This year was filled with beauty trends that were both illuminating and strange, from slugging to bleached brows.
We're already looking forward to what will dominate our news feed and timelines, and with that in mind Aifric chats to beauty guru and straight talker, Grace Reed about beauty trends on the way in 2023.
Before we get to that, Grace listed some of the trends she felt should be left in 2022, starting with bleached brows. "Unless you're Kendally Jenner, you're not pulling that off", she said. "Brows are there for a reason, they frame the face."
Brow lamination was a major trend this year too, which works like a "reverse perm" for your brows and straightens them. When done well, it's a sleek and polished look, but when overused, Grace said, the hair breaks and the process stops working as well.
A simple brow gel does the job, Grace said, highlighting the LA Girl gel or Pears soap.
Keeping it simple is the name of the game in 2023, with Aifric pointing to complicated skincare routines as a trend she'll be glad to see go.
"I just don't know does it do as much good?" Grace said. "I think if you have a good three steps, you're good. You don't need 10. It's too expensive."
Three steps in the morning and three steps at night is Grace's holy grail routine, which would depend on each person's individual skin, she added. "You need to tailor your skin to that. Don't look at a TikTok and see somebody using a project and then use that, that's for their skin, it's not for yours.
"It can take a bit of time to work out but it's worth doing because you're going to get the best results then."
One trend that dominated social media was slugging, the practice of slathering your face in Vaseline. The belief was that you're locking in moisture, "but it's so bad for your skin", Grace said. "Your skin cannot breathe with a layer of Vaseline on top of it."
This leads to clogged pores as well as other complaints. "Aifric, just think. Imagine lying on your pillow..." Grace said. "We need to burn that one in 2023."
Another treatment that boomed in popularity once again was injectables such as lip and cheek filler, Grace said, however overfilling became more and more common. "I don't think injectables are going anywhere. I think if anything, they're going to get bigger, but I think just more safely and better. There's no need for you to overfill your lips."
Subtlety, she says, looks set to be a major trend for 2023. Tinted foundations rather than full coverage, minimal makeup and more understated looks are already all the rage on social media, with more people becoming comfortable with their skin texture and quirks.
In makeup, blush has become a strong trend, Grace said. "People are nearly choosing that over bronzer, and they're right to. Foundation will give you a blank canvas to work off of, and pop your blusher on and it's life, it's youth."
Makeup is nothing without flawless skin, and Grace said that "skin cycling" is set to be a major trend next year. It involves having three steps in the morning and three at night, and your morning routine is the same every day.
"You cleanse, vitamin C, you SPF or moisturise", Grace explained, while your night routine is the one that changes depending on the day. You cycle over four days, starting with day one where you cleanse, exfoliate and moisturise.
Day two, you cleanse, use a retinol product and moisturise. On day three and four you simply moisturise. "It is amazing the difference it's going to make for your skin."
For the full interview, listen above.
