TikTok's Uncanny Valley makeup trend is all things creepy! Know all about it here

In a stark departure from the usual upbeat and cutesy trends, TikTok users are delving into the eerie realm of "Uncanny Valley" makeup, a trend designed to evoke discomfort similar to theunease one feels when looking at a robot or doll that looks a little too human. This weird makeup trend has gained immense popularity, amassing over 865 million views under the hashtag #uncannyvalley.

The concept of the "uncanny valley" was introduced by Tokyo Institute of Technology professor Masahiro Mori in the 1970s. According to the professor, the concept describes the uneasy feeling humans experience when encountering robots that closely resemble humans but still exhibit subtle differences, causing revulsion or discomfort.

In his essay "The Uncanny Valley," published in a Japanese journal called Energy in 1970, which was translated into English in2012, Mori suggested that people like robots when they gain human qualities, for example,WALL-E or R2D2. However, he also stated that when robots become too humanlike, like Sonny from I, Robot, they start to creep people out.

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In a 2019 study, University of Oxford cognitive psychology researcher Fabian Grabenhorst, along with a team of neuroscientists, proposed the theory that the "uncanny valley" feeling originates at the neural level of the brain. The study examineda specific amygdala signal firing in the brain when participants "rejected" human-like robots, suggesting a neural response to certain features that trigger feelings of danger or revulsion.

"Coming from that angle rather than from the roboticists’ or also psychologists’ angle, I would conceptualise the Uncanny Valley as a neural response to a particular combination of features," Grabenhorst told BBC’s Science Focus in 2022.

Several TikTok users have embraced the eerie aesthetic of the trend and have shared multiple videos that show themtransforming into humanoid robots using makeup techniques that intentionally blur the line between human and artificial.

TokToker Emilia Barth, known as @blonde.girlyy, pioneered the trend with her stunning transformation into a humanoid robot, attracting 15.5 million views and sparking a wave of imitations. The makeup trendinvolves applying pale foundation, concealer, and other products to mimic the plasticky "skin" of a robot. Liquid eyeliner is used to elongate the mouth and create larger pupils, while blocky eyebrows and accentuated smile lines complete the unsettling effect.

The trend's rise can be credited toa broader cultural fascination with artificial intelligence (AI) and a growing awareness of the challenges posed by technology that mimics human behaviour.

The trend is also indicative of the fact that today it has becomeharder to discern what is real and what is artificial, thanks to filters, fillers, and plastic surgery.