We recently returned from Walt Disney World where both of our children fell madly in love with the new Little Mermaid (as did I). We came home with the dress, the shell necklace, the dolls… I am officially proclaiming that we have entered into our Mermaid Era (and will be here for a while). So, I thought: what better trend to report on than MermaidCore? I’ll also be divulging some of the actual makeup products used in the work of Kat Ali under the direction of Peter King in the new The Little Mermaid movie which (if you haven’t seen) is fantastic (and you should rectify that immediately).
MermaidCore
Mermaid Core was all over the runway and most notably in Versace's Spring/Summer 2023 collection. This idea has been interpreted in many different ways ranging from the bright teal, cut crease looks to the soft and shimmery reminiscent of Halle Bailey’s makeup design. I am serving up my own interpretation of MermaidCore using all of the face products that were used on Halle but creating my own eye look that suits my aesthetic.
In all of Ariel’s underwater scenes, we see these incredible holographic scales along her siren skin that are just stunning. This was, sadly, all done with CGI. To achieve her natural glow on the face, makeup artist Kat Ali applied MAC’s Face & Body all over a well-primed face topped with Dior Beauty Backstage Universal highlighter. For my MermaidCore look, I chose to also use MAC’s Face & Body layered with Lisa Eldridge’s Elevated Glow Highlighter in Crystal Nebula. I topped this with NudeStix cream bronzer in Bondi Bae and then added even more warmth and sheen to th skin with Guerlain’s Terracotta Light bronzer.
I like my eye looks to be a wash of color, lending an airy quality to them. I think makeup looks seem a bit fresher and more modern when I can see a bit of skin through them. I chose to do a warm taupe brown all over the eye but concentrated in the outer crease and brought it into the inner orbital bone to create lots of delicious shadow. I also brought this color down on the lower lash line. I then brought in an icey blue and placed it on the lower inner third of the eye bringing it to the inner corner and down below the lash line in the inner third. I placed a lime green color shifting microglitter in the center of the eye and brought it up to the brow bone. This gave me the mermaid scales meets sea glass effect I was wanting on the eyes.
For lips, I chose to use MAC’s lip liner in Cork which was what was used on Halle Bailey but because we are different skin tones I blended this in lightly with a brush and then topped it with a similar glossy nude lipstick close to the one used in the movie: MAC Lustreglass Sheer-Shine Lipstick in Thanks It’s MAC.
And that’s it! Let me know if you've seen the new Little Mermaid movie or plan to and what you thought of it. To see how this look came together go to my Instagram and check my reel. Happy Mermaiding everyone!
Pro Tips
So you wanna be a Mermaid at the pool?! Choose a waterproof glitter like Danessa Myricks ColorFix Creams to place all over the eye. Make it a sheer wash and you’ll have a beautiful sheen even under water.