Beauty Influencers Are Trying to Make Moo Deng Makeup Happen

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Moo Deng makeup is a thing now, because of course. The internet’s favorite baby hippo has officially been embraced by the fashion and beauty community, and there seems to be a consensus that her “look” is wet with lots of blush and gray eye shadow, which was kind of where makeup was headed anyway, so it works.

While there is definitely humor in the trend, it’s definitely not a joke. Moo Deng is in the New York Times Style section. Vogue called her The Moment. On Hyperallergic, you can find a complete timeline of Moo’s ascent to the top of the meme pyramid, and her transformation from cute oddity to cultural touchpoint.

Here’s everything you need to know about the trend:

Sephora Thailand kicked it off with a blush roundup.

Allure legitimized it with a fun video, and Cosmo cosigned the trend as well.

And the tutorials abound: Moo Deng makeup for work? Sure. There’s Moo Deng makeup for editorial too. Here’s a simple Deng-ification, and the pink mascara here is a nice touch. You can glow like Moo Deng with products (but honestly, the ring light is doing most of the heavy lifting here). And then there’s Moo Deng skin care! Of course!

But what does it mean? Is it absurd? Is it late-stage capitalism? Our innate desire for happiness as refracted through the lens of consumerism? Perhaps we seek to access our inner Moo Deng—adorable, ungovernable, confident—and the ritualistic application of cosmetics as we gaze into the mirror allows us time and space to consider how we might get there?

No, it’s beauty influencers trying to go viral by latching on to the trend of the moment, nothing more. It’s also proof that we will never run out of creative uses for makeup. Will anyone be brave enough to embrace another hippo look? Perhaps when they look like they’re sweating blood? #TheMoreYouKnowAboutHippos

Originally Appeared on Glamour