Leave it to the beauty community to come up with a unique makeup challenge that gets everyone feeling creative! The last viral makeup challenge was all about Disney villains in celebration of ColourPop's Disney Villains collection. Before that, beauty lovers were using makeup to transform into Bratz dolls. This time, fans are pushing their blending skills to the max with makeup looks inspired by the colors of X-ray photos.
There's nothing like a little radiography to shake things up, right? Gotta love science! Beloved beauty YouTubers and casual makeup fans alike are putting their skills to the ultimate test with this new challenge.
The trend was started by the wickedly talented beauty influencer Nils Kuiper.
Kuiper is a 20-year-old artist from the Netherlands with a really cool, ethereal approach to makeup and photography. His creative process often includes him thinking about a photo he wants to take, how he wants the colors placed, and then creating a makeup look that reflects his vision. He draws inspiration from a variety of things ranging from Versace's iconic baroque print to Botticelli's famous Birth of Venus painting.
Kuiper explained that his inspiration for the X-ray makeup challenge was to simply try something different from looks he has created in the past.
He also confirmed on Instagram that he got the idea to create his X-ray look from "color inversion filters."
“I wanted to do something a little bit special today," he explained in a YouTube video. I wanted to challenge myself. I wanted to push my limits. So I decided to take a picture in this specific lighting setting and inverse the colors on one side of my face."
"What I want to do is on this side of my face, doing my makeup completely inverse," he continued.
"Not the steps or anything like that, but the colors. Highlights are going to be black. Shadows are going to be more white. Oranges will turn into blues. Yellows will turn into a different hue of blue, and reds will turn green. I don’t know how long this is going to take. I might look ridiculous. I might feel spectacular."
And yes, it did come out looking pretty spectacular.
Kuiper used multiple palettes and actual paint to execute this beautiful makeup art. He used the Subculture Palette ($42, Anastasia Beverly Hills), Black Moon Cosmetics Orb of Light Palette ($48, Riley Rose), and one of the NYX Cosmetics Ultimate Shadow Palettes ($18, Ulta). Kuiper also used the Graftobian ProPaint Face and Body Paint ($14, Graftobian).
This look promptly had the entire internet SHOOK.
His followers promptly freaked out in the comments after he shared this image of the final look on his Instagram page.
"You have more talent in one pinky than I do in my whole body," another person shared. Another person wrote, "HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS? I'm seriously a fan of your creativity and personality." Yes for fun challenges that inspire others!
Nikkie de Jager, also known as Nikkie Tutorials, even accepted Kuiper's challenge!
De Jager totally nailed the X-ray makeup look. She even gave Kuiper his props for creating a makeup challenge that was actually, well, challenging!
"INVERTED MAKEUP," de Jager wrote on Instagram. "The hardest look I’ve ever done in my life!"
Nikkie Tutorials gave a full breakdown of all the products she used to complete this complex makeup look.
She used three palettes, the Flash Color Palette Multi-Use Cream Color Palette ($99, Sephora), the Morphe Brushes 35G Palette (currently sold-out online), and the Make Up For Ever Flesh Palette ($99, Sephora). For her lips, de Jager pulled out the Huda Beauty Trendsetter Lip Contour Matte Pencil ($19, Sephora) in the shade Trendsetter and the Pat McGrath MatteTrance Lipstick ($39, Sephora). She even gave herself white mascara!
More makeup lovers on Instagram are following the X-ray makeup trend.
Like de Jager, makeup artist Twanchy Shaw acknowledged that this challenge was no easy feat! "Inspired by @lithunium.snow and @nikkietutorials. Of course, I have credits to give as they made before me," she shared. "This was one of the toughest and most confusing look[s] I’ve created so far."
Victory Kossa gave her makeup look a touch of outer-space inspiration.
She added a cool outer-space background to drive the look home. Although she did not reveal exactly which products she used, she did note the brands. Kossa beat her face using products from Anastasia Beverly Hills, Marc Jacobs Beauty, Ludovik Brushes, and Shik Cosmetics.
Makeup artist Margaret Madyara created her look on one half of her face with neutral makeup and the X-ray version on the other.
"@lithunium.snow created this look thought I should try. Let me know what you think," Madyara asked her followers. She used products by Make Up For Ever and Black Opal to create her X-ray makeup look.
Sarah Crimson used white paint on one side and the X-ray version on the other.
"Since it's everywhere [right now] I decided to give it a try. Not perfect [and] def not my best work, but it turned out quite OK I think," she shared with fans. This look paired beautifully with her ice blonde hair.
This makeup artist merged two makeup challenges into one!
Do you remember the dripping Blank Canvas makeup challenge that James Charles started in 2018? Makeup artist Sumoika allowed her regular face makeup to drip into the X-ray version on the lower half! Do you see those popping lashes? The flawless brows? Every square inch of her face is beat and beautiful.
Makeup artist Evelin Costa put a different red-hot twist on the X-ray challenge!
I am OBSESSED with this look! Instead of opting for cool colors, Costa went the infrared route with this gorgeous makeup art. One half of her face is a smoky red eye shadow look and bold lipstick. The other side is pure infrared X-ray vibes!
