What goes around comes around—and nowhere is this more true than in the world of beauty trends, where the second (or third… maybe fourth?) coming happens periodically. If you, like me, were born in the ’80s or ’90s, you’re more than familiar with the latest trend of getting 251 million views on TikTok (and counting). Nineties grunge is back, with the youth, including Hailey Bieber, who just told it Fashion it was an “effortless” trend she’ll be experimenting with this year — wielding their jet-black kohl pencils and sleeping in their makeup again.
“Beauty trends tend to resurface, repackaged under different names,” says makeup artist, Lisa Eldridge, an industry veteran. “A heavy, hyper-sophisticated makeup look has dominated the past few decades and the revival of ’90s grunge is an expression of our fatigue in trying to achieve this. Likewise, ’90s grunge makeup was first a reaction to the excessive glamor and full-on makeup of the ’80s.
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Eldridge notes that she has experienced “almost two identical loops of makeup trends” and is excited about the return of ’90s grunge: “It was always a favorite of mine and I’m especially happy to see a new generation is focusing on a little less ‘paint-by-numbers’ and appreciating the beauty of the perfectly imperfect,” she says. Meanwhile, make-up artist Jamie Genevieve welcomes the return of ’90s grunge because it “encourages people to play with their makeup,” adding “it’s more fun.”
Today’s ’90s grunge isn’t far removed from what it was two decades ago, with Bieber referencing the “beautiful, undone skin” and “smuddy eyeliner” she’s seen on TikTok. But then it was a revolutionary movement: “As a young makeup artist in the ’90s, I could see that the glamor of the ’80s was starting to look old-fashioned,” Eldridge explains. “We wanted real skin and lived-in makeup, which would look cool, androgynous and youthful. It was about creating something that felt fresh and made a statement – and this ran through every channel you can think of, from Seattle to London to New York; via music (think Nirvana) to fashion (think Marc Jacobs and Perry Ellis). It was the first time in history that makeup was so subdued, stark and sometimes brutal.”
