Our love for Julia Fox and her madcap make-up is emblematic of our current state. We don’t have the time, emotional, or indeed spiritual capability to try to emulate the unattainable beauty standards which have haunted the past decade; the simulacra of professionally applied make-up layered over 1000’s of kilos’ value of Botox and filler, then posted on social media after a fast FaceTune and a few Photoshop. What we do have time for is smearing the crumbs from a battered eyeshadow palette over our eyes like a up to date Boudica and rounding it off with a stumpy, old eyeliner shoplifted from Boots.

Post-lockdown, within the face of the associated fee of living crisis, it’s not surprising that sweaty, hedonistic, messy make-up has replaced the meticulous, multi-step Instagram Face of the 2010s. We just need to exit and let out. That was the spirit Fox captured firstly of the 12 months when she stepped out in her now infamous signature black eye make-up. The look immediately seized our imaginations, a relief from aspirational celebrity beauty. Most crucially, it was fun, and appeared to signal a mode of self-expression beyond prescriptive ideas of attractiveness.

A series of equally chaotic looks followed, cementing Fox’s status because the patron saint of the so-called bad beauty movement. In March, she appeared on an Oscars party red carpet with bright-red, bloodshot eyes framed by her signature black wing – a glance achieved by being stoned to the bone. Then got here the black lips and a painterly white wing, the latex-wrapped ponytail, the pencil brows drawn over bleached eyebrows, the grey hair. Fox also began vocalising this response against conventional beauty norms, making daring proclamations and predictions on her TikTok account like, “Ageing is fully in… dirty girl, ugly, not wearing clothes that suit your body type – just fully wearing anything you would like – all those things are in.”

On the one hand, these statements feel easy to say for a conventionally beautiful, thin, white woman who, intentionally or not, reaps the rewards of meeting societal beauty standards. It’s easy to say “I wanna see bellies hanging over the low rise jeans pls” when she herself has considered one of the flattest stomachs you have got ever seen. And the discord of proclaiming that ‘ageing is in’ while having just weeks before been paid to be the face of Botox-alternative Xeomin, is just not necessarily negated by Fox’s defence that she is “all the time going to get my bag”.

Then again, Fox has all the time been honest: she’s openly discussed how, when she realised she was being seen as a commodity in her teens and twenties, she consciously capitalised on her looks and sex appeal to achieve money and resources from men. That is considered one of the contradictions inherent in womanhood – beauty can equal power, but this “power” is all the time depending on being seen as desirable by the patriarchy. Fox felt that it was “a humiliating position to be in”. What we now appear to be witnessing is her experimenting and coming to terms with how she desires to search for herself. Purposefully selecting to look messy, alien-like and intimidating. Along the best way, we will afford her the grace and space to grapple with the contradictions she is spouting and unlearn the messages which can be ingrained in all of us.

Fox has undoubtedly modified how we approached beauty this 12 months and, alongside people like Doja Cat and Aoife, spearheaded a perspective on make-up that doesn’t centre the male gaze or appease societal beauty metrics. Her looks are confronting and female-focused, they’re relatable and accessible – as demonstrated by Fox’s charmingly chaotic tutorials which involve drug store products, bare fingers and the occasional “fuck”. That’s the thing about her make-up: all you wish is a little bit of time, enthusiasm and never to take yourself too seriously.

Here Fox shares her thoughts on her 12 months in beauty and provides her predictions for 2023.

Which is your favourite Julia Fox beauty moment of 2022? The fox eye, the red eyes, the grey hair…?

Julia Fox: I truthfully love the grey hair look probably the most. It’s so beautiful. It’s rare but I like when older women keep their grey or white hair. My grandma, who I seem like, went completely white like a pearl. I all the time used to say once I was little that I couldn’t wait to get old to have hair like that.

Did you ever think that your beauty looks could be so impactful?

Julia Fox: No, by no means, but I’m comfortable that I make people feel higher about being weird. I encourage everyone to specific themselves authentically and I actually don’t care about trends or what other people think is cool. I’m all the time doing my very own thing and I hope more people can try this too.

What do you think that messy/bad make-up is so popular at once? What does it say in regards to the general cultural mood?

Julia Fox: I feel the ladies are fed up! I feel beauty is leaning away from the male gaze. Women are bored with listening to the little man inside their head telling them they should look a certain method to be accepted by society. Fuck that… I don’t care what men like. And in the event that they don’t prefer it, it’s probably ‘cause I’m on the correct side of history, since men are historically not.

What are your predictions for beauty in 2023? 

Julia Fox: More smudgy. No perfect lines. Alien vibes. Trashy girl. Glossy lips. Accentuating our “imperfections” as a substitute of concealing them.

@juliafox Ooooo I do know that is gonna make the broke boys mad #OLDISIN ♬ original sound – Julia fox

What does beauty feel wish to you?

Julia Fox: It doesn’t feel like anything. Beauty is subjective and there isn’t a method to measure it. I only find beauty in ugly places and I’ve all the time been that way.

How did you discover what your expression of beauty is? Do you even care about beauty as an idea?

Julia Fox: I care since it’s political, and capitalism and the patriarchy makes women live in fear of getting older when it must be something to be celebrated. For me, being alive in any respect is a miracle so I concentrate on the larger picture.

What does ageing feel wish to you?

Julia Fox: It means feeling increasingly comfortable in my very own skin. I’m a lot happier now than some other time in my life.

What’s your beauty and skincare routine?

Julia Fox: I truthfully don’t have one. It’s a miracle if I even brush my teeth before passing out.

What do you consider filler and Botox?

Julia Fox: I’m all for it. Women should give you the chance to do whatever they need without being stigmatised. To force a lady to live in fear of getting older after which shame her for getting enhancements, is such a scam. It’s a lose-lose situation that we’ve been forced into.

What are your favourite beauty products?

Julia Fox: I like my Pat McGrath eye shadow pallets. I actually have all of them and I’m obsessive about the pigments. I like the Isamaya Liplacq maximising lip serum – it’s a game-changer. I like the aboutface liquid eye shadow sticks too, and the liquid highlighters are amazing for the body. For classics, I like Egyptian magic and the Biologique P50 toner.

What do you think that of celebrity beauty brands? Would you ever start your personal?

Julia Fox: I don’t think the world needs one other celebrity beauty brand, but when I were to do it I’d make it super eco-friendly and use only recycled materials.

What are your suggestions and tricks for applying make-up?

Julia Fox: Have a look at what you’re wearing for inspiration! Often, the vision just involves me after I placed on my look. You actually need to feel it. Good make-up could make or break a whole look.