From Dolly to Doja

50 Years Of Makeup

Have you ever wondered where all these makeup trends are showing up from? Not all of them are entirely original, most of them have come back from the past. Right here you’ll find out exactly when. From the 1970s up to the present day, we’ll take a look at what was popular then and now.

The 70s

50 years ago, disco was all the rage. Styles were bold, with blue eyeshadow, chunky eyelashes and thick feathered hair all incredibly popular. The bold mascara look came from the Twiggy trend in the 1960s. Twiggy, AKA Dame Lesley Lawson, is a model who was extremely popular in the 60s and influenced some of the makeup looks at the time. Punk was the 70s’ backlash against disco and gave us the thick kohl eyeliner look that we still love today.

The 80s

The 1980s took the 70s style and cranked it up to 100. Blush and eyeshadow could not get any more eye-catching and contouring was also pretty popular. Everything had to be excessive, including neons and big pastel palettes, and it definitely matched the pop fashions at the time. The 80s were a defining decade for cosmetic style and its legacy can be seen today.

The 90s

This decade is known as the age of grunge and ‘heroin chic’; Nirvana exploded into the mainstream among other punk-metal and Britpop bands, which all influenced the makeup. Smokey eyes, dark lipstick and tattoos were all the rage. Gen-Z are still enraptured by the 90s look to this day.

The 2000s

The new millenium brought some particularly interesting trends; super thin eyebrows, zigzag/funky hair partings, ‘all-over’ bronzer and white eyeshadow to name just a few. Cutesy hair accessories were in too, like butterfly clips, scrunchies and headbands, now embraced by celebrities like Billie Eilish and Miley Cyrus.