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Similar to the duration of TikTok videos, beauty aesthetics emerging from the platform also suffer an equally short-lived fate. Yet, amongst the rubble of these now-forgotten makeup trends, one beauty style still endures. As anyone who has spent any time on the social media app can attest, #BeautyTok is fixated on food-related beauty trends.
From the chrome manicure being labelled as glazed doughnut nails to a bratty 90s brown overlined lip dubbed as chocolate brownie lips, TikTok has a penchant for repackaging existing beauty trends into accessible and appetite-salivating “aesthetics”. The latest to suffer the same treatment is the mid-2000s makeup counter favourite, the bronze goddess.
This makeup style, which saw us douse an entire palette of bronzing powder over an already tanned matte foundation, is now making a comeback on TikTok under a new name: latte makeup.
Unlike the look’s original iteration, the latte makeup trend takes cues from the contouring chokehold of 2015 for a look that subtly sculpts your complexion, leaving you with a refined sun-kissed glow that emulates cream diffusing into your morning espresso.
Given that ASMR style videos of this salivating cream to caramel dégradé has saturated another corner of TikTok known as #CoffeeTok, it’s only expected that utilising these similar toned products in your makeup routine would be dubbed as latte makeup.
At the core of the trend, latte makeup makes use of monochromatic and complimentary brown tones to create a lit-from-within, copper-coloured glow. As the 55.3 million TikTok content creators who have tried the trend themselves would agree, the smoked bronze style is perfect for those searching for gilded, resort makeup all year round.
Because if you can’t wake up with a warm shimmer after spending hours on the Côte d’Azur, the second best thing is replicating this honey-like dew at home. With the accompaniment of the iced coffee of your choosing, of course.
What Is ‘Latte Makeup’, TikTok’s Latest Beauty Trend
A sculpted bronze look isn’t new by any means, with Hollywood’s biggest stars like Adriana Lima and Jennifer Lopez making this makeup style their go-to looks for red carpets and public appearances during the 2000s. However, the latte makeup trend, as it’s now known, only took off on TikTok after content creator Rachel Rigler coined the look.
“It’s warm, bronze, milky and effortless,” Rigler described in her now-viral video. In her tutorial, Rigler referenced looks created by Australian makeup artist Tanielle Jai, who described the makeup notes as “summer smokey, kind of ice” thanks to the addition of shimmering frosting onto the high points of the face.
The style focuses on accentuating your face’s natural highlights and contours by exclusively using brown and bronze tones. The look bridges the gap between full glam and a minimal neutral, making the aesthetic a softly elegant spin on a summer glow.
Latte makeup predominantly focuses on sculpting your complexion and accenting your eyes with creamy contours and coffee-coloured shimmers, leaving the rest of your face more refined with only a dash of highlight to let the sumptuous radiance of the look take full effect.
@stxph.h one oat latte with caramel drizzle to go please ☕️ #lattemakeup #lattemakeuplook #makeuptutorial Products: – YSL Crush Liner (brown & black) – Too Faced Ginger Snap Palette – MAC amber times nine palette – Chanel Beauty Baume Essential Multi Use Stick (transparent) – Lancome Lash Idole Mascara #greenscreen
How To Get The ‘Latte Makeup’ Look
As Jai explained in her TikTok video, the secret to achieving latte makeup is choosing colours that fall within the same monochromatic caramel family. Irrespective if you’re going for a matte or glowing bronze look, selecting products with similar hues and the same undertone is paramount. If you’re looking to warm up your complexion, opt for products with a yellow base to combat your skin’s natural warmth.
To create the look, buff a small amount of luminous foundation into your skin, working the product into your eyelids and through your hairline for an even finish. As you’re going to layer your contour and strobe your highlighter over the top, this base provides a lustrous canvas for you to either enhance or mattify with your bronzing products. A combination of tinted moisturiser and glow oil drops will also suffice if you’re after a barely-there look.
Think of it as the type of coffee bean you choose for your latte, a darker roast, or a more radiant complexion may overpower the drink, so it’s best to choose something with subtle undertones that you can diffuse with your creamer, a.k.a you’re concealer.
Next, you’re going to sculpt your face with a cream contour or bronzing stick, dependent on your desired lustre. This product is placed anywhere you usually contour, including the hallows of your cheek, forehead and bridge of your nose. As Jai points out, the latte makeup look works best when you apply the same contour directly onto your eyelids, bringing the product all the way out to your temples, to serve as the base of your eyeshadow.
If you’re someone who adheres to the Mary Phillips school of underpainting, that method of application also works as well, but ensure your foundation and contour are malleable as you won’t be covering your complexion with any blush to diffuse the two products. Concealer is also welcome at this stage if you’re looking for a more glam look.
Once your base products are thoroughly blended, reach for a brown eye pencil (or lipliner, as Jai does) in a colour closest to your skin tone. Lightly sweep the pencil along your top and bottom waterline, bringing it out into a wing and smudging it back into your crease to create depth to the gradient look.
Then, take a light, almost oat-ish shade and blend that into your crease, starting from the outside of your eye and working inwards. Continue this step using darker tones each time, getting more precise with your placement as you work to build an internal bronzed shadow in your crease to make your eyes pop.
Of course, if you’re after a more “iced latte” look, you can always swap out matte powder for a shimmering cream or iridescent gel.
After you’ve finished defining your crease, finish with a wash of mascara on your lashes and a subtle hint of brown eyeliner across your waterline. As for your lips, apply a rich brown tone slightly above where your lips naturally end as you’ll want to softly disperse that product across your entire lips to neutralise any pinks or red hues.
Using the same lipliner, subtly accentuate the outer corners of your lips to create an ombré effect which will make your pout appear larger and more full. Either leave matte or coat with gloss for the icy look, adding a touch of highlighter to the high points of your face, et voilà! You’ll be rivalling your morning brew with your bronzed coffee glow.
Shop The Key Products In The ‘Latte Makeup’ Look Below:
Chanel LES BEIGES WATER-FRESH TINT, $110. SHOP NOW.
Charlotte Tilbury Eyes To Mesmerise, $50. SHOP NOW. 
Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi™ Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops, $60. SHOP NOW. 
NARS Laguna Bronzing Powder, $64. SHOP NOW.
Stila Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow, $40. SHOP NOW.
Victoria Beckham Lip Definer, $47. SHOP NOW. 
Kosas Wet Lip Oil Plumping Treatment Gloss, $35. SHOP NOW.
Dior Backstage Eye Shadow, $96. Shop Now.
