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Everything cringingly millennial has been rinsed and refreshed in 2022, and it seems frosted blue eyeshadow is the latest (and possibly last) beauty trend of the year to get a Y2K club-queen refresh. The washed denim eyeshadow trend has arrived at the tail end of 2022 as one of the more challenging moments of the 2022 trend cycle for those who lived it the first time.
What is it? It’s a frosted, Levi’s inspired icy blue that, despite appearing for decades in “Worst Beauty Mistakes You Probably Made in the 90s” and “The Most Embarrassing 90s Beauty Trends” lists, is receiving celebrity endorsements from Dua Lipa, Cardi B, and Kendall Jenner. According to BeautyTok expert Victoria Lynn, washed denim eyes are serving “early 2000s glam,” telling BeautyTok, “if you have the holiday blues, keep watching.” Consider us tuned in.
@victorialyn Get your baby blue shadows out! #WashedDenim is here to slay this winter❄️?#MACtrend #makeup #beauty #eyeshadow #MadeWithKeurigContest ♬ Calm LoFi song(882353) – S_R
Why Frosted “Washed Denim” Eyes Are The Best Way To Wave “Ta Ta” To 2022
This frosted blue eye look takes inspiration from the sparkling lids and sapphire lashes of resurrected Y2K club queens. It’s serving Paris Hilton leaving the club shrieking into two Motorola Razrs, forlorn “Lucky” era Britney Spears, and Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell as captured by David Bennett, skulking in the wings backstage at 90s fashion weeks.
In its resurgence, we first spotted the shimmering blue shadow earlier this year on Mia Goth, in Ti West’s gruesome 70s geriatric-horror “X”. Here, Goth’s patchy pastel shadow, hastily applied with fingers, told us everything we needed to know about sweet and slightly unhinged wannabe pornstar Maxine Minx. Just like Goth’s reptilian co-star, this fun, frosted shade was creeping up on us.
Related: Blue Eyeshadow Is Trending and Terrifying, Here’s How to Wear It
Next, Taylor Swift appeared on the cover of “Midnights.” Disheveled and self-loathing, her translucent sparkling shadow twinkled, lending Swifty a rock n’ roll edge we didn’t know she had in her.
Then, Elizabeth Debicki popped onto our screens as Princess Diana in “The Crown”, in all her brittle, vulnerable glory, gazing at us from under her side-swept fringe with scratchy blue eyeliner. Most recently, Lucia of “The White Lotus” hotel has been skipping around Taormina matching her shadow to the clear blue Mediterranean skies and pastel shirts of rich guys with missing wallets.
Related: How “The Crown” Re-Created Princess Diana’s Look
One hundred TikToks later, we’re here for it.
The Best Blue Eye Makeup Currently on Shelves:
Hannah Rosie Bennet, trend forecaster and MUA, shared that much like Pennywise the clown in “It” terrorises the children of Derry every 27 years, “blue eyeshadow trends every 20 to 30 years”, noting the powdery blue shadows of the 60s, the baby blues of the 90s and early 2000s, and the “super frosted, super metallic and really pale,” washed denim of today.
Bennett recommends MAC, Eyeshadow in “Tilt” as the best product for this look. Not sold on “Tilt”? Victoria Lyn tells us “Everybody’s jeans are different so that’s okay.” Thank goodness. Below, find the best Levis-inspired shadows to ring in 2023 with.