90s Makeup Looks That Are Back
Brown lips, a lined nude, frosted lids and grey liner have all come round again, with softer edges than the first time.
Four 90s looks have come back properly: the brown lip, the lined nude lip, a frosted or metallic lid, and soft grey or blue liner smudged along the lash line. All four are wearable now because the edges have softened. The colours are the same, the harshness has gone, and the skin underneath is allowed to look like skin.
If you wore these the first time, you already know how to do them. What has changed is the finish, and one adjustment to each is usually all it takes to bring a look forward twenty five years.
The Brown Lip, Softened
A matte brown lip is the strongest of the lot and the easiest to overdo. The update is to keep the colour and lose the hard outline.
Line the whole lip rather than tracing the edge, fill it in, and press the colour on with your finger rather than laying it on straight from the bullet. You want it to look like the colour of your mouth rather than a shape drawn on it.
Warm browns suit most people better than the very cool, greyish ones. If you are not sure, pick the shade that looks like your own lip colour turned up a few notches.
What It's Worth
This is a cheap trend to revisit, which is part of the appeal. Almost everything sits at the budget end of a high street chemist, and own-brand versions are often just as good.
- A brown lip liner. Two or three pounds, and it does the whole lined nude look on its own.
- One brown lipstick. Under a fiver in most chemists. Buy the finish you want rather than the priciest one.
- A single frosted or metallic shadow. A few pounds. You do not need a palette for this, you need one shade.
- A grey or navy pencil. Cheap, and easier to wear than black.
Where it is worth spending a little more is the lip liner, because a soft, creamy one blends and a dry, scratchy one drags. That is the difference between a lip that looks done and a lip that looks drawn.
The Lined Nude Lip
Brown liner with a paler lip is the defining 90s look and it still works, as long as the two shades are not miles apart.
Line, then blend the liner inwards with a fingertip so there is no visible ring. Then a nude or a light pink on top, in a satin or gloss finish rather than a flat matte.
The version that dates it is the very dark line with a nearly white lip. Keep them within a couple of shades of each other and it reads as modern.
Frosted And Metallic Lids
Frost has come back as a placement rather than a full lid wash. Put the metallic shade in the middle of the eyelid only and let it fade out towards the edges with something matte.
Silver, pewter, bronze and a soft lilac all work. Press it on with a finger, because a brush scatters it and you lose the shine that is the entire point.
Put a cream base underneath first. Metallics need something to grip, and a warm room finds any shadow sitting on bare skin.
Grey And Blue Liner
Black eyeliner all the way round is the harshest thing you can do to an eye. Grey, navy and deep green do the same job and are far kinder in daylight, which matters with daytime clubbing because you arrive at Dreamworx while it is still bright outside.
Smudge it along the top lash line and take it only a third of the way along the bottom. Set it with a powder in the same colour and it will hold for hours.
What To Leave In The Decade
Two things, and you already suspect what they are.
The pencil-thin brow was hard work then and it is harder now, because brows do not always come back. Keep the shape you have, tidy the strays, and use a grey-brown rather than a red-brown for a softer line.
Heavy matte foundation over the whole face, blusher included, is the other one. The 90s answer to shine was to cover everything. The better answer is a lighter base, powder only where you actually shine, and a bit of light left on the cheekbones.
Wearing It Now
Pick one. A brown lip and a frosted lid and navy liner all at once is a costume, and you are going out, not going to a fancy dress.
The one that suits a Dreamworx afternoon best is the lined lip, because it survives a long day better than anything on the eye. If you would rather lead with the eye, keep the lip to a balm and let the lid do the work.
These looks are the makeup equivalent of a flashback, the word we use for a proper oldskool tune, and the reason both still land is the same: you know them already. Wear the version you liked the first time, just with a lighter hand.