3 min read
If one were to put together a Taylor Swift Halloween costume, one would really only need a few key items: a microphone or guitar, a blonde wig with bangs, liquid eyeliner for a cat-eye wing, and a blue-red lipstick. Swift’s sartorial signatures are strong, a powerful part of her brand identity, but they’ve also been the target of rising critique, mostly from members of Gen Z, who have (wrongly) deemed the cat-eye wing “millennial cringe.”
To be fair, Swift doesn’t always wear a cat-eye and red lipstick, though she wears them often enough. Both were a part of her album rollout for The Life of a Showgirl in 2025. But for her surprise new single “Patient Zero,” Swift is switching things up in the makeup department.
“Patient Zero” is an encore to Showgirl—one of four new songs from the year-old album, even though her look signals an entirely new era. There’s so much to process in the announcement photo she posted on Instagram yesterday. For example, where is her armpit? The styling is pared-back, minimalist, in an almost Calvin Klein ’90s way. The last time we saw Swift look anything like this was during the promotion for The Tortured Poets Department in 2024.
The rollout and imagery are unusual for Swift, especially her makeup choices. Instead of a Showgirl red lip, she wears a matte pink lip, just a few shades bolder than her natural color. No visible blush, no highlighter, nearly matte skin. Her mascara even seems minimal, if there’s any at all. No false lashes, either. And the winged liner is gone, replaced by a soft smoky eye in pure black, the tails pointed slightly downward.
Here’s the thing: a cat-eye wing signals both effort and meticulous hand-eye coordination. It’s inherently makeup-y in a way that butts against the “clean girl” trend favored by Gen Z. A cat-eye wing can smack of 2016 nostalgia in an unflattering way, but it doesn’t have to. Swift was cited as an example in the “millennial makeup” discourse earlier this year because she favors the look, and fans want to see her try something new. But there’s a stark difference between being stuck in the trends of your youth and finding your signature aesthetic. (Dolly Parton is a great example of the latter).
Personally, I find the discourse around cat-eye liner and “millennial cringe” to be tiresome. While it may be a harsh and slightly dated look to wear day-to-day, there is nothing cringe about a classic makeup moment. No matter how many TikToks Gen Z films claiming otherwise, red lips and cat-eye liner will never go out of style.
But it’s admittedly nice to see the newly married Swift try a new look, one that shows her stepping out of her comfort zone. It’s a reminder to us all, but especially us 30-something millennials, that there’s fun to be had in participating in the current beauty culture. It’s fun to wear a little too much blush, or to make your eyebrows a little too boxy, or to wear a blinding highlighter that all your friends are wearing, too. It’s fun to reevaluate the familiar products and routines you’ve been clinging to since the days of statement necklaces and skull scarves. It’s fun to experiment with beauty, and in doing so, you might just find a new look that suits you better.
So take a cue from Swift and ditch your comfort cat-eye if you’ve been feeling itchy for change. Just a word of caution from someone who has done precisely that: For those of us without a glam team on contract, the art of the perfect cat-eye wing is a use-it-or-lose-it skill.