When traveling abroad, your status as an American may be obvious before you have the chance to say “howdy.” Sometimes your clothing or accessories mark you as a Yankee. Other times, your makeup is a dead giveaway.
“I’ve had a front-row seat to the differences in beauty culture from country to country. And the contrast is hard to miss,” said Aliana Moss, a Los Angeles-based makeup artist who has worked across Europe for film and red carpet events. Moss isn’t the only one to notice the differences. “You can literally see the product-purchasing themes of different countries on the faces of women,” said Scott Barnes, a makeup artist from New York City and Los Angeles who has traveled the world with celebrities and frequently teaches master classes around the globe.
Distinctive Styles Across Countries
“In Italy, women favor a sexy, smoky eye and a signature lip color. In France, you will see full, natural brows, minimal eye and cheek makeup, and a bold but perfectly imperfect red or berry lip. In the Middle East, you will see women favoring a heavier eyeliner, especially black kajal, regardless of age. [Korean] beauty starts with tinted BB creams or blurring, cushion compact foundations, glossy jelly lips and glowing, pastel cheeks,” Barnes explained.
Americans tend to have their own, distinct makeup style as well. “American makeup artistry is technically impressive, creative, endlessly innovative and fun,” and instantly identifiable if you know what to look for, Moss said. “If you’ve ever felt like someone clocked your nationality before you said a word, there’s a good chance it wasn’t your sneakers, it was your contour,” she said.
More Is More: The American Approach
Broadly speaking, Europeans wear makeup “in a less is more way,” whereas Americans take a “more is more” approach to makeup, Moss observed. Techniques once reserved for film sets and red carpets have made their way into everyday looks in the United States. “Full-coverage foundations, especially the current matte trend, stand out compared to the sheer coverage, skin-forward formulas seen in Europe,” Moss said. “Contouring and highlighting, creating snatched jaws, chiseled cheekbones, and sculpted noses are stark contrasts to the luminous all-over glow or natural flush favored in other parts of the world,” she said.
It all adds up to a distinctly American look. American beauty trends are “heavily influenced by celebrity culture, social media, and high-definition photography,” explained Jenepher Reynolds, a makeup artist in Prince Edward Island, Canada, who has worked internationally. As a result, Americans tend to favor looking visibly made up. This stands out because “in many other countries, beauty trends tend to prioritize looking naturally polished,” she said. “It’s not that one approach is better than the other, they simply reflect different cultural preferences around beauty and self-expression.”
More Skin Coverage in the U.S.
Americans tend to cover more of their skin with makeup. In Europe and other parts of the world, “skin is visible, even celebrated,” Moss said. While that doesn’t mean people elsewhere forgo makeup entirely, makeup tends to cover less skin outside the United States. “You might spot a statement red lip in Paris or a sharp black wing in Italy, but the rest of the face is intentionally bare and balanced. The look is effortless because it’s meant to be,” Moss explained.
She attributes this difference, in part, to different skin care standards abroad. “There’s a reason makeup artists famously stock up on skin care when we’re in Europe. The ingredient standards are higher, the formulations are often cleaner, and that investment tends to show in the skin of the women who live there,” Moss said. As a result, women abroad tend to be more comfortable leaving more of their face “unadorned,” she said.
Sharp Features and Year-Round Glow
In Moss’ experience, Americans tend to alter the shapes of their features more often and more severely than women abroad. “Eyebrows are sharp and laminated, opposed to the natural shades and shapes seen elsewhere. Meticulously overdrawn lips rather than soft swipes or stains of color are signatures that, fairly or not, read as distinctly American the moment you step off the plane,” she explained.
A face that looks as though it’s been carved is distinctly American. “In the United States, contour or bronzer is often applied under the cheekbones, along the hairline, and down the sides of the nose. Then highlighter is placed on the tops of the cheekbones, under the brow bone, and right above the upper lip on the cupid’s bow,” explained Polina Kuzmenkova, a Beverly Hills-based makeup artist who has worked in Paris and the Netherlands. “As a result, the face looks very defined, very sculpted, almost as if it has been carved.” In contrast, women abroad tend to prefer a softer look, she said.
American women prefer a year-round glow. Unlike their international counterparts, American women tend to prefer a warm glow year-round, Kuzmenkova observed. “To achieve this, they use foundation and bronzer to give the skin a lightly sun-kissed look, even in the middle of winter when there is barely any sun,” she said. This sun-kissed look is different than what you find in most European and East Asian countries, where people tend to prefer lighter, more natural coverage and cooler undertones, especially in the winter, she said.
Warm Tones and Luscious Lashes
Warm color palettes are more popular among American women. Perhaps because tanned, glowing skin is more highly valued in the United States, Americans have a stronger preference for warm makeup tones in all products. Golden bronzers, peach blushes and bronzed eye makeup are all hallmarks of American beauty that are less common abroad, Kuzmenkova said.
Luscious lashes are a hallmark of everyday American makeup. In the United States, lashes play a bigger role in everyday beauty than elsewhere in the world. “Mascara, lash lifts, false lashes, lash extensions — all of these are used regularly, not only for special occasions,” Kuzmenkova said. “A typical American look is often built around expressive lashes that immediately draw attention. In many other countries, such dramatic lashes would be more appropriate for an evening event or a wedding. In the U.S., however, they can easily be part of a regular daily routine.”
