Remember ‘California Gurls’, the vibrant Katy Perry music video with colourful candyland-themed visuals that had you staring at your TV screen, completely transfixed? Think of the dopamine beauty trend as its makeup equivalent: an enmeshment of bold strokes of blush, shimmer-laden eyelids, stick-on sequins, bright pops of colour and whimsical elements. The rules dissolve on this playground. It’s not about technique but about using makeup to create looks that spark joy and prompt your brain to release the feel-good hormones.
It was celebrity makeup artist Sir John—who works on the faces of Beyoncé, Margot Robbie and Zendaya—who first called this approach ‘dopamine glam’. Since then, we’ve seen the style echo across social media and pop culture, from Doniella Davy’s crystal-infested work on Euphoria to the fanciful, theatrical looks loved by the cast of Dubai Bling. The approach rolls out the carpet for rhinestone embellished visages, floral elements, metallic hues and bright solid colours, encouraging an uninhibited, renewed sense of optimism. And the way to do it is however you feel like doing it.
You could start small—maybe a small flick of hot pink eyeliner or a few sequins dotted along your eyebrows. But if you’re more of a maximalist, you could play around with colourful flower petals adorning the corners of your eyes, dye your eyebrows or wear two-toned lipstick. Whether less or more, the dopamine beauty trend is about self-expression on your own terms.