Ever heard of the Barbie Effect? Even if the name doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve probably already seen this beauty trend all over your Pinterest boards. Coined by beauty influencer Zoe Kim Kenealy, she describes “the Barbie effect” as the way someone does their makeup around the center of their face that “takes them from being pretty to unreal looking”–almost as if they were AI-generated or filtered in real life.
But while this trend may be dubbed the "Barbie Effect," it doesn’t mean you’re aiming to look exactly like the famed doll. “We are not trying to look exactly like Barbie with the makeup look, we are just going for that super perfected, unreal, hyperfeminine essence,” Zoe explained. “It’s a certain doll-like perfection,” she added.
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This look has been popularized by pop singer Sabrina Carpenter and model-slash-niche-social-media icon Cindy Kimberly (a.k.a. Wolfie Cindy). The effect is supposed to highlight the center of your face, using bright whites and pinks, giving your skin this flawless, glowy effect that feels almost unnaturally pretty–just like a Barbie doll. Local content creator Marj Maroket is one who frequently achieves the Barbie effect, while celebrity makeup artist Paul Unating loves applying this look on his clients.
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Want to try the Barbie Effect yourself? Here’s how you can achieve the look with a few simple steps and makeup products:
GUIDE: How to Achieve the Barbie Effect
1. Find a bright pink blush
After applying your foundation, you’ll want to skip the concealerand go straight into blush. Find a blush for your skin tone that will have a bright pink finish. Chu Chu Beauty’s Miss Dolly blush duo has the perfect cool-toned bubblegum pink shade for pale to fair skin tones, while Five Beauty’s Mystique creates the perfect pop of pink for those with morena skin.
Miss Dolly, P299, CHU CHU BEAUTY, Lazada and Shopee
Mystique, P399, FIVE BEAUTY, Lazada and Shopee
According to Zoe, this makes a girl “look so sweet, [yet] unapproachable and intimidating at the same time.”
2. Do the underblush method
To achieve the Barbie Effect, do the underblush method by placing concealer under your eyes and blending it out as you usually would. Don’t worry about it going over your blush, as it’s the underblush method that helps create that glow around the eyes.
3. Bake with white powder
That’s right—baking is back! As Zoe emphasized, “We bake not with translucent powder or pink powder but with the whitest of the white powders you can find.” This goes around the whole eye area from the undereye, lid, to the inner corner of the eyes, making that center area of your face pop.
4. Blend with a pale pink blush
Go over your face’s high points or cheekbone area with a soft pale pink blush to create a seamless gradient between the blush, concealer, and powder.
5. Highlight!
Finally, finish with a highlight to give your skin an almost plastic-y glow. Zoe used a pink highlighter, but feel free to use a gold or white highlight if that's what you prefer. What you do with your lips and brows is totally up to you! It’s all about achieving that ultra-feminine, flawless glow.
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