Frosted Lipstick, Chunky Highlights & Thick Eyeliner: Every Beauty Trend That Has Defined The Last 25 Years

From shimmering shadow to pop culture-inspired cuts, the last quarter century’s looks.

In the same way that fashion fads fall in and out of favour, so do beauty trends.

Yes, history does repeat itself — formerly thought to do so every couple of decades according to a process known as the “20-year trend cycle”. Pop culture watchdog Vice has since disproved this theory, instead citing that the cyclical nature of trends is today working at breakneck speed — repeating itself every five or 10 years thanks to the advent of social media and the uptick in micro-trends.

Of course, when a trend resurfaces it’s often with a twist to make it more appealing to the current zeitgeist.

Through the lens of beauty, the last 25 years have seen a fair share of makeup mishaps and wacky hairdos. Ranging from over-plucked eyebrows to frosted lipstick, the trailblazers of days gone by were willing to try any trend — but for every questionable beauty look, there are numerous iconic ones.

Below, we chart the era-defining beauty trends as featured in Viva over the last 25 years.

Late 1990s: Minimalist Grunge

A complete 180-degree turn from the glamour and gaudiness of the 80s, the 90s ushered in an aesthetic characterised by semi-sheer foundation and undone eyes.

Call it a resurgence of the “no-makeup makeup” of the 70s a la Kate Moss, who embodied the attitude at the time. Fresh-faced beauty took priority over an overly made-up face, which extended to a light feathering of mascara, neutral-toned eyeshadow and subtle blush.

Lipstick shades followed suit, in nude or brown shades — but bold, grungy lips in bursts of burgundy or maroon weren’t uncommon either, lending a striking contrast to an otherwise bare face. The most memorable part, however, was the unblended lip liner, which saw everyone from Aaliyah to Naomi Campbell line their lips three to four shades darker than their lipstick. This look was one of many recreated by makeup artist Kiekie Stanners and captured by Mara Sommer for Viva’s exclusive Aaliyah x M.A.C Cosmetics beauty shoot in 2018, in which model Charlee Passi of Unique Models was transformed into the 90s pop icon — complete with poker-straight hair and glossy maroon lips.

Rich burgundies were echoed in pop culture with Chanel’s Vamp nail lacquer, a reddish-black hue donned by Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. The now-legendary shade was said to have been created from scratch at the French fashion maison’s 1994 autumn/winter runway show.

In contrast to the clean complexions of the supermodel wunderkind came full-spectrum glitter — with touches of silver or gold adorning hair, eyes and lips to disco effect. Metallic eyeshadow was out in full force — think glittering purple eyelids or chrome-finish eye paints. This level of shimmer extended to lips, too, with frosted lipstick skyrocketing in popularity later in the decade. Few shots epitomise the grunge and glitter of the 90s like this shot captured by Mark Smith in Viva’s October 13 issue in 1999, complete with smoked-out silver eyeshadow and aforementioned skinny brows.

Undeniably grungy, and pioneered by iconic makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin, were pencil-thin eyebrows. It’s a trend we’d rather forget (and are still recovering from) — the overplucked, low-arch brow iconised by Gwen Stefani, Drew Barrymore and Angelina Jolie. Locally, ultra-thin brows were sported by two of the country’s most famous actors, Shortland Street’s Minnie Crozier and New Zealand icon Suzy Cato of Suzy’s World.

For hair, the “Rachel” haircut defined much of the decade, with Friends fans taking pictures of Jennifer Aniston’s layered, face-framing haircut to their stylist in droves. Slightly edgier was the shag haircut, epitomised by Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail. While it didn’t hit cult status quite like the “Rachel” did, variations on the trend have stood the test of time and the style continues to be reimagined today.

2000s: Futuristic, Y2K Beauty

Skinny brows continued their reign during the turn of the millennium, later morphing into a more sculpted, arched look towards the end of the decade.

Another trademark of this era was a highly glossed lip — bubblegum pink and glittery hues dominated. Formulas at the time were thick and promised to cast a sheen over lips when worn solo or layered on top of lipstick for extra shine. A fusion of both frost and gloss, makeup artist Steph Lai liberally applied frosted lipstick to model Marcellie Viezzer’s lips for a shoot that featured in Viva’s Winter Fashion special in March 2006, as photographed by Carolyn Robertson.

Spurred on by the “emo” music movement, inky black eyeliner defined the eyes of musicians and models alike, on stage or on the runway. Tightlining was the best application method, with the upper and lower lash line coated in thick, ultra-dark formula for a sultry, mysterious finish. Kiwi singer Gin Wigmore made the look her own, and was very seldom spotted without her signature smudged-out liner and glossy nude lip.

Poker-straight hair was paired with “the pouf” (aka “the bump” or “the quiff”), a style that called for the top section of hair to be sectioned off, then pulled back over the top of the head, pushing the hair slightly forward to create a “speedbump” at the front. It also did an excellent job of disguising an unruly fringe or showing off two-toned, chunky highlights typical of the time.

Considerably more time-consuming than straightening hair was crimping — often coupled with sections of straight or curled hair, something that was oddly popular at the time.

Fringes came in two formats, either ultra wispy (think French girl beauty) or of the thick, chunky and cover-your-entire-face variety. Personally, my preference was for the latter, and my left eye went on hiatus for five years from 2004-2009. Slightly less dramatic was the side-swept fringe, worn by model Sarah from Clyne Models in the March 2005 edition of Viva, photographed by Carolyn Robertson.

If the commitment of chopping a fringe felt too daunting, then free-flowing front strands were a great way to dip your toe in the trend — where two thin pieces of hair were left to hang free from the rest of the hair (that was often slicked back into a high ponytail or bun).

2010s: Instagram Makeup

The advent of social media birthed countless beauty trends, largely thanks to the rising obsession with selfies, which quickly became synonymous with celebrity and influencer culture.

Makeup had a major moment, especially where “perfected”, heavily filtered finishes were concerned. Think airbrushed foundation, false lashes, overlined lips, bold brows and a heavy focus on facial contouring.

Such glamorous beauty trends were excellent social media fodder for platforms like Instagram and YouTube, which experienced a surge in tutorials by makeup artists-slash-influencers like Jaclyn Hill and James Charles.

Elsewhere, reality TV shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians set off a global fascination with extreme highlighting, face “baking”, full-face contouring and overlined lips.

As one of the prevailing makeup trends of the 2010s, contouring was intended to enhance bone structure by using cream, powder and liquid contouring products to add shadows or highlights to the face.

Famed for his ability to chisel cheekbones and refine noses, Kim Kardashian’s makeup artist, Mario Dedivanovic, shared tips on Instagram, YouTube and via live masterclasses, before launching his eponymous makeup line, which included a now-viral contouring kit.

The face-framing powers of eyebrows never rang truer in the 2010s, when brows went from being a second thought to top priority. Brow makeup boomed and treatments like threading, waxing, microblading and laminating soared in popularity.

In 2017, K-beauty rose to fame with its 10-step skincare routines and obsession with niche ingredients like snail mucin and bee propolis to achieve a “glass skin” finish. The collective adoption of K-beauty saw people smoothing on all manner of essences, jellies and single-use sheet masks geared towards specific areas of the face and body. The trickle-down effect saw K-beauty brands like Hikoco and La La Beauty open doors to Auckland boutiques dotted around the CBD.

A complete 180-degree shift from the pile-it-on approach elsewhere this decade, K-beauty made a strong case for barely there, your-skin-but-better makeup using BB or CC creams. Perfected but not overly made-up was the brief for Viva’s Accessories issue in May 2016, in which we highlighted Clyne model Paige Honeycutt’s glowing complexion while keeping the overlook look light and natural.

Developments in hair colouring techniques meant experimental hair hues were made possible, resulting in dramatic transformations in either rainbow brights or muted pastels. Originally developed in the 1970s, the French painterly highlighting technique of balayage allowed colourists to create a more natural finish with blended roots and sunkissed ends.

Hair stylist Katie Melody Rogers transformed Clyne model Seon Hwang’s hair into the brightest shade of pink for Viva’s beach-ready shoot photographed by Guy Coombes in December 2015. Flyaway, hot pink strands appeared all the more striking when set against coloured backgrounds in shades of blue, yellow and orange.

It was long overdue, but Fenty Beauty spearheaded the need for the diversification of complexion shade ranges. While M.A.C made excellent headway with its extensive shade range in the years prior, Fenty Beauty launched with 40 shades (now 50). More significantly, the brand fostered an important conversation around inclusivity — connecting to people who felt previously ignored by the industry in both the shades offered and the representation in campaigns.

2020s: Sustainability & Skin

We’re only three years into the 2020s, but so far, we’ve witnessed an eclectic co-mingle of beauty trends — this decade, dewy, skin-finish makeup peacefully coexists with boundary-pushing graphic neon eyeshadow and bold siren liner.

A little bit of both were featured in this summer-ready beauty shoot creative directed and photographed by Carolyn Haslett for Viva Magazine — Volume Two. The makeup artist/photographer worked with canary-yellow eyeliner to draw attention to 62 Management’s model Portia Prince’s eyes, keeping the rest of her complexion fairly pared-back.

Glowing skin will always be in, and the emphasis on using skincare that promotes a healthy skin barrier continues. The concept of makeup-as-skincare has seen the rise in hybrid formulas like serum-based foundations, concealers and highlighters coming to the fore.

Makeup artist Sam Hart put skin in the spotlight on models Izzi Zigan and Denver Gray of Super Mgmt, creating a lit-from-within glow for the main beauty shoot featured inside Viva Magazine — Volume Seven, photographed by Carolyn Haslett.

Grappling with a pandemic for two years heavily influenced routines, with being housebound meaning people had more time to perform lengthy skincare rituals. Makeup was tailored to mask-wearers, with the absence of day-to-day lipstick-wearing in favour of playing up what was visible instead — eyes, brows and cheeks.

The rise of conscious consumerism has seen brands respond with greater transparency around their ingredient sourcing and manufacturing processes. Sustainability, ethics, ingredient provenance and traceability, representation and inclusivity are just the tip of the proverbial when it comes to consumers using their purchasing powers to align with brands that reflect their own values. It’s brands like Aleph Beauty, Emma Lewisham, Ecostore, Ethique, Kester Black and Sans Ceuticals (among others) that are pioneering the charge locally; combatting the beauty industry’s waste problem by introducing recycling initiatives, having open conversations about ingredient sourcing and aiming to de-clutter bathrooms with multipurpose products.

Healthy, wealthy-looking blow-outs continue their reign, typically styled with a round brush to achieve loose, bouncy curls with ample volume. The swishy style has long been the Duchess of Cambridge’s signature, but the uptick in popularity of hot tools like the Dyson Airwrap and Ghd Glide have made it even easier to achieve salon-worthy blow-outs from home.

Many iconic nail moments have been had over the past 25 years, more so after the turn of the millennium when social media platforms like Pinterest and Instagram helped showcase nail art designs. These mini canvasses were utilised as the ultimate form of self-expression — a medium on which to make a literal statement. Today, it’s a rolling roster of trends like strawberry milk nails, mismatched manicures, artistic accents, micro-French and aura nails. Nail technician Tanya Barlow captured this perfectly with this fat-positive nail set she created for Viva Magazine — Volume Two, sported by Katherine Lowe of Super Mgmt and shot by Babiche Martens.

So, what’s next in beauty? The evolution of makeup, hair, skincare and nail trends over the last 25 years reflects the culture and mood of the moment, each one leaving a significant mark on the beauty world. Moving forward, beauty standards will continue to evolve and adapt, driven by the constant innovation within the category and the ongoing celebration of self-expression.

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It’s Viva’s 25th birthday! This week, we’re celebrating with a mighty survey of the past two and a half decades, from looking back on our most memorable — and joyfully irreverent — fashion shoots, to charting Aotearoa’s architectural coming of age, reflecting on era-defining dining, and exploring what we cooked and why we cooked it.