In a seven-second TikTok video uploaded by Doechii last November, the Grammy Award-winning rapper succinctly clears the air.

“OK, so the face tapes are there on purpose — because it’s c—nt,” she said, referencing her signature on-stage beauty look, which entails two pieces of cosmetic tape placed next to her eyes for a lifting effect, courtesy of makeup artist Dee Carrion.

Rather than being camouflaged by her hair or makeup, Doechii’s viral face tapes are meant to be seen — at the Grammys, they were adorned with rhinestones, even.

It’s a level of aesthetic transparency aligned with that which the 26-year-old rapper has long exhibited in her flow, particularly on her recent breakthrough album, “Alligator Bites Never Heal,” which nabbed the Rap Album of the Year Award at the 2025 Grammy Awards.

More broadly, it aligns with the kind of experimental, referenced approach to beauty that is increasingly manifesting across culture today — from pop star Chappell Roan’s avant-garde and drag-inspired looks to Charli XCX’s purposely imperfect club girl makeup to the surge in statement beauty seen at New York Fashion Week (think Pat McGrath’s hyperreal, fabric-cutout blush at Marc Jacobs; Fara Homidi’s concealer lips at Sandy Liang; Isamaya Ffrench’s feather eyelashes at Thom Browne and so on).

“It’s almost like makeup has decided to become completely eclectic again,” said MAC global creative director of makeup artistry Terry Barber. “There’s as much of a fascination right now with imperfection as there is with perfection — it’s this idea of beauty not being an illusion, but it being something real, something raw.”

This trend toward statement and nonconformist beauty signifies a shift on multiple levels.

For one, there’s a reactionary element to it.

“There’s always some form of pushback when it comes to beauty, whether it’s ‘OK — we’re going to do clean girl makeup because the contoured, 2016 makeup look was too heavy,’ or, ‘now we’re going to do over-the-top, statement beauty, because we’re so bored of the clean girl.’ Social media tends to fuel those pendulum swings further now, too,” said beauty artist and historian Erin Parsons, who has amassed a TikTok following of 2.7 million for her videos chronicling beauty trends throughout the decades.

Added British makeup artist and beauty founder Isamaya Ffrench: “It’s this idea of transparency that we’re leaning toward — there’s been so much in the last five years of just, the fakery of Instagram, and people just don’t buy it anymore — they’re desperate for realism.”

Indeed, a widespread movement away from the one-look-fits-all beauty trends of recent years isn’t the only thing fueling today’s rise in statement beauty. Like many decade-defining eras before it — for instance, the ’60s Black is Beautiful movement or the ’70s rise of punk — there is an anti-establishment aspect to the boom in self-expression.

“When you talk about Chappell Roan today, I flash back to early Elton John, who also pushed back against norms, or David Bowie; Patti LaBelle & the Bluebells, who were very futuristic when it came to their makeup,” said makeup artist D’angelo Thompson, whose clients have included Aretha Franklin, Ashanti, Heidi Klum and more. “You can see how it’s political: it’s a way of saying — excuse my French — ‘F—ck you’ to the establishment, ‘I’m going to look how I want, I’m going to perform how I want and I’m still going to be a winner.’”

As Roan, who won the award for Best New Artist at the 2025 Grammys and often pays homage to drag artists like Sasha Colby and Divine in her looks, put it in Sephora and Hulu’s “Faces of Music” docuseries: “Being a woman in pop does not mean it has to be slick and clean — I decided I’m going to build myself off of being a messy, campy, raunchy, thrift-store pop star…it’s going to be undeniable that I’m gay, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Roan, whose recent looks have been crafted by makeup artists Andrew Dahling, Nick Lennon and “Euphoria” makeup artist Donni Davy, also cites musicians like Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj and Kesha as inspirations for her subversive approach to beauty.

“Statement beauty is a way to get, and maybe to keep, people’s attention, because they’re interested to see what you’re going to do next — that’s something Gaga really excelled at when she emerged,” said Parsons.

But statement beauty doesn’t only come in the form of a full face of makeup. Actress and longtime beauty icon Pamela Anderson’s stark 2023 pivot toward a natural, barefaced look is also one that sends a message. “I feel powerful right now when everything is very pared down; I like to see my freckles, I like when my hair isn’t done,” the actress previously told WWD.

“Maybe people wouldn’t care as much if it was anybody else, but because [Anderson] wore so much makeup; because she was the reason we all tweezed our eyebrows out in the ’90s — that’s what makes it a statement,” said Parsons.

To that end, statement beauty today isn’t about a singular prevailing trend or look — rather it’s, as Barber put it, “a melting pot of influences — everybody wants their own signature, their own stamp on beauty.

“There’s a generation now which is trying to bring youth back — because it felt like youth disappeared for a while,” he continued, pointing to the seeming post-COVID-19 return of club culture last summer, a period widely referred to as “brat summer” in honor of Charli XCX’s chart-topping, messy-girl, club-anthem-filled “brat” album which dropped in June.

“There’s a generation which are interested in youth and also being hedonistic — only thinking in the moment and not caring how others perceive them, not looking how they’re meant to look; there’s a smudginess and a bit of a worn-in feel that comes into the beauty conversation now. It feels like how we were as a generation of kids in the ’80s,” Barber said.

As makeup artist and founder Pat McGrath put it: “We’re witnessing a renaissance of unbridled creativity — of makeup as identity, as performance, as storytelling. And we need it. After years of minimalism, there’s a hunger for spectacle, for transformation; for beauty that demands to be seen. This movement is about joy, and about embracing artistry in real life.”

This ethos is translating on a product level, too. For one, McGrath recently released a limited-edition, $38 peel-off mask meant to allow consumers to recreate the viral, porcelain doll-like makeup look she created for the Maison Margiela Couture spring 2024 runway show — in just one step.

At Mecca, which is Australia’s largest beauty retailer, a similar effect is taking hold.

“The democratization of artistry is becoming more of a driver of interest within the makeup category,” said Marita Burke, chief Mecca-maginations officer, adding that artist-led brands such as Westman Atelier, Davy’s Half Magic and Violette_FR are seeing particular success. “Expertise as a differentiating factor is becoming more and more important; brands that have artistry as their form of genius are really being embraced by our makeup artists and customers.”

The retailer, which operates more than 100 stores across Australia and New Zealand, has seen a surge in demand for its signature masterclasses hosted by founders and artists such as Gucci Westman and Rae Morris. “Customers want more education — they want more access to be able to drive their own personal mastery,” continued Burke, adding, “there isn’t one particular look defining the industry right now; it’s the vibe behind the look, the moment behind the look. It’s, ‘what am I channeling today, and how will I use beauty to get there?’”

Another brand making artistry accessible is Haus Labs by Lady Gaga, which sells at Sephora and is known for offering clean yet high-payoff products, such as its viral cream and powder blushes which come in red, pink and lavender shades.

“You often don’t see beauty brands that are clean yet full of pigment — something that has the kind of staying power for Gaga to be able to wear it on stage,” said Sarah Tanno, Haus Labs global artistry director and personal makeup artist to Lady Gaga of more than a decade.

“Makeup should be playful; it shouldn’t be something that you overthink or that needs to be ‘right,’” she added of why statement beauty is resonating today. “When things get a little tough in the world, that kind of artistry and expression and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone can feel celebratory — it’s self care.”