, both in a positive and negative light.
This soon gave unusual nicknames to makeup and hair trends. Interestingly enough, a lot of these trends revolved around Hailey Bieber. One of these was “latte makeup,” which was also the caption to both an Instagram post and a Tik Tok from Bieber. This makeup look is simply comprised of bronzer with brown and nude eyeshadows. Similarly, “strawberry makeup” was in her caption to one of her Tik Toks. This style uses a lot of blush with freckles and a light, natural makeup look. Alongside makeup looks, the “cinnamon cookie butter” hair color was created. This was born after a popular celebrity colorist, Matt Rez, posted Bieber’s new hairstyle, a light brunette color with a mix of light brown and caramel highlights, with said name on his Instagram.
The oddness of these names eventually became recognized and even evolved into jokes and satire. People would make Tik Tok slideshows and posts about different aesthetics, like being “hard-boiled egg” or “baked beans” girls. These odd food-themed names have died down, but still exist. But why did they exist in the first place?
A lot of it can be attributed to Bieber, as she either coined the terms, like cinnamon cookie butter hair, or revived them, like latte makeup. Due to her large following (of 50.6 million Instagram followers) and social relevance, it’s natural for her to have an influence on many who look up to her. So, what she posts about or endorses will likely also be picked up by those who like her.
“Because these individuals are seen as relatively liked and superior, it is only natural that people desire to follow them,” said Basma Gomaa of NU Sci Magazine.
Even without Bieber, some of these terms, like blueberry milk nails, still took off and circulated. When we look at the psychology behind trends, it is rooted in wanting to be similar to the majority of people in order to fit in. When one term or idea appears, oftentimes people jump on it to seem like they are part of the trend along with everyone else.
“When a particular trend is being seen by people continuously, it has an effect on people following what their peers are doing,” said Faith Conant of The Telescope.
These few unusual titles are not the first odd trend names, and surely will not be the last. It is possible that other celebrities will come up with new terms for certain styles, and that will be the next viral beauty trend everyone will want to hop on. These ideas appear rapidly and constantly, so soon enough we will be seeing the next “blueberry milk nails” on our feeds.