For the last 50 years, Barbie has set very high standards for little girls to live up to. She’s juggled careers as varied as McDonald’s cashier, news anchor, chef, architect and President all while wearing heels and maintaining a (literally) unreal waist line. But, there is one area where Barbie literally loses all touch with reality and that’s make-up. Though her face is tiny, this little doll knows how to pile on the face paint. If you thought the Kardashian’s were blessed in the face beating arena, then think again. Barbie could teach Kim a thing or two about contouring and Kylie about lipstick. With no fear of breakouts, the Mattel icon can pile on the products like she’s about to make her RuPaul’s Drag Race debut. Keen to see how Barbie’s bonkers beauty looked in reality, team Debrief spent two hours (yes that’s how long it took!) beautifying ourselves to Barbie’s standards. And, this is how we looked…
Aimee Takes on Fairy Secret Barbie
I use to think Barbie looked flawless, but then our fashion and beauty editor made me try out the Barbie look IRL. It involved 3929302 layers of eyeshadow and accidentally swallowing a tube of sugary pink lipgloss. ‘Less is more’ is something my Auntie Lynne tried to teach me as I used to don skyscraper heels and a bandage dress to Liquid every weekend (you did too, right?) and now I feel she may be right. My eyeshadow is so bright, it could blind a poor sod on the tube. My false eyelashes are scratching my eyeballs. You could see my fuchsia blush from Jupiter. Soz Barbz, I think I’ll be sticking to my liquid eyeliner and subtle mascara flick from now on.
Seven Products Used: MUA Blush Palette in Bashful, £5; Barry M Mascara Feature Length, £4.99; Eyelure False Eyelashes , £5.25; Lottie London Eyeshadow Palette Shadow Swatch, £9.95; Rimmel London Oh My Gloss in Stay My Rose, £5.49; Topshop Glitter in Martian, £7.50; MAC Eyebrow Pencil in Brunette, £14.50
Eden As 1980s Barbie
After taking part in this Barbie beauty challenge, I realised how much makeup Barbie actually wears! I can’t say I was fan of her eyeshadow; I mean, doesn't Barbie know about blending? I do like her confidence though. Bright eyelid and bold lips are pretty cute, but bronzer, highlighter and false eyelashes as well is quite a lot for everyday makeup.
Six Products Used: Lottie London Believe in Your #Selfie, £11.99; Eylure London lashes Definition, £5.25; It Naturally Pretty Palette, £66.99; Lottie London Wing Woman Eyeliner, £4.95; Makeup Gallery Pro Liquid Eyeliner in Brown, £1; Lola Makeup by Perse in 14 Red Velvet, £11.95
Katie Tries Out Generation Girl Barbie
My Barbie look was definitely for a night out. Not being a massive make-up user myself I wasn't sure what order I was meant to apply everything in. Barbie loves to layer her eyeshadow colours, which I found hard to recreate. I think I put on about four different colours! I got to pop my fake lash cherry, which was less painful than expected! I wasn’t a big fan of the bright pink blusher but, then Barbie is a doll afterall.
11 Products Used: Eyelure Accents fake eyelashes, £4.95; LOLA Satin Eyeshadow 010; £7.50, LOLA Satin Eyeshadow 019, £7.50; Barry M Strobe Cream Frosty Pink, £4.49; Benefit KA-Brow in Colour 2, £20; B. Powder Blusher in Cheeky, £7.99; MUA 15 Shade Palette in Fire Vixen, £5; Ciate Pretty Stix in Chick Flick , £16; Rimmel London Exaggerate Eye Definer, £3.99; MUA Eyebrow Pencil in Blonde, £1, Barry M Lip Liner, £2.99;
Arianna Becomes Jewel Girl Barbie
Jewel Girl Barbie is possibly the most restrained of the bunch. But, that said she's still wearing three shades of eyeshadow, has lashings of eyeliner and has been unsparing in her lip gloss application. Barbie gets a lot of flak for giving girls unmanageable expectations, but credit where credit's due: this doll knows her way around a highlighter palette.
Nine Products Used: Rimmel London Kate in 003 golden bronze, £6.99; Rimmel London Oh My Gloss, £5.49; Ciate The Fun Palette, £29; Barry M That’s How I Roll Mascara in Black, £4.99; Ciate Wonderland London Gel Kohl Liner, £15; Make Up Gallery Pro Liquid Eyeliner, £1; Becca Bronzed Blonde Sunlit Bronzer, £27.95, QVC; Lola Satin Eyeshadow in 009, £7.50: B. Powder Blusher in Bittersweet, £7.99
Lucy Transforms Into Golden Dream Barbie
I approached this challenge with equal hesitancy and fascination. It took two hours (!) to put this much slap on my face. Just think, I could have watched a movie, read a book, ran half a marathon in that time. But, no, instead I was applying two different shades of green eyeshadow, two types of eyeliner, fake lashes and enough bronzer to rival Donatella Versace. That said, Barbie’s make-up skills are irreproachable. I struggled to get the right bronzer-to-highlighter ratio and to flick my eyeliner just so. Though I won’t be recreating this look in its entirety anytime soon, green eyeshadow has certainly won me over, and I’m going to hang on to that lip colour!
Eight Products Used: Mac Eye Pencil in Ebony, £14.50; Make Up Gallery Shine On Lipgloss, £1; Lola Make Up by Perse in Satin 030, £7.50; Lottie London Shimmer Squad Palette, £9.95; Lottie London Tan Time Bronzer in Light Medium, £5.95; Ciate London Blusher in Baby Doll, £22; MUA Winged Wonder Liner in Black, £3; Barry M Super Soft Eye Crayon in No.3, £3.99
Total: 41 products used to create five Barbie looks
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.