Meaning of clean girl | Babel Free

Definitions

A notional girl representing a fashion style characterized by minimalist clothing, neutral colors, tied-back hair, and subtle makeup that emphasizes unblemished skin.

Examples

“Typically the "clean girl" makeup involves fluffy brows, dewy skin, flushed cheeks and glossy lips. You should look like you're not even wearing makeup – you just woke up looking perfect!”

“The makeup artist who coined the trending term shares her favorite products to achieve the easy “clean girl” beauty look.”

“Gone are the tables at the front of a store crowded with books. In their place are tables that show off stoneware serving plates with brass cutlery certain to make anyone who subscribes to the clean-girl esthetic salivate.”

“Good to glow: from left, Zoë Kravitz, Gigi Hadid, HoYeon Jung and Bella Hadid show how the ‘clean girl aesthetic’ is done […] Another thing you’ll notice about the clean girl aesthetic is slicked-back buns.”

“The presentation might change: the plaid skirts are minis instead of knee-length kilts and the ’90s have been rebranded, courtesy of TikTok, as the Clean Girl esthetic. […] There is novelty out there, and rising niche esthetics that challenge Clean Girls and the cult of brown.”

“It’s true that trends like “Healing Girl Summer” or “clean girl aesthetic” exist in a vacuum, and are only reserved for a very select group of people (cough white, cough thin).”

“Yup, the whole clean girl aesthetic has made its way to our fingertips, from the neutral palette to the perfectly smooth and glowy finish.”

“Nearly a decade after that contour selfie, the similarly capitalistic, pseudo-minimalist ‘clean girl aesthetic’ seemingly has millions in a chokehold. Framed as the anthesis of contouring, the clean girl beauty look favours simplicity and a natural approach to makeup.”

“While there are some POC clean girl ambassadors like Selena Gomez and Zoe Kravitz, clean girls of color are few and far between. Social media has accepted that clean girls are generally white: A Twitter post entitled "'Clean Girl' aesthetic but make it black" published in May received over 90,000 likes, which exemplifies the fact that Blackness is not inherently accepted as part of the look.”

“You probably don’t need to know about the clean-girl esthetic, or fashion trends like kidcore, pearlcore, Barbiecore or Dark Academia. Actually, Dark Academia’s pretty cool. But you definitely don’t need to know about vabbing. Seriously, don’t ask.”

“Its [the ponytail’s] latest incarnation is as part of the clean-girl aesthetic – very big on TikTok – which is about minimalist but considered clothes (a blazer, jeans, a pristine white T-shirt) and hair worn tied back to showcase the peachy skin that you have if a) you follow one of TikTok’s endless skincare routines and b) you are young enough to be doing stuff because TikTok tells you to.”

“Summer is the season for dewy skin. Skoon’s skin concentrate understands the brief for the glowy and hoe-y hot girl summer. It is perfect for the glowing to the gods look or clean girl aesthetic.”

“To finish the look, Jennifer [Horsley] suggests adding a “glass skin” sheen to your cheekbones, lips and décolletage with a highlighter stick. “This is an easy, effortless way to highlight and get that ‘clean girl’ look that’s all over TikTok!”

“3. Free-flowing but sleek: That’s not to say sleek trends will die this year. Rather, they are your go-to for a clean girl look.”

CEFR level