Vogue Singapore October cover star CL is nothing if not a boundary-breaking creative, as her decade-plus music career and international recognition as a style arbiter attests. But like any trailblazer, the CL we know today wasn’t born overnight. Rather, she has continually evolved before our eyes with new concepts. One of the most visible ways to chart this evolution is through CL’s beauty looks which she has presented within her music videos, since as far back as her 2009 debut in now-legendary K-pop group 2NE1.
Within the early years of CL’s career, as 2NE1’s appointed leader and rapper, her hairdos displayed two sides of the K-pop coin. Her honey blonde locks (I Love You) epitomised the genre’s gloss, while avant-garde experimentalism was seen through her zany ‘dos in Lollipop and I Am the Best.
With her solo debut in the early 2010s, strong beauty looks became a vehicle for CL’s ‘fierce’ persona through releases like The Baddest Female. Flash forward to today, and the dynamic songstress shows off confidence through beauty differently. While often revealing a more natural beauty style (see her choppy blonde cut in Spicy and +5 Star+ for evidence), more abstract concepts allow us to see CL’s creativity at its best. Just look to last year’s Lover Like Me, with CL cycling through multiple bold beauty looks (ceiling-skimming plaits and layers upon layers of nail embellishment included) within minutes.
Below, peruse CL’s most memorable music video beauty moments.
1 / 10
I Am The Best, 2011
Still 2NE1’s most-viewed music video to date, I Am The Best epitomised the group’s innovative approach to all aspects of pop—appearances included. CL asserted her position as the group’s leader and rapper through fierce beauty looks including this pairing of voluminous, crimped hair and bold black eye make-up.
2 / 10
I Love You, 2012
Remember when this honey blonde hair colour was a huge trend in the early 2010s? Filtering down from K-pop, CL was one trend-setter who contributed to the brass tone’s popularity.
3 / 10
The Baddest Female, 2013
CL established her agenda as The Baddest Female in K-pop with her solo debut, aided by a statement-making pair of golden grills.
4 / 10
The Baddest Female, 2013
CL has remained true to her favourite eye make-up style—a bold cat eye—since the earliest days of her career. While she typically favours eyeliner flicking horizontally or downwards at the eye’s outer corners (see: puppy eyeliner), she opted for eyeliner tapering upwards in The Baddest Female.
5 / 10
Spicy, 2021
Now well into the ‘20s, CL’s career as an independent solo artist is fully certified. CL often opts for more casual beauty styles these days, including the choppy blonde cut she matched with light blue eyeshadow and a pale rose lip in Spicy.
6 / 10
Lover Like Me, 2021
CL vamps it up with a smoky eye enhanced by some killer lashes. Also of note? The crimson pout matching her dress, and the nail jewellery matching her stacked silver accessories.
7 / 10
Lover Like Me, 2021
Proving that she’s as risk-taking as ever in the beauty game, CL sported ceiling-skimming plaits that doubled as decor in Lover Like Me. On the make-up front, her signature black eyeliner was flanked with vivid yellow.
8 / 10
Lover Like Me, 2021
Even within her take on romantic pinks and softer beauty, CL retains a distinctive edge. The vibrant magenta lip and bejewelled, two-toned manicure also seen in Lover Like Me are case in point.
9 / 10
Tie A Cherry, 2021
Hard as it may be to believe, CL’s lime green talons in Tie A Cherry are a relatively simple beauty statement for the star. She typically prefers embellished, multi-dimensional nails in her music videos. She let her bright manicure take centre stage, wearing her hair sleekly flowing and a dark red lipstick.
10 / 10
Tie A Cherry, 2021
CL displays her penchant for ‘more is more’ adornment and co-ordinating beauty statements, with accessorised hair and silver-encrusted nails vying for centre stage in this opulent look from Tie A Cherry.
