By: Haley Simpson
The Rise of Clean Girl Core Social responsibility and dewy skin are flooding social media. Clean girl core has flooded TiKTok and my thoughts. No, I’m not referring to middle-aged women filling glass jars with detergent and scrubbing their kitchen sinks with copious amounts of cleaning products; I mean the girls with flawless ‘no makeup’ makeup, clean polished hair and minimalist gold jewelry. You know what I’m talking about, it’s the girls you envy as you scroll TikTok in bed, it’s the put-together-claw-clipping girls with effortless beauty. Don’t confuse my tone as hateful, I want to be like them. I have nothing but envy for the clean core girlies. If you haven’t been too active on social media since the pandemic began, TikTok has set the life span for trends into hyperdrive. Driven by the pandemic and pure boredom, new ideas emerge rapidly. One of my favorites to emerge is clean girl core. I define clean girl core as the aesthetics of natural beauty, thorough skincare routines, eco-friendly products, healthy habits and classic silhouettes. It’s sort of a big sister to self-care trends. It’s long term and sustainable as opposed to the special occasion nature of self-care. Although there are a few defining characteristics, clean girl core is very malleable. It can be personalized and redefined when new products and ideas are discovered.
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To be more specific, the clean girl core has a few prominent players. Scents that imitate fluffy clean laundry such as REPLICA Sunday Morning are the baseline. The next up to bat is the skincare routine. A simple, hydrating and moisturizing system that protects the skin to improve your natural look is essential. The Ordinary is a great brand to start with if you want to dable, it’s cruelty-free, vegan and affordable. The star of the show is dewy, natural makeup that looks like you have hardly anything on. Matte and oil-free skin has been booted. Glossier is the backbone of clean girl core, but Ilia Beauty is another great clean brand. Fluffy brows, natural complexions, freshly glossed lips and even faux freckles are in, anything to imitate natural, freshly showered beauty. As for hair, it’s simple. A slicked bun or brushed tangle-free hair tucked behind your ears will do. Top all of the above off with minimalist gold jewelry and an earth tone athleisure set and you have mastered clean girl core. At first glance, clean girl core is just a trend, but any arbiter of taste knows that trends are a much deeper reflection of society. While we were locked away in our rooms, matte, full-face glam makeup became unfit for daily lounging and zoom meetings. That
