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8 Beauty Comebacks From the 90s (and How to Wear Them Now)

Turns out the '90s weren't so bad for beauty after all.
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Platinum with roots
Gwen Stefani has been rocking this look since the '80s and still flaunts it fabulously today, though decades back she was a bit more punk rock and less pop. According to Kali Ferrara, senior colorist at Roy Teeluck Salon in New York City, this look is still in high demand. In fact, most of her platinum clients don't love their day-of appointment look and tend to enjoy their color most when it's almost grown out. If you're dying to be platinum, Ferrera urges the assistance of a good colorist who can color both your hair and your brows. "With the platinum trend comes the light hair dark brow look," she says. "Brow contouring and filling in is so mainstream now that it would look bizarre if clients started to color their brows to really match their hair." The contrast, she explains, helps frame the face and give the overall look some edge.

Image via Imaxtree

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Dark matte lip colors
Stunningly deep, dark and sexy lips in everything from plum and brandy to burgundy and black are back thanks to daring makeup moguls like Kat Von D and Kylie Jenner (who, for the record, was barely born in the '90s!). The key to pulling off your own vampy lip, be it for a dinner date or for the office, is to start with proper exfoliation. Matte lip colors are known to suck the moisture out of your pout, so you'll want to exfoliate and plump with a scrub, like Fresh's Sugar Lip Polish, $24 or a micro-needling roller, like MesoLyft Lips, $79.99. Finish with a vibrant but vampy matte, like Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick in Prune Virgin, $37. Touch up the edges and corners with concealer for the perfect, smudge-proof lip.

Image via Imaxtree

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Visible lip liner
Lip liner is also making a comeback. But, as Michaud points out, unlike the '90s when it was all about seeing the actual line, the look right now is about building volume and contouring the lip to look more voluptuous. "To make the look your own, start by dabbing a bit of lip balm on the lip, like Sara Happ Lip Slip, $24," she says. "Apply a lip primer to fill in any fine lines or imperfections onto the entire lip, especially along the vermillion border, and then gently glide a darker nude lip liner, like Nars Audacious Lipstick in Barbara, $34, along the outside edges of the lips." Be careful not to press too hard, as she warns that this can make the look appear too "lined." Cover the top and bottom lips before blending with a lip brush to soften the edges and blend the color inward. Add a lighter nude lipstick, like Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Meringue, $26, on the pillowy center of the lips and you're good to go.

Image via Imaxtree

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The 'no-makeup' makeup look
Leave it to Alicia Keys to stop wearing makeup and have the world attempt to follow suit. Around the same time as the Grammy-winning crooner stepped out with her au naturel look at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, makeup brands around the world started launching softer and more subtle accent products like, ahem, highlighter (which is now a makeup bag staple, for the record). "Sheer foundation versus full coverage is the key to a 'no-makeup' makeup look," says Michaud. Top it off with a bold, powdery brow, a glowy highlighter and a lip and cheek stain combination like Benefit Cosmetics Benetint Cheek and Lip Stain, $30, for a healthy, hydrated everyday look.

Image via Imaxtree

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Supermodel eyebrows
Not everyone was victim to the super-slim, waif-like brows in the 1990s, most notably the original supermodels like Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Helena Christensen and Christy Turlington. "The bold brow will continue in 2018, but they are beginning to take shape again, reminiscent of the 1990s supermodels," says Michaud. Current trendsetters include Lily Collins, Emma Watson, Jourdan Dunn, Diane Kruger and, of course, the Kardashian/Jenners. To get this look, Michaud recommends brushing your brows upwards and trimming off any long, unruly hairs. "Tweeze any hairs on top of the brows that are not part of your eyebrow itself, over your temple area and on the outside of the brows to disconnect them from your hairline," says Michaud. "Now determine the hairs you need to tweeze out in order to give your brow a more sophisticated shape — you can use a flesh-toned chubby pencil to conceal the hairs first, so you don't take too much." If you're too scared to go at this alone, seek the help of a professional brow stylist.

Image via Imaxtree

BY JENN SINRICH | JAN 11, 2018 | SHARES
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