Something unsettling is taking place on our faces
Something unsettling is happening across BeautyTok. The monumental rise of AI-generated content has collided with the tail-end of this year’s spooky Halloween transformations for an unnerving TikTok beauty trend that’s leaving viewers feeling uncomfortable – and not always for the reason you’d think.
The #uncannyvalleymakeup hashtag has quickly risen to 146 million views, with beauty creators clunkily using make-up to appear robotic, doll-like and not-quite-human. Each video is soundtracked by the same eerie and off-kilter choral tune, taken from the intro of “Brutus” by rapper The Buttress, which taps into the esoteric and offbeat #weirdcore and #dreamcore videos that are simultaneously trending in the app. It’s not really something you want popping onto your explore page during a late-night scroll.
Techniques to create this uncanny look vary from person to person, but will often include blocking out large portions of the eyebrow with concealer before filling in the hair using a darker-than-natural colour, as well as contouring that often feels very theatrical. Eyes are made to seem smaller and cartoonish by using eyeliner that focuses on the centre of both lids. Occasionally there’s a synthetic wig involved, too.
It’s not just make-up: there’s also an uncanny valley make-up-inspired filter so those who aren’t handy with a make-up brush can get involved, while some TikTokers have recreated the look entirely through exaggerated facial expressions.
Dr Carl Strathearn, a researcher in Humanoid Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, says that humans have been trying to achieve this ‘uncanniness’ through make-up for years. “Traditionally Geishas were used as an example of the uncanny valley effect in make-up, as the objective of [their look] was to recreate the tonality of porcelain ceramics, giving them an ethereal appearance to make them stand out,” he says. “The Barbie look may be a modern example of this. [It is a way of] using make-up to create a plastic-like light reflective skin complexion, or changing the contours of the face to emulate smooth doll-like features.”
The uncanny valley hypothesis, from which this beauty trend takes its name, was coined in 1970 in an influential essay by Japanese professor of robotics Masahiro Mori. In it, he posits that we are inclined to feel ‘cold, eerie feelings’ towards a robot or non-human if they become too human-like. You may freak out, for example, while watching a clip of Sophia the Robot, the live-action Cats musical remake, or The Polar Express. Mori’s theory was also supported by this 2019 study, which identified the areas of the brain that reject and accept these human-like artificial entities.
@magi0225 跟著潮流走，恐佈谷妝容 #uncannyvalley #trend#uncannyvalleystare #makeup #creepylook ♬ Brutus (Instrumental) - The Buttress
With human-like robots and AI on the rise, it’s only natural that interest increases – but why exactly are people so interested in making themselves appear uncanny? “For TikTok, I think this is a very fun thing to do that lets you explore a very different role,” says Dr Dennis Küster, a postdoctoral researcher at the Cognitive Systems Lab at the University of Bremen. “It is certainly possible to produce an effect of unease and discomfort via make-up and costumes, however, there are ways in which this differs from ‘the’ Uncanny Valley Effect once you consider the wider theory.”
Firstly, he explains, the Uncanny Valley effect on TikTok has been reversed. “The Uncanny Valley Effect involves looking at an entity, usually some kind of robot, that may appear to be almost human at first glance but then you look a little closer and discover that it is actually not human,’” he says. “If a human is using make-up to look less human, or less ‘alive’, then the later parts of this perceptual process differ because the result is the opposite”.
Abby Shaffer is a content creator with alopecia living in New York, who responded to the trend with her own video highlighting the similarities between the techniques used in the uncanny valley beauty look and her own everyday beauty routine. “Many of the people attempting this make-up trend usually start by concealing all of their features, especially their brows, which was interesting to me as someone who naturally has no brows due to alopecia,” Shaffer tells Dazed.
“Drawing on my brows is part of my daily make-up routine, and I like to think I do a pretty good job of drawing them on realistically; but I was a little irked by the concept that someone not having brows, or having drawn-on brows, is inherently ‘uncanny’”. She also notes how one example she saw had a girl using a bald cap.
@rae_spirits The Uncanny Valley Theory | Creepy Facts 🤖 ➡️ follow for more weird and bizarre facts! #creepyfacts #uncannyvalley #facts #robots #strange #weird #scary #creepy #horror #viral ♬ original sound - julia
“It quickly became pretty apparent that not many people doing the trend even understood what ‘uncanny valley’ means – instead of creating an ‘almost human’ look, they were treating it as though it were synonymous with anything creepy or weird, which isn’t quite accurate.” Even from a grammatical standpoint, the trend often falls flat. ‘Turning myself into uncanny valley’ makes it more obvious that some creators are joining in without really understanding what they’re getting themselves into.
Despite all the confusion, UncannyTok has shown some outstanding creativity and initiative amongst the beauty community which should be celebrated. There have been numerous entertaining and unsettling clips, including The Goddess Boys appearing in the dark wearing matching suits, this vintage-tinged diorama by Justin Li and Liv Huffman, everything the #CroesBros have tinkered with recently, and this lip-sync to a soundbite from Detroit: Become Human by creator Allkiiwii that’s been watched over 17 million times. After all, it’s not always about being scientifically accurate – sometimes it’s just about watching budding make-up artists and amateur entertainers have fun..
@valeriya.eros Posting two of these - comment which one you see first (2/2) #uncannyvalley ♬ Brutus (Instrumental) - The Buttress
@makeupbyevelin Replying to @0_0angel7_7 #uncannyvalley #makeup ♬ Brutus (Instrumental) - The Buttress
@annvoila Might as well pop a tut in the feed😁 #uncannyvalley #uncannyvalleymakeup #uncannymakeup #makeuptutorial #halloweenmakeup #cosplaymakeup #nothuman #slightlyuncanny #uncannymakeuponblackgirl #annvoila ♬ Brutus (Instrumental) - The Buttress
@dualupe.1 ⚠️“UNCANNY VALLEY”⚠️: También llamado “Sindrome de Valle Inquietante”, es una teoría que afirma que al tener contacto con figuras, animales, o robots que se ven y actúan en similitud a los seres humanos (de una forma extraña o antinatural), termina causando en nosotros un sentimiento de rechazo, incomodidad e inquietud que es provocada por la percepción de algo que parece ser un humano, pero en realidad no lo es. Ejemplos de Valle Inquietante es la historia de ‘’El perro que come cereal con cuchara’’, los gestos de Mark Zuckerberg o la foto del perro calvo que tiene orejas de humano. #uncannyvalley #uncannyvalleymakeup #terror #misterio ♬ Brutus (Instrumental) - The Buttress
@nisculas uncanny valley makeup
♬ Brutus (Instrumental) - The Buttress
@yodelinghaley I feel so unserious bc i flopped at the makeup 😭😭 dc @Emilia Barth ♬ Brutus (Instrumental) - The Buttress
@mybroseph my attempt at the #uncannyvalley trend #trend #uncannyvalleystare #makeup ♬ Brutus (Instrumental) - The Buttress
@___melachan___ Uncanny valley?
♬ Brutus (Instrumental) - The Buttress