Top 10 Makeup Trends That Went Nowhere

Not everyone likes makeup or cares about the latest trend. If you’re that kind of person, good for you. However, thousands and thousands of people are searching for the newest. You can spend hours scrolling through social media, waiting for the next big thing.

On the contrary, some want to be pioneers. They want to be the reason everyone is trying new makeup techniques and styles. Unfortunately, some trends just never get off the ground. Some trends should never have been put into action, let alone contrived. Here are ten makeup trends that went nowhere.

Related: 10 Trends Hipsters Mistakenly Think They Invented

10 Permanent Marker Eyeliner

Years ago, Taylor Swift admitted that she used permanent markers for her eyeliner instead of actual makeup. She immediately regretted the idea and eventually decided to start being kinder to her skin. But that didn’t stop many makeup wearers from copying the famous singer. Some have gone so far as to use Sharpies for most of her faces.

How did Taylor Swift come up with this idea? Was she tired of her smearing her makeup while she slept? Or did she need a touch up and she didn’t have anything else on hand? No matter where the original idea came from, using Sharpies for makeup is not a good idea.

Sharpies are not supposed to be toxic, but that doesn’t mean you should put them near your eyes! You have no idea what chemicals are in that marker and what they could do to your eyes. So do yourself and your eyes a favor and stick to makeup developed for them.

9 Mascara with Oreo cookies

In 2015, YouTuber Katharine Ward made mascara out of Oreo cookies. It looks like it would smell divine. The mascara is supposed to make your lashes look dark, long and luscious. Some other YouTubers call this a good idea if you do makeup on a budget. However, face or eye primer alone can be quite expensive, depending on the brand. Then add the price of cookies and other supplies. By the time you get everything, it gets expensive.

Why waste Oreos for makeup? Oreos are supposed to go with milk, not lashes. Most of those who tried the trend said they couldn’t tell the difference between Oreo and regular mascara. Many had problems because the mascara was too runny and cookie crumbs got in their eyes. It’s up to you if you want to slaughter innocent cookies for makeup.

8 colored pencil eyeliner

I have no idea how this trend started. Who was coloring one day with crayons, he looked at them and said, “Hmm… this would look amazing on my face”? Now the problem is that you can’t draw on your skin with colored pencils. For this idea to work, you need to put your pencils in warm water and re-dip every so often. The water softens the colored pencil and allows it to soak into your skin.

With this trend, you can have eyeliner in every color of the rainbow! Just make sure you get non-toxic colored pencils. However, is it worth putting something that is not made for the skin of the face? You can already get eyeliner in other colors. So why did anyone feel the need to use colored pencils? I wouldn’t go so far as to say that colored pencils are any less dangerous than using Sharpies as eyeliner. If you are using the product in an unintended way, you are putting yourself in danger. Fortunately, this trend did not pass to the majority of the population.

7 Teeth Nails

So this trend initially started as something for Halloween. Some people love to get their nails done for the holidays. If that’s something you like, go for it! There are several ways to do a teeth manicure. If you don’t add gum or yellow your teeth, your manicure can look tasteful (no pun intended). This doesn’t seem like a look the average person can pull off on their own.

What I don’t understand is why? I mean, some of the manicures don’t look horrible. However, long nails are already difficult to deal with if you are not used to them. So why would you want your nails to be bulkier and more difficult to manage? Maybe teeth nails would be great for a scalp massage or something? Let’s save this idea for Halloween.

6 nose hair extensions

The nose hair extensions were first spotted in October 2017 on Instagram. User @gret_chen_chen glued false eyelashes up her nostrils. So this isn’t legitimately nose hair extensions, but rather the illusion of them.

Before you fill yourself with nose hairs, think about what you’re going to do. You are going to glue false eyelashes to the inside of your nose. Doesn’t that mean the actual nose hairs will get caught in the glue? You will remove them when you remove the extensions. Oh! Also, what kind of chemicals are in the glue? You’re inhaling those and putting who knows what into your system.

What is this trend for? Makeup is meant to enhance and highlight your face. How do nose hair extensions fit into that? To me, it just draws attention to your nose, and not in a good way. I constantly thought you needed a tissue or felt like a spider was coming out of your nose or something.

5 ear makeup

Several people are credited with starting or restarting this trend. This is actually a trend that I could follow if I cared about making my ear look fancy. The main goal of the ear makeup trend is to perfect the anatomy of the ear and paint or decorate the most prominent features of the ear. It could look great if you have short hair or intend to wear it up.

However, this trend doesn’t make sense if you have sensitive ears or wear your hair down. The appearance would be ruined as your ears would turn red from irritation and worsen if you have an allergic reaction. If you wear your hair down, your makeup will be covered and could even stain your hair. That’s terrible news if you have lighter hair color or wear specific colors on your ear. Some are still testing this trend, but it hasn’t become a thing among the general public.

4 back neck contour

It used to be that you only contoured your face with makeup. Some people would even contour their collarbones. However, some makeup enthusiasts have turned to contouring their necks, especially the back of the neck. The point is to make your neck look slimmer and longer.

I could understand the outline of the front of your neck, but why the back? You can’t even see what you’re doing! How did the person who started this trend get a good enough result to post on social media? Were there enough mirrors in the room so you could see every angle of your neck? That’s just not doable for the average person.

Contouring the front of the neck seems to have caught on pretty quickly, but contouring the back of the neck has faded.

3 Live Ant Manicure

This trend was developed in a Russian salon that produces manicures that will definitely cause a stir in the beauty world. I really want to know the thought process of the person who came up with this idea. I can’t even look at photos of this manicure without cringing. Don’t even ask me to watch videos about it; one is included if you’d like to see one!

The salon came under heavy criticism for this manicure. Since posting the video, the salon has stood up for its idea and let people know that the ants are still alive. I doubt the masses will run out and ask for ants on the nails.

2 halo eyebrows

Hannah Lyne created this look based on a suggestion from one of her Instagram followers. The halo brow is just what it sounds like. You make a halo from the outer end of one eyebrow to the other. This leaves a substantial brown halo (or whatever color you choose to do) on your face.

This is another trend where you see it and immediately ask, “why?” It’s certainly not the strangest trend, but it hasn’t caught fire with the general public. Thankfully.

1 Pimple Nails

YouTube vlogger Natasha Lee created pimple nails for Halloween. Natasha uses coats of base nail polish, clear gel to strengthen nails, yellow and red nail polish to add discoloration, and drops of hand cream. All this effort is to create something that will be destroyed in moments.

This sounds great for Halloween when people expect your nails to be off the wall. However, this doesn’t seem like a good idea for everyday use. I guess it would be okay if you needed a solution for pimples and had no other way to get it. Fortunately, this trend did not go anywhere.