The most iconic beauty moments from the 90s that will make you feel so damn nostalgic
Ah, the 90s. Weekends were spent singing ‘football’s coming home’, high-kicking with some serious girl power and boogying along to The Macarena.
David and Victoria Beckham had just hooked up, Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow were still going strong, Nicole Kidman was towering over Tom Cruise on the red carpet, RuPaul was serving up vintage fierceness and Destiny's Child gave us Say My Name. What. A. Belter. Name a better era. Go on, we'll wait.
As well as some iconic celebrity pairings and some major 'cultural moments' (Elizabeth Hurley in that Versace safety pin dress, the 1990s served up some brilliant beauty looks and trends.
We might have a penchant for contour and plume brows these days but the 90s gave us blue eyeshadow, razor-thin brows, cashmere skin, brown lipliner and, of course, chunky highlights.
Whilst we might look back and shudder at some of the decade's makeup fads (dark lip liner), others have made a more welcome comeback into our beauty repertoire (pass the scrunchies) and we're more than happy to take inspo from Britney Spears in Hit Me Baby One More Time circa 1999.
We're not the only ones feeling nostalgic. Reese Witherspoon recently took to Instagram to share a 90s throwback captioned: "Ahhh... 90s style. Going through some old photos and pretty sure @gwenstefani is responsible for this hair trend, @drewbarrymore inspired these eyebrows and @jaredleto is responsible for my leather choker. 🤪 😛🤣 Thanks guys! #tbt".
If you've run out of things to do in isolation and are looking for some much-needed escapism, you've come to the right place.
We've got Kelly Rowland's pixie cut! We've got Geri Halliwell's stripey highlights! We've got Kate Moss' heroine chic smokey eye! Fancy taking a trip down memory lane? Scroll down for the very best beauty looks from the 90s then whack your hair in a srunchie and watch the best 90s TV shows that simply need to make a comeback...
Getty ImagesThe pink crimp
Who? Christina Aguilera
When? 1999
The look: A healthy dose of crimping and flashes of pink extensions. Into it.
Getty ImagesThe head-mic
Who? Britney Spears
When? 1999
The look: Technically a head-mic isn't a beauty look, but it was our favourite 90s accessory, even if it meant faking it with our Sony Walkman headphones in the garden.
Getty ImagesThe purple crop
Who? Kelly Rowland
When? 1999
The look: Remember when hair transformations were a casual way to keep us occupied. We had hair mascaras, clip-in colourful extensions and glitter spray – quite the chameleons.
Getty ImagesSpace buns
Who? Reese Witherspoon
When? The 90s
The look? Reese took to Instagram to share this throwback with the caption: "Ahhh... 90s style. Going through some old photos and pretty sure @gwenstefani is responsible for this hair trend, @drewbarrymore inspired these eyebrows and @jaredleto is responsible for my leather choker."
Getty ImagesMicro braids
Who? Beyoncé
When? 1998
The look: When it came to braids, more was more and we all wanted the Babyliss braid-maker to speed up the process. Cherry on top? Some beads or colourful bobbles.
Getty ImagesThe power pony
Who? Britney Spears
When? 1999
The Look: A power pony, 90s tendrils and an oversized scrunchie is a look we'd happily rock today.
Rex FeaturesSpiky crop
Who? Victoria Beckham of the Spice Girls
When? 1999
The Look: A year later, and VB is married - and working the much chicer 90s minimal make-up trend.
GettyThat natural glow
Who? Kate Moss
When? 1995
The Look: Grunge goddess Kate doesn't need make-up to look gorgeous - and circa 1995 she looks flawless with just a touch of smudgy kohl liner and a glossy lip.
Rex FeaturesThe combover
Who? Alicia Silverstone in Clueless
When? 1995
The Look: Despite barely-there make-up, Cher in Clueless is super-polished and preppy due to her classic 90s blow-out.
Rex FeaturesHeadband power
Who? Alicia Silverstone, Brittany Murphy and Stacey Dash in Clueless
When? 1995
The Look: Preppy, polished perfection - with flawless skin and glossy lips.
Rex FeaturesChunky highlights
Who? Sarah Michelle Gellar in Buffy The Vampire Slayer
When? 2003
The Look: OK, OK, so this wasn't technically the 90s, but with the matte nude lip, barely-there mascara and straightened locks, Buffy's still getting in on the 90s beauty action - making her look feel oh-so-90s.
GettyPink lips
Who? Claire Danes
When? 1997
The Look: Despite her sugary-pink 90s-tastic lips and silver eyeshadow, Claire's look doesn't feel too OTT, thanks to her glowing blush-and-bronze-free complexion.
Rex FeaturesOld school ombre
Who? Claudia Schiffer
When? 1996
The Look: The 90s supers were all about no-make-up make-up - just a touch-up here and there to ensure perfection. We love Claudia's long ombre waves, too.
Rex FeaturesThe bouncy bob
Who? Christy Turlington at a Calvin Klein event
When? 1998
The Look: A touch of blusher, a kiss of lipgloss, a bouncy bob: this is minimal 90s beauty at its best.
Rex FeaturesFringe benefits
Who? Emma Bunton of the Spice Girls
When? 1997
The Look: Oh, how we miss the 90s power-ponytail. Not. It's not enough to put us off the adorable Baby Spice, though.
Rex FeaturesPower perm
Who? Andie MacDowell in Four Weddings And A Funeral
When? 1994
The Look: Perms had calmed down by the 90s. A little.
Rex FeaturesPeony lips
Who? Gillian Anderson in The X Files
When? 1994
The Look: Dana Scully's voluminous bob, cashmere-smooth skin and peony lip = 90s TV beauty we love/loved.
Rex FeaturesStripy highlights
Who? Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls
When? 1997
The Look: Pretty much summing up all the 'how did that happen?' 90s beauty trends, Ginger Spice manages to combine brown lip liner, stripy highlights and spiky mascaraed lashes all in one go. This was quite the look of the moment.
Rex FeaturesSide-swept bob
Who? Gwyneth Paltrow
When? 1996
The Look: Super-cute side-swept bob, glowy skin and a subtle rosy lip: we like 90s Gwyneth.
GettySubtle beauty
Who? Katie Holmes in Dawson's Creek
When? 1998
The Look: There wasn't much to smile about in Capeside. But at least Joey's hair and make-up were flawless, hey?
Rex FeaturesSuper sculpted cheekbones
Who? Karen Mulder at a Ralph Lauren Show
When? 1996
The Look: 90s catwalk beauty was all about super-sculpted cheeks and strong brows and (nude-coloured) lips.
Rex FeaturesBrown lippie
Who? Mel B of the Spice Girls
When? 1998
The Look: Yet another 90s bronzer-and-brown-lippie addict. But we don't think Scary's 90s beauty habits were the most fearsome of the Spice crew's.
GettyCurly girls
Who? Kate Winslet
When? 1998
The Look: Titanic beauty Kate was still finding her beauty groove at the '98 Oscars, but her ice-white shadow and matte lip were very of-the-moment.
GettyPerfectly-pencilled brows
Who? Courteney Cox in Friends
When? 1994
The Look: This is an off-duty look people: blow-dried bob, brown lipstick, smoky eyes and perfectly-pencilled brows. A little much for the coffee house, no?
Rex FeaturesHeavy concealer
Who? Melanie Blatt of All Saints
When? 1998
The Look: Want to be in the All Saints? Concealer and lip balm not necessary! We're in.
Rex FeaturesSilver eyeshadow
Who? Nicole and Natalie Appleton of All Saints
When? 1998
The Look: ...Oh wait there, come awards season striped highlights brown lipstick and silver eyeshadow are mandatory. We're out.
Rex FeaturesFaded eyeshadow
Who? Shaznay Lewis of All Saints
When? 1998
The Look: Smoky eyes in the 90s always, always faded into a super-pale moonstone hue below the brows. Why? Whhhhyyyyyy?!
Rex FeaturesMulti-coloured pony
Who? Mel C of the Spice Girls
When? 1997
The Look: Baby's power-pony was nothing to this. Sporty's bronze-heavy, smoky-eyed, glossy-lipped make-up look is enough to make us break out in a sweat, no high-kicks required.
GettyCoiffed hair
Who? Jennifer Aniston in Friends
When? 1994
The Look: Please see Monica's beauty write-up. (This 90s daytime look was too much hard work.)
Rex FeaturesSticky lip gloss
Who? Michelle Williams in Dawson's Creek
When? 1998
The Look: Requiring just one ingredient (a decent, but probably quite sticky, lip gloss), Jen's minimal make-up look represents the best of the 90s.
Rex FeaturesMatte lips
Who? Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman
When? 1990
The Look: Well-groomed brows, a touch of bronzer, matte nude lips and a hint of smoky shadow.
Rex FeaturesLaidback vibes
Who? Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman
When? 1990
The Look: Yes, Julia's playing a hooker here, but lose the earrings and the hooker dress (replacing it with something more work-appropriate), and this is pretty much how we want to look every day, 90s beauty trend or not.
Rex FeaturesPowdered skin
Who? Princess Diana
When? 1994
The Look: Powdered skin, glossy nude lips and a touch of mascara - Princess Di's signature look was one of the most iconic of the decade.
