Britney, is that you? In beauty, it doesn’t get more Y2K-coded than body glitter, butterflies, and back tattoos, and Zara Larsson’s latest makeup look had all of the above. Looking through the photos made us feel like we’d woken up in 2001 (except with an Instagram account and iPhone in hand).
While on the US leg of her Midnight Sun tour, the Swedish singer and songwriter is providing us with enough colorful makeup inspiration to last a lifetime. But this week’s body-makeup moment—which featured glittery butterflies back tattoos—really took our breath away (and had us humming Mariah Carey’s 1997 hit “Butterfly’). Placed atop a canvas of body glitter, the seven silver butterflies running down Larsson’s spine were actually crystal-studded tattoos designed by Lucas Stowe in collaboration with Larsson’s makeup artist Sophia Sinot (and captured in photos by Robin Bøe).
A photo of Sophia Sinot’s back covered in body glitter and her spine lined with rhinestone-studded butterfly back tattoos.Robin Bøe
This isn’t the first time Larsson and Sinot have collaborated with Stowe. The Brooklyn-based designer, who makes clothing that rejects “traditional assumptions underlying gendered fashion,” also creates dazzling makeup decals. A scroll through his Instagram account shows Larsson wearing one of his rhinestone flower decals; and although Larsson’s butterflies and face flowers were custom made, Stowe has a tattoo sticker set—a partnership with musician and tattoo artist Mathis Xavie that features 13 crystal-studded designs.
The Allure Best of Beauty-winning Half Magic Beauty Rhinestones are also a way to recreate the look at home, whether you want to get crafty and try to recreate your own butterfly and flower designs (you’ll probably want to stencil it out first with eyeliner pencil), or use a few crystals to simply add a little sparkle to an everyday look.
Robin Bøe