The Biggest Beauty Trends of the Last Decade

Models with long blonde hair and smoky eye shadow and a model with short pink hair pink eye shadow and glowing skin

Contents

2009: Thick, Smoky Eyeliner 2010: Dark Lipstick 2011: Bouncy Blowouts 2012: Smoky Eyes 2013: Textured Manicures and Nail Art 2014: Contouring 2015: Instagram Makeup 2016: Unicorn Everything 2017: K-Beauty Comes to the U.S.2018: Brow Innovations 2019: Skin Care Is Cool Again

If you don’t think much can change in the beauty space over the course of a decade, consider this: 10 years ago, the billion-dollar Kylie Cosmetics empire didn’t exist (Jenner was 12), blowdry salon Drybar had only one location (its salons are now in nearly 30 states), and now-common beauty terms like microblading and K-beauty were all but unheard of. We’ve been introduced to some of the most indelible aspects of our everyday beauty lives in just the last few trips around the sun — things we can’t imagine scrolling through our Instagram feeds without seeing over and over (and over).

We’re taking a look back at the biggest beauty trends of the last decade, some of which were revivals and reimaginings of past trends, and many of which are still going strong as we enter a new decade. As you reminisce about the smoky eye shadow palettes you hit pan on and the all the years you wasted without pink hair, try to imagine what the next 10 years will bring. We’re already seeing the potentially biggest trends emerging, like magnetic false lashes, blunt bobs, and the triumphant return of the French manicure — and you can be sure, in 2029, we’ll be here (or as a three-dimensional hologram in the middle of your living room) looking back on exactly which ones made the most significant impact.

But for now, break out your favorite contour palette, line up your umpteen-step Korean skin-care regimen, and take a trip down Recent Memory Lane.

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2009: Thick, Smoky Eyeliner
Although 2009 may technically mark the end of the last decade, it made an undeniable impression on eye makeup trends that emerged in the years that followed. Dark, moody eyeliner was seen on both the runway and across celebrity lids (Ke$ha and Pete Wentz, for example), which meant brands could barely crank out enough smudge-able black pencils to satiate our urge for eyes that made people wonder: “Maybe she’s emo; maybe she’s wearing last night’s makeup.”
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2010: Dark Lipstick
Goth got wearable in 2010. As moody as the previous year’s dark, smudgy eyeliner was, super-dark lip color took the drama and depth to a glamorous new level. Brooding berries led the way for making other intense, inky shades more mainstream. Suddenly, black lipstick wasn’t just for Halloween; it was for brunch.
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2011: Bouncy Blowouts
Blowdry bars started popping up in major metropolitan areas, and from the look of the smooth, loose waves filling city sidewalks, everyone was onboard. Were home heat-styling tools getting easier to use by the minute? Sure. But a special occasion — whether it’s a wedding or a job interview — called for Drybar’s sleek-with-body Straight Up blowout.

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2012: Smoky Eyes
With the nearly instant icon status granted to Urban Decay’s original Naked Palette, beauty brands knew it would behoove them to follow in its footsteps with countless eye shadow sets suited for smoky-eye looks. Makeup artists and burgeoning influencers breathed new life into the sultry, beautifully blended look with shimmering and matte finishes in shades that relied on both neutral and vibrant color combos.
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2013: Textured Manicures and Nail Art
While a solid-colored, glossy manicure is timeless, we understandably grew a bit bored. Luckily, 2013 introduced us to options that reignited our love for nail polish with easy-to-use alternative finishes like Sally Hansen’s Big Matte Top Coat and OPI’s Shatter polish, which created a crackled effect. For even fancier fingertips, incredibly talented nail artists started popping up all over, prepared to create tiny-manicure masterpieces.
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2014: Contouring
When most people were just learning what contouring was, Kim Kardashian West had fully mastered it, becoming nearly synonymous with the face-sculpting technique. Although some of us initially made the mistake of using our standby shimmery, warm bronzer under our cheekbones — not advisable — we’ve since figured out how to create the illusion of shapely shadows with contour-specific palettes in shades perfect for our respective skin tones.
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2015: Instagram Makeup
If Kim Kardashian West was the face of contouring, her little sister, Kylie Jenner, became the face of — well, the rest of the face. The concept of “Instagram makeup” was practically invented by Jenner, who turned her social media selfies featuring matte lips, perfectly filled-in brows, and expertly applied highlighter into a beauty-biz empire when she launched Kylie Cosmetics.

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2016: Unicorn Everything
Things got whimsical AF in 2016 as colorful makeup simply didn’t cut it anymore. Mythical creatures, like unicorns and mermaids, were muses for those who wanted hair colors that don’t naturally grow out of human scalps, such as teal green, vivid violet, and the prettiest pastels that demanded a platinum-blonde base. And thanks to brands like Manic Panic, Overtone, and Arctic Fox, it’s easier than ever for both pros and amateur at-home colorists to transform hair from conventional to vivid.
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2017: K-Beauty Comes to the U.S.
Thanks to Soko Glam, Peach & Lily, and other forward-thinking curators, Americans not only became obsessed with Korean beauty trends, they became experts in their own right. Some of the most enjoyable skin-care rituals were enthusiastically adopted stateside — the model pictured here is kicking back with a Dr. Jart+ sheet mask before a New York Fashion Week show — and now we don’t know what we would do without essences, snail mucin, and adorably packaged cushion makeup.
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2018: Brow Innovations
Although Instagram makeup inspired us to become experts at applying brow pencils, pomades, and powders, some of us opted for brilliant new long-term solutions for thin, patchy brows. Microblading became thousands of people’s first tattoo, creating incredibly realistic hair-like strokes that don’t fade for years, while alternatives like brow lamination offered a needle-free option for those who might have overplucked in the past.
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2019: Skin Care Is Cool Again
Glossier’s skin-first approach to beauty has permeated the industry, with shoppers demanding routines that don’t just create a better canvas for makeup, but promote one’s best skin ever for when they don’t feel like wearing foundation. Multi-step Korean regimens have inspired a more thorough and thoughtful approach to skin care, which now serves as self-care as much as an act of vanity. Even designers are presenting glowing skin as fashionable priority, with Stella McCartney sending models down the Paris Fashion Week runway wearing just Tata Harper skin-care products.
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