This Marilyn Monroe-Inspired Makeup Trick Is Dominating TikTok — and It's Zendaya-Approved

Her “bedroom eyes” were thanks to this technique.

By

Rachel Nussbaum

Published on September 15, 2022 @ 03:00AM

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Photo: Getty Images

We all know the saying "everything old is new again," and it's true beyond the aughts fashion renaissance. If you're a TikTok user, you may have noticed tutorials for Marilyn Monroe-inspired eye makeup popping off — and going by Zendaya's makeup at the Emmys, the look is only gaining steam.

If you haven't already come across one of the umpteenth viral videos on Monroe's makeup techniques, the icon's doe-eyed look was partially thanks to her eye-elongating liner. She wore a classic wing on her top lid, and a horizontal, extended wing across the bottom lid; as celebrity makeup artist Erin Parsons explained on YouTube, the faint lower line is "meant to be a shadow of your top lash, which creates this even more open eye effect. The 'bedroom eyes' were really created by this technique."

The two wings are paired with a highlighted area in the space between, creating the optical illusion of bigger eyes and an attention-grabbing gaze. Tutorials of the look have garnered over 3.7 million views and almost 700,000 likes on TikTok, so the appetite for Monroe's classic glam is clearly still there. Zendaya's old-school Hollywood look on the red carpet earlier this week is an undeniable nod to Monroe's signature makeup style, and the pencil-fine trace of extended color stretched across her bottom lash line is nothing short of strikingly glamorous.

Makeup artist Sheika Daley was responsible for the look, and used Lancôme's Idôle liquid liner, the brand's Hypnôse Five-Color Eyeshadow Palette in Taupe Craze, and its Le 8 Hypnôse Mascara to bring the look to life. It's not surprising, considering Zendaya is a Lancôme ambassador — but she's not the only celebrity fan of the brand's mascara. Gabrielle Union, Ariana DeBose, and Sigourney Weaver also previously used it for their red carpet looks.

With Ana de Armas' Blonde coming to Netflix later this month, it's basically a given that we're going to see Monroe's influence popping up even more in the coming months. If you want to channel her — and Zendaya — with red-carpet approved tools, shop the products Daley used below.