Blue eyeshadow. Space buns. Dark lip liner. Brows so thin you practically needed a magnifying glass to see them. Crimping. So much crimping. Well guess what people, Y2K beauty is back.
The '90s and early '00s were a very special type of beauty vibe, an era in which we were graced with Britney's power pony and The Spice Girls' stripy highlights (looking at you, Baby Spice). While some of the '90s beauty trends have made a definitive comeback in recent years (were you even on Instagram last summer if you didn't experiment with blue eye makeup?), some have stayed firmly where they belong: in the past (no shade to VB's gelled-up spiky crop – you know the one).
But now, the makeup whizzes on TikTok are bringing back the whole vibe with the viral hashtag #Y2Kaesthetic – Y2K being a shorthand term for the year 2000. In fact, the tag has almost 175 million views, with clips demonstrating some of the most iconic looks from the era.
One viral clip shows @bexbeauty covering her fluffy brows before pencilling on razor-thin ones, glossing her lips to the extreme, and rocking bold blue shadow and bunches.
"My makeup in the 2000s was purple eyeshadow, eyebrows waxed into the thinnest line, dream matte mousse and blue mascara," commented one TikToker, perfectly summing up the Y2k makeup vibe.
@makeupbytammi's #Y2Kaesthetic video is the perfect example of pairing colourful eyeshadow with dark, contrasting lip liner (with layers of gloss too, of course).
Highlighting '90s hair trends, @melisekrem demonstrates various retro styles including messy space buns, pigtails, butterfly clips and the exaggerated side pony. We would not be mad if these made a comeback tbh, and it seems other TikTokers agree, with one commenting: "Bella Hadid vibes kinda," and another saying: "this video inspired me to love my short-ish hair and what i can do with it, thank u".
While we've been feaning over butterfly everything, the Y2K corner of TikTok is reminding us of all the reasons we need to make butterfly clips fetch again. Some of our favourite celebs like Dua Lipa and Hailey Bieber have seen sporting the look. Think clips, tops, nail designs. Butterfly everything…
TikTok content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Is the #Y2Kaesthetic about to make a phenomenal comeback? Time to dig out the blue eyeshadow and start over-lining our lips, people.
