How Gaming is Rewriting the Rules of Makeup

Makeup’s obsession with gaming aesthetics has brought us face-to-face with virtual nostalgia, and it’s more futuristic than ever.

The collision of gaming culture and beauty is redefining the makeup landscape, moving away from traditional glam into something far more digital, sleek, and surreal. As social media continues to serve as a breeding ground for trends, beauty influencers are transforming makeup into a futuristic art form that borrows heavily from gaming’s hyperreal worlds and aesthetics like Frutiger Aero. This resurgence, sparked by a fascination with the gloss and glow of early 2000s tech, speaks to a broader cultural desire for escapism, immersion, and self-expression.

The Frutiger Aero aesthetic, originally born in the early 2000s and found in interfaces like Windows Vista and early Apple designs, is now making a comeback—though this time, it’s found a new home on human skin rather than digital screens. What began as a slick, shiny visual trend in technology has been reinterpreted by beauty creators, from the shimmering sheen of eyelids to holographic highlighter. This aesthetic, with its clean lines, bubble-like textures, and soft gradients, offers a nostalgia-drenched nod to Y2K but with a focus on digital futurism​.

Gaming has developed a bit of a reputation. If you think it’s mostly sweaty lads shouting into headsets or antisocial teens addicted to World of Warcraft, that’s not strictly true. 

Granted, gaming has a fair bit to answer for. It’s been accused of increasing anxiety, depression, obesity, aggression and insomnia, especially in younger age groups. But over the past two unprecedented years, its pros came more sharply into focus. Namely, it offers escapism, fantasy and the ability to experiment, unwind and connect with like-minded people (and like-minded brands).

That traditional stereotype of “gamers”? It’s null and void, as a whole league of new demographics claim a space for themselves within the arena.

During the height of the pandemic, 82% of consumers admitted to playing video games or watching video game content, according to data firm Nielsen, and in the UK, uptake increased by 28%. But, even before the pandemic, female gamers were closing the gender gap. 

Research by Newzoo found that women account for almost half (46%) of gamers, while queer and ethnic minority communities are also fighting for more representation. 60% of the adult LGBTQIA+ population play online each week, according to Synchronix Research, and collectives like Black Girl Gamers are heightening Black Women’s voices in gaming. That’s not to say the issues that plagued gaming have been entirely overcome – the industry is still beleaguered with incidents of racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia – but communities are rallying to create safer spaces.

Overall, gaming’s remit is expanding, and other industries have caught on to the advantages it offers. Many key players in beauty recognise they have an opportunity to change the face of gaming, ushering in new online destinations for their customers. 

“Beauty brands are altering the way they reach consumers,” reveals research from Mintel. “Some are fully immersing themselves within the lucrative gaming world in an effort to drive engagement, maintain or build brand awareness, align with on-trend beauty themes and promote new products,” says the report.

Virtual wellness retreats and immersive makeup moments offer an alternative to the usual gun-fights and online football tournaments, especially in light of the IRL limitations we’ve experienced. “While in-store hygiene concerns persist due to COVID-19, beauty brands can use gaming as a way to allow players to safely and hygienically trial and experiment with their products, using gaming avatars,” explains the Mintel report.

With the global gaming industry forecasted to be worth an astounding US$321bn by 2026, according to analyst PwC, it is no wonder that beauty has been dipping its toes into the sector at an unprecedented rate. 

These collaborations have covered everything from gaming-themed product collections like Revolution Beauty’s Fortnite range to Givenchy’s pop-up space on gaming platform Roblox.

Plus, with beauty giant L’Oréal launching bespoke looks on avatar platform Ready Player One, beauty-gaming collaborations have been levelling up over the past year like never before.

Currently more than a third (39%) of beauty fans play video games, found market analyst GWI, and Statista has estimated that there will be around 3.1 billion global gamers by 2027.

Meanwhile, 37% of visitors to gaming Subreddits (communities on Reddit) are also women, so beauty’s attempt to break into the market makes sense.

However, despite these activations making a statement about gaming’s power, there is no wider data to show whether these collaborations are actually helping beauty brands reach new audiences and secure sales.

NARS, Maybelline and e.l.f. Beauty all failed to provide data on the success rate of their gaming campaigns when asked by Cosmetics Business.

“Beauty brands tend to not share those details because they do not want it to seem like it has not worked,” says Jay-Ann Lopez, founder of Black Girl Gamers, a multi-platform LGBTQIA+-inclusive online gaming community. 

“But what I can say is that the collaborations with the highest return on investment are the ones that genuinely connect with gamers.”

So, is beauty authentically infiltrating gaming and reaping the rewards, or is the trend just overhyped?

Likewise, brands are tapping into virtual reality to create online landscapes for customers to explore. Too Faced entered the metaverse with the launch of its Maison Too Faced at the start of 2022. Described as a “first-of-its-kind retail experience consisting of a 360° virtual environment with a fully functioning economy, and the transferability of avatars and digital assets,” the Maison lets you explore interactive locations. There’s the Hangover Garden, the Better Than Sex Stairway, the Born This Way Ballroom and the Lip Injection Loft all featuring real-life products that you can click through to shop IRL, plus the opportunity to play games to win prizes and discount codes.

Likewise, Japanese beauty brand, Tatcha, previously teamed up with Nintedo’s Animal Crossing to reimagine Kyoto city as Tatchaland to celebrate the launch of its Rice Water Cleanser. Players could visit onsen spas, tea rooms and meditate in bamboo forests while discovering more about the products and entering into a scavenger hunt to win samples. Givenchy and Glossier have also tapped into the popular game, making their products (the Givenchy Prisme Libre powder and Le Rouge lipstick and Glossier’s pink hoodie) available for the games avatars to wear.