<![CDATA[Influencer culture (wanghong) on Chinese social media contributes to the production and circulation of images of female beauty. This article analyzes how Jeff Gao’s YouTube video, The Chinese “Influencer Face” Has Seen Better Days, represents the shift in contemporary Chinese women’s makeup trends from the Wanghong Face aesthetic to Manhua Makeup, and interprets this shift through Jean Baudrillard’s concepts of simulation, simulacra, and hyperreality. This study employs a descriptive qualitative approach with thematic analysis of visual and verbal data from the video as the sole primary data source. Data were collected through non-participant observation and screenshots, reduced into nine visual data units (DV1–DV9) based on established selection criteria, and compared with previous studies as theoretical support. The analysis reveals three findings. First, the video represents a shift in the reference points of beauty, from the enhancement of human facial features, such as a slim face, high nose, and large eyes, toward the imitation of two-dimensional illustrations characterized by pronounced aegyo-sal, small lips, and a youthful and cute appearance. Second, makeup in the video is presented as a visual design intended to appear optimal in front of cameras and through filters, rather than primarily for direct visual perception. Third, the video illustrates a tendency for digital images to function as standards against which physical faces are evaluated, a tendency associated with facial standardization and the commercialization of beauty. This study concludes that the shift represented in the video can be interpreted as an indication of hyperreality, in which digitally simulated beauty images become templates for the construction of physical appearance. These findings are interpretive and limited to the object examined.]]>
