‘Creepy’ new makeup trend makes viewers feel uncomfortable but they ‘can’t look away’

‘Yarn doll makeup’ is the new beauty trend going viral on TikTok and it’s leaving viewers feeling confused, upset and downright uncomfortable. But what exactly is it and how did it start?

TikTok is known for creating some weird and inexplicable trends – like men trimming their eyelashes to look more manly. But the new ‘yarn doll makeup’ look is truly making people’s skin crawl.

All over social media, make up gurus are wrapping their faces in strings of yarn and painting extravagant makeup looks over it. The ribbed texture of the yarn creates a blurred, hallucinatory effect, making it seem as though you’re staring back at a nightmare netherworld creature.

Regardless of its uncanniness, TikTok users can’t look away. One of the most viral clips by Holly Murray Makeup has over 20.9 million views and thousands of commenters who aren’t quite sure how to feel.

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“You make me so uncomfortable but I’m here for it,” one disturbed user wrote. “This trend is so cool, but genuinely creeps me out,” another chimed in. One account brought up the age-old quote: “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” To which someone replied: “I guess I’m comfortable.”

Some artists have been taking it to extremes, too. Layli Boker went viral after posting the yarn look with the strings glued right up under her eyelids. “My eyes seemed to burn me,” she wrote in the caption. One concerned commenter wrote: “This made me uncomfortable for some reason.”

So, where is this trend coming from? It appears to have been coined by 19-year-old Anna Murphy, who initially went viral for her Spirited Away-esque yarn look.

On her TikTok page, Anna provided a tutorial for those wishing to recreate her wacky look. “For a base, I just use some Mehron White Liquid Makeup,” she said in the video, with her entire face covered in the thick white goo.

In order to glue the yarn to her face, she recommended going in with Ben Nye Spirit Gum, before beginning to wind the yarn string over her face. “When I got to my mouth area, I would just cut [the yarn]. Same with my eyes.”

After, she simply pasted her makeup look on using her usual products. Despite thinking the look was cool, she admitted it “felt terrible” to wear. Not a massive shock to anyone watching.

Of course, this is just a rough guide. Not all the looks have been terrifying. One makeup artist Zay Beckford posted a video of her hopping on the trend where she styled her yarn-face and edges in a more glam look.

“This is the first one that didn’t terrify me. The others have made me feel like I was gonna have nightmares about it,” one comment joked. “By far my fave yarn makeup look,” another said.

Another makeup artist Nadine Maraniya also got more creative with the look. Instead of opting for a horror movie-inspired character, she transformed her entire face to match her yellow wool hat and scarf, creating an avante garde springtime look. “This is so creative,” one commenter said. “I can’t imagine the amount of work you had to put into this. It’s amazing,” a second added.