First came the unexpected return of matching velour tracksuits and mini-baguette bags. Next, Britney Spears began to make every headline once more. Now, we have officially transported back to the noughties with an entireY2K makeuplook taking over our screens and streets. Based on the bright shadows and tintedglossesthatusedto accompany magazines, this easily achievable trend is one we candefinitely geton board with.
What is2000’sMakeupandWhy is itTrending?
As we may already know, fashion goes around in circles. With an influx of low-rise jeans, mini-skirts and halter-neck tops on the shop floors, it’s no surprise that the world felt the need to go all out with this iconic look. As soon as the highly influential Instagram feeds of Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner confirmed that the days of heavy contouring and bushy brows were in the past,Y2K makeupgot the green light to go ahead.
Today, the general synopsis of2000’sinspired makeupis cute, glitzy and fun. If youactually livedand used makeup during this era, something entirely different may spring to mind. Perhaps foundation-y lips, a cakey base, and streaky false tan may be a more realistic perception of the look from twenty years ago. However,we’rehappy to confirm that today’s version of the 2000’s face doesnotinclude any of the above. Instead, we are taking inspiration from the more appealing aspects of the make-up looks that surfaced at that time. Think shimmering lids, tinted cheeks and simple brows.
What do I need to do2000’sInspiredMakeup?
Thankfully, make-up techniques, tools and products have come a long way in the past twenty years. A foundation can be found for any skintoneand we know better than to use our fingers to apply it. What’s more, magazine freebies have been replaced with high-quality, hydrating glosses and long-lasting, pigmented shadows. Aside from your usual makeup bag essentials, to re-create the much improved, modern-dayY2Kmakeuplook, you’ll need the following:
For the matte complexion:Illamasqua Skin Base Pressed Powder
For the shimmery, bright lid:Illamasqua Expressionist Artistry Palette
For the skinny brow:Illamasqua Precision Brow Gel
For the candy-tinted cheek:Illamasqua Powder Blusherin the shade ‘Tremble’
For the ombre, glossy lip:Colouring Lip Pencilin the shade ‘Raw’ topped with theBeyond Lip Polish
2000s Makeup Tutorial
Step 1: First and foremost, focus on your base. Once your skin is cleansed and prepped, dab a primer around the t-zone area to capture that matte-faced look, synonymous with 2000’s makeup. If your skin gets particularly oily around these areas, amatte primerwill help to achieve this. Once you have applied your foundation and concealer, set everything in place with theIllamasqua Skin Base Pressed Powder.Director of Artistry Pablo Rodriguez found these powders particularly useful forthislook as they “keep makeup in place and control shine, but they don’t build when doing touch ups.”In other words, they keep your skin matte without thecakiness.
Step 2: Moving on to the eyelids,use aneyeshadow blender brushto apply the light, shimmery blue shade,Diet Cerulean,of theIllamasqua Expressionist Artistry Paletteonto the base of the lid. Next, add the darker blue shade,Blue Period, close to the upper and lower lash-lines. Using thelight-pink,Think Zinc,add some frost to the inner corners of the eyes and under the arch of the brow. Run a black pencil eyeliner over the top and bottom water and lash lines, buffing it out with a smudge brush at each outer corner for that smokey look. Top the lashes off with mascara.
Step 3: When it comes to the eyebrows, the fluffy, hair-like effect we’ve been practicing for quite some time (and may have evenfinallymastered), is no more.With aY2K makeuplook, we want a skinny, clean brow. To achieve this, dip a brow definer brush into thePrecision Brow Geland instead of those short, delicate brush strokes that we’ve become so usedto,draw a straight, long line to fill in the brow.
Step 4: Dust the tops of the cheekbones with a highlighter and follow with theIllamasqua Powder Blusherin the shade ‘Tremble’ using a round buffing brush. Focus the attention of thecolouron the top of the cheekbone and diffuse it out for those iconic 2000’s radiant cheeks.
Step 5: Finally, we havethelips. Rather than scribbling around the entire perimeter of your mouth, we want to accentuate by lightly over-lining only across your cupids bow and thecentreof your bottom lip with theColouringLip Pencil. From here, take the liner inside the lip line to trace the outer top and bottom corners. This will create a full, lifted effect. Feather the line inwards and use a lightercolourednude lipstick in thecentrefor the ombre effect. For the finishing 2000’s touch, go entirely overboard with theBeyond Lip Polishfor a plump pout.
With yourY2Kmakeupcomplete, throw in some butterfly clips or scrape your hair back with a hair clasp and you’ll be good to go!
Josie Wilkins
Writer and expert
Josie is an online content creator with a degree in journalism. In her free time, she's jade-rolling or buying over-priced candles. When she's not doing either of those, she's digging deep to find the latest makeup essentials.
