Believe it or not, bizarre beauty trends existed before the age of crayon lipsticks and Kylie Jenner lip challenges. In fact, the 2000s was the decade of the outlandish — pouts drenched in lip gloss to the point where they dangerously resemble Saran Wrap, spray tans gone wild (and that would put Snookie to shame) and of course, how could anyone forget their beloved body glitter tubes? Sparkly décolletages — um, yes please. Nowadays, beauty trends of the '00s taste a lot like regret.
Though crimped hair was a genius idea in 2003, its reputation in the modern era is quite a different story (I mean, I'm still recovering from the memory of eight-year-old me begging Mom for a hair crimper because Lizzie McGuire had one and therefore by law, I had
to have one). This is the power of trends — an ever-changing society dictates the consumer scene, and what was all the rage a decade ago may now be a cringe-worthy relic of our youth.
Plus, let us not forget that fashion of the '90s are currently having a moment — so who's to say that beauty of the '00s might see a resurgence down the road? In that case, you might want to mentally prepare yourself for the onslaught of contemporary Mandy Moores and Avril Lavignes. Ready, set, crimp.
1. Body Glitter
Claire's Pink Body Glitter, $5.50, claires.com
In the '00s, glitter was destined for the body, not the eyelids. In fact, forget about rollerball perfumes — it was all about glitter tubes that you could conveniently whip out for daily doses of shimmer. The key was to spare no piece of flesh — the more sparkles, the better.
2. Frosted Tips
Back then, every Prince Charming had his own variation of frosted tips — spikes tinged with their dye of choice, AKA dreamboat material (honorary mention goes to JT's infamous ramen hair).
3. Icy Eye Makeup
Oh Paris Hilton, what were you thinking? It is safe to say that the no-makeup makeup trend would have instantly met its demise in the '00s — why go for fresh-faced skin when you could slather on frosty eye makeup and call it a day? Pair with a dozen (or two) coats of lip gloss and you were deemed red-carpet ready.
4. All That Lip Gloss
From the iconic M.A.C Lipglass that graced every vanity in the '00s to the collection of (highly addictive) Lancome Juicy Tubes that kept on growing, lip gloss was the Kylie Lip Kit of the early aughts. But in order to truly master the look, lips had to be shellacked in infinite layers of gloss — the more, the better.
5. Hair Feathers
I remember hair feathers striking my elementary school like the plague — every girl in third grade rocked these iridescent tresses — well, every girl except for me because I was still in the process of convincing my mom to hop on the crimped hair bandwagon.
6. Chunky Highlights
Even the words chunky highlights has a ring of uneasiness to it. Personally, I am thankful that this hair trend has yet to infiltrate the modern age — blocks of blonde highlights is not exactly my idea of playing it cool.
7. Crimped Hair
Britney did it, Fergie did it, Tyra did it. Without a doubt, crimped hair dominated the '00s — after all, why settle for forgettable, pin straight tresses when you could crimp them accordion style and make an envy-worthy splash in front of your friends?
8. Blue Eyeshadow
To be fair, blue eyeshadow very much still exists and can look awesome, But there was a very particular look in the early '00s that involved very bright blue on the lids.
9. Butterfly Everything
Claire's Ombre Butterfly Clips, $5.99, claires.com
Tattoos, jewelry, hair clips — everything and anything was decked out butterfly-style in the '00s. If you wanted to be branded as "hip" and "trendy" back then, you would have to inevitably purchase a set of wings.
10. Obvious Spray Tans
Naturally, sun-kissed skin? Too much work, the '00s decided. As a result, the spray tan trend was born to create bronzed skin minus the actual trip to the tropics. However, it was very crucial that one overdosed on the spray tans à la Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and many others.
11. Extreme Black Eyeliner
Black liquid liner is a classic, but it was really all the rage in the early aughts — winged out, smoked out, or ringing the entire rim of the eye, no kohl stone was left unturned.
Images: Courtesy Brands (2)
