Ear Makeup Is the Crazy New Trend We Can't Stop Staring At

Spotted at NYFW.

Ear Makeup
(Image credit: Design by Dana Tepper)

Original Post, 6/30/16: It was back in 2014, at Paris Fashion Week, that ear makeup first became a thing. Designer Anthony Vaccarello sent his models down the runway with graphic, inky lobes that were drawn on with black liquid liner. Makeup artist Tom Pecheux was going for a quasi jewelry look. Kind of like a second-skin ear cuff.

Since then, Pat McGrath created a silver statement ear for Louis Vuitton Spring 2016 and Yadim dreamed up full-on glitter ears for Opening Ceremony.

Ear Makeup

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Always one for a mesmerizing next-level look, I loved all of them, but definitely chalked it up to something that would stay exclusive to the runways.

However, I recently found myself Insta-stalking makeup artist Violette—as one does—and discovered two more gorgeous ear makeup looks. In a classic case of American-girl-tries-to-steal-French-girl-steeze, I instantly wanted to turn my own ears into a canvas. Could this be the new statement brow?

The first was a shiny gold accent lobe she created for CR Fashion Book. A perfect complement to cool-girl-beloved small gold hoops, it would be easy enough to recreate with Stargazer's Face and Body Paint in Metallic Gold.

The next, was an intergalactic-looking silver ear in which she traced the outlines of the outer and inner ear with silver paint. Sorry Kylie Jenner, but this is my kind of ear contouring.

Only time will tell if non-fashion/beauty people will jump on the ear art train. But let's face it...crazier things have happened.

UPDATE, 9/13/16 : And it continues! Backstage at Proenza Schouler Spring 2017 during New York Fashion Week, we spotted a handful of models sporting graphic yellow or white painted lobes. The look—created by Diane Kendal for MAC using the brand's Chromacake mixed with water—served as a perfect counterpart to the collection's oversized geometric earrings.

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Lauren Valenti
Beauty Editor

Lauren is the former beauty editor at Marie Claire. She love to while away the hours at coffee shops, hunt for vintage clothes, and bask in the rough-and-tumble beauty of NYC. She firmly believes that solitude can be a luxury if you’ve got the right soundtrack—that being the Rolling Stones, of course.