Uncanny Valley Makeup – The Haunting Blend of Human and Machine

In the face of the daunting onslaught of artificial intelligence, humanity strikes back by mimicking it, with the emergence of a new makeup trend – Uncanny Valley.

Summary:

• Where does “Uncanny Valley” come from?
• From a feeling of fear to a beloved beauty trend

In the new era, the boundary between technology, artificial intelligence, and human life is gradually blurring. The presence of robots or advanced technological creations capable of replacing humans no longer brings the strong surprise it once did. Because these intelligent innovations have become so familiar to human life. Robots are no longer abstract, oversized machines but are continuously updated and upgraded. They not only possess advanced functions but are also increasingly designed to resemble humans. Innovations in artificial intelligence and AI technology are found in every field. In the fashion industry, AI serves as both a powerful tool and a haunting “nightmare” because they create frighteningly realistic “works”, from models, designs, catwalks, to unimaginable AI collaborations that can be created with just a few lines of code or in a very short time. They threaten the presence of humans. These works, both virtual and real, bring about an inexplicable feeling when we look at them. There’s a bit of “creepiness”, a bit of horror, mixed with curiosity. If you’ve ever felt this way when looking at a robot or a lifelike android, then you’ve definitely experienced the phenomenon of the “Uncanny Valley”.

Where does “Uncanny Valley” come from? The phenomenon of the “Uncanny Valley” originated in 1970. Japanese professor Masahiro Mori – the “father” of humanoid robots, defined this strange phenomenon to describe the feeling that humans experience when faced with a robot (or anything non-human) that has a lifelike appearance. It’s a suspicion, an emotional disturbance, or indescribable emotional nuances. It’s a “creepy” feeling when watching videos of robots like Sophia or watching the 2019 film “Cats” with CGI humanoid cats. For artificial human-like body parts such as robot arms or plastic feet, or cartoon characters on television, we still have a certain fondness. But when faced with lifelike human sculptures from hair, skin, wrinkles, to expressions, the level of fondness “plummets”. When plotted together on a chart, the feeling in the “Uncanny Valley” phenomenon forms a deep valley shape. This is also the reason behind the name of the phenomenon “uncanny valley”.

From a feeling of fear to a beloved beauty trend Although not a comfortable feeling, Uncanny Valley has attracted the breakthrough thinking of today’s young enthusiasts. From there, a new trend has emerged in the beauty world – Uncanny Valley makeup, a makeup style that recreates the strange feeling when facing humanoid robots. In the “trend universe” of TikTok, we have seen countless tutorial videos, guides to a makeup layout that doesn’t serve the purpose of making the wearer more beautiful or impressing others, but instead attracts attention with an unrealistic effect, both virtual and real, both attractive and uncomfortable. The characteristic Uncanny Valley makeup layer features a pale white base, with strong stage-like lines, embellished with dark blocks, combined with drawn-out features on the face like eyes, nose, or mouth, along with a fake black hair, as well as other finishing touches such as whitening eyebrows, elongating mouth corners, wearing black lenses with enlarged human eyes as if to “swallow up” the whites of the eyes. All create a combination of both real and virtual, a distant yet close effect, impressively unique.

Curiosity, unlimited creativity, and a desire to “break free” from beauty norms have contributed to the success of the Uncanny Valley debut on the TikTok platform. The hashtag #uncannyvalley has more than 150 million views. This success continues to be one of the reliable proofs of the bold self-expression of the new generation in the fashion and beauty world. In the face of the daunting onslaught of artificial intelligence, AI technology, they did not “surrender”; on the contrary, they responded in a humorous way. AI copies humans, so why don’t we mimic them? From there, the situation has been turned around. Taking on the terrifying appearance of humanoid robots, the younger generation has turned it into a new beauty inspiration for unlimited creativity, with the aura of “strangeness is also a kind of beauty”. The popularity of the Uncanny Valley makeup trend is also not difficult to understand because nowadays beauty no longer adheres to any standards, makeup is no longer used as a means to seduce anyone, instead, it exploits the realistic aspect, is more revealing, and focuses more on expressing the inner story of the human being.