I don’t like the word, but I’m happy to try the ‘coquette’ effect

The hack
Trying TikTok’s Coquette makeup trend for an easy summer look.

The test
To me, “coquette” is one of those slightly uneasy words that feels odd amid our modern sensibilities. The term refers to a flirtatious woman who is insincere, but it’s also a variety of hummingbird with colourful feathery tufts, so there’s that.

Getting over my initial resistance, I learn that the look is defined by matte candy pink shades, retro 60s black eyeliner, doe-eyed false lashes and rosy blush on the cheeks – it’s meant to be hyper feminine. So I do exactly this, which results in a dreamy, Lana Del Rey-type appeal, and I don’t hate it. But it took 40 mins to perfect, so I try to hack the trend myself and create a time-saving version. I applied a pink cream blush to my cheeks, lids and lips (I used Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Pale Pink), then applied tons of mascara. It’s not as coquettish as TikTok might like, but it’s speedier.

Whether this trend is about reclaiming beauty from the male gaze, or feeding into it, is up for debate; many creating it are of school age, which does remind me of how 90s teen magazine beauty tips revolved around looking cute and flirty to attract boys.

The verdict
Try either version of it, but the biggest takeaway for me is that pastel pink is an incredible shade for all skin tones, and for that reason alone, I’m fully in.