(My modern take on 90s makeup: a cleaner, updated, more wearable version)
I grew up in the 90s, and remember the era well: smudged black eyeliner that was never quite even and we may or may not have used brown eyeliner as a lipliner 🫣. In contrast to in-your-face blush trends of the 80s, 90s blush was so subtle you could swear half the decade forgot it existed. And contouring? That was reserved for celebrity glam teams and editorial spreads only, as the average consumers weren’t sculpting anything except their butterfly clip hairstyles. Concealer was barely a category, and foundation came in two settings: none at all or heavy-cake. And if you owned a bronzer, chances are you used it as an all-over setting powder because… well, we didn’t know any better.
Don’t believe me? Here’s the proof:
I wanted to create a more wearable version of 90s makeup, minus the almost non-existent brows, (because my over-plucking brow trauma is SO real.):
I started by color-correcting Dalin’s complexion while making sure that her skin still looked like real skin. Staying true to the decade’s love for black eyeliner, I modernized it with more of a blended smudged liner instead of the aggressive raccoon-adjacent liner we all wore to school dances. For the cheeks, I kept the blush soft, but more pronounced as I LOVE blush.
And then the lip: the moment.
I used an actual brick-brown lipliner (NOT a brown eyeliner) and paired with a modern gloss to give dimension without the 90s frost. A nod to the decade while still looking current and a bit more grown up.
This look is everything we may have remembered growing up in 90s, just cleaner, and a bit more wearable for adulting in 2025.
Nostalgia meets real life.
What I used on Dalin (the lash extensions were hers):
➡️Skin: About Face’s the Performer, Skin focused foundation, Huda FauxFilter waterproof concealer
➡️Eyes: Natasha Denona Eye Sculpt palette in Dramatic, Persona Eyeliner pencil in Black
➡️Cheeks: Saie Dew Blush Cream Blush in Spicy
➡️Lips: NYX Line Loud longwear lipliner in Make a Statement, Fenty Gloss bomb gloss in Fenty Glow
You can find all of the products linked here: https://shopmy.us/shop/collections/2951054