Moo Deng the viral hippo inspires rose-cheeked beauty trend

Moo Deng has become a viral sensation but the trending baby hippo is also now a makeup influencer and muse for beauty lovers.

Before this, Moo Deng garnered millions of fans online after zookeeper Atthapon Nundee posted videos of the cute baby pygmy hippo going about her day at Khao Kheow Open Zoo, from sleeping, bathing, eating and even biting.

At the time of writing, the TikTok account affiliated with the zoo in Thailand (@khamoo.andthegang) has over 3m followers.

Since becoming an internet icon, Moo Deng's dewy glow and rosy pink cheeks have gained the attention of the beauty community who have been inspired to channel the hippo in their makeup looks.

It first started with makeup artist and creator Mei Pang (@meicrosoft) who shared her own "Editorial Moo Deng" tutorial in which she used a moisture spray to capture Moo's glow, and added a pale pink blush to her cheeks.

Then Mei used the colour grey to create a halo eye and for lips a pink lip liner was used and the lips were filled with a similar grey to the one used on her eyes.

When discussing Moo Deng as the inspiration for the look, Mei said in the clip: "‘Why do you ask? Because she has everything, she has dewy skin, a great halo eye and a zest for life."

The video has received over 9m views as people in the comments section declared their love for the little hippo and this makeup from Mei that is inspired by the social media star.

One person wrote: "Moisturized and unbothered, Moo Deng is THE ultimate beauty queen."

"Make-up inspired by the legend herself, Moo Deng” INSTANT ADD TO FAVOURITES," another person said.

Someone else replied: "This is the best thing on the internet."

"This is my fav makeup artist I mean she's TRULY creative," a fourth person commented.

Since then other beauty creators have taken part in the Moo Deng makeup trend, with creators such as @chicwithkels, @sunnydahye_, @rudevelvet all doing their interpretation of the baby hippos iconic looks.

With Moo Deng being an unexpected makeup muse, does this mean we could see another viral animal like Pesto the giant penguin being a future inspiration soon?

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