Mob wife makeup signals shift from clean girl aesthetic to bold beauty trends

12 Feb 2024 --- The mob wife aesthetic has taken the internet by storm, being dubbed “the” look for 2024. Boohoo has released data on the up-and-coming trend, revealing Google searches for “mob wife” have increased by 2,122% over the past 90 days.

The darker style is a counterculture to the persisting “clean girl” aesthetic, which has dominated the beauty scene for the past few years. The natural beauty-obsessed are hanging up their natural BB creams for heavy eyeliner and messy hair. 

According to the fashion company, Pinterest searches for “mafia wife aesthetic” have increased by 1,011% globally in the past twelve months. On TikTok, #mobwife has gained 160.9 million views, and #mobwifeaesthetic has received 130.6 million views.

Mob makeup
Mob wife makeup is bold and sultry, with an emphasis on red lips and dark eyes — reminiscent of the 2014 “indie sleaze” aesthetic but with more sophistication.

TikTok users are flocking to see how to achieve the look, with #mobwifemakeup gaining 43.7 million views since the trend began, finds Boohoo.

Red lips and nail are named as a staple for the emerging mob wife beauty trend.For instance, TikTok star Mikayla Nogueira, who has 15.3 million followers, posted a tutorial on achieving the perfect mob wife makeup look, gaining 4.2 million views.

Boohoo names Miley Cyrus’ most recent Grammy look as an obvious marker of the aesthetic. The singer dawned voluminous hair and smokey makeup while paying homage to the rock and roll singer Tina Turner in her look.

From fingers to toes
Another critical element of the aesthetic is accessorizing, including nails. 

According to Boohoo, the style to consider is red nails or acrylic square French tips — the hashtag #rednails has been viewed 1.7 billion times, and Google searches for “acrylic square French tip” have increased by 223% worldwide over the past 12 months.

Fashion elements
To round off the beauty look, fashion is also a key element. Boohoo reports that Pinterest searches for “fur coat outfit” exploded in January by 457%, revealing it’s a winter mob wife staple.

Vogue editor and chief Anna Wintour has recently been spotted wearing the mob wife aesthetic with a long fur coat during the Giambattista Valli show at Paris Fashion Week.

Additionally, Google searches for “statement jewelry” have seen a 251% increase over the past 30 days worldwide.

The trend coincides with the 25th anniversary of the hit mob drama “The Sopranos.” Boohoo says those interested in the aesthetic can look to characters such as Carmela Soprano and Adriana La Cerva as the “perfect icons.”

By Sabine Waldeck