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8 Beauty Comebacks From the 90s (and How to Wear Them Now)

Turns out the '90s weren't so bad for beauty after all.
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Grunge-inspired makeup
Dark, moody and effortless grit is making a serious comeback in everything from the runways to advertisements. It was all the rage in the late '80s and early '90s, with celebrities from Gwen Stefani, Drew Barrymore and Liv Tyler rocking more than just a wrinkled flannel. We're talking distinctive features of matte skin and dark smudgy eyes. To emulate the look, Julie Michaud, makeup artist, founder and creative director of Prettyology, suggests starting out with a smudged, smoky eye (typically done in dark matte shadow and deep black eyeliner) and a pale naked lip (think young Avril Lavigne). "To perfect this look, saturate a thin angle brush in water and then dip the brush into a rich, dark shade like 100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Eye Shadow in Fig, $20, and swipe across the entire lash," she says. "Use a complementary shade that is at least two shades lighter, like 100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Eye Shadow in Sugared, $20, and blend at the outer corner and crease."

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Platinum with roots
Gwen Stefani has been rocking this look since the '80s and still flaunts it fabulously today, though decades back she was a bit more punk rock and less pop. According to Kali Ferrara, senior colorist at Roy Teeluck Salon in New York City, this look is still in high demand. In fact, most of her platinum clients don't love their day-of appointment look and tend to enjoy their color most when it's almost grown out. If you're dying to be platinum, Ferrera urges the assistance of a good colorist who can color both your hair and your brows. "With the platinum trend comes the light hair dark brow look," she says. "Brow contouring and filling in is so mainstream now that it would look bizarre if clients started to color their brows to really match their hair." The contrast, she explains, helps frame the face and give the overall look some edge.

Image via Imaxtree

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Dark matte lip colors
Stunningly deep, dark and sexy lips in everything from plum and brandy to burgundy and black are back thanks to daring makeup moguls like Kat Von D and Kylie Jenner (who, for the record, was barely born in the '90s!). The key to pulling off your own vampy lip, be it for a dinner date or for the office, is to start with proper exfoliation. Matte lip colors are known to suck the moisture out of your pout, so you'll want to exfoliate and plump with a scrub, like Fresh's Sugar Lip Polish, $24 or a micro-needling roller, like MesoLyft Lips, $79.99. Finish with a vibrant but vampy matte, like Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick in Prune Virgin, $37. Touch up the edges and corners with concealer for the perfect, smudge-proof lip.

Image via Imaxtree

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Visible lip liner
Lip liner is also making a comeback. But, as Michaud points out, unlike the '90s when it was all about seeing the actual line, the look right now is about building volume and contouring the lip to look more voluptuous. "To make the look your own, start by dabbing a bit of lip balm on the lip, like Sara Happ Lip Slip, $24," she says. "Apply a lip primer to fill in any fine lines or imperfections onto the entire lip, especially along the vermillion border, and then gently glide a darker nude lip liner, like Nars Audacious Lipstick in Barbara, $34, along the outside edges of the lips." Be careful not to press too hard, as she warns that this can make the look appear too "lined." Cover the top and bottom lips before blending with a lip brush to soften the edges and blend the color inward. Add a lighter nude lipstick, like Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Meringue, $26, on the pillowy center of the lips and you're good to go.

Image via Imaxtree

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The 'no-makeup' makeup look
Leave it to Alicia Keys to stop wearing makeup and have the world attempt to follow suit. Around the same time as the Grammy-winning crooner stepped out with her au naturel look at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, makeup brands around the world started launching softer and more subtle accent products like, ahem, highlighter (which is now a makeup bag staple, for the record). "Sheer foundation versus full coverage is the key to a 'no-makeup' makeup look," says Michaud. Top it off with a bold, powdery brow, a glowy highlighter and a lip and cheek stain combination like Benefit Cosmetics Benetint Cheek and Lip Stain, $30, for a healthy, hydrated everyday look.

Image via Imaxtree

BY JENN SINRICH | JAN 11, 2018 | SHARES
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