I was a teen in the late 90's, which means I first started experimenting with makeup as Backstreet Boys blared from my CD stereo (yes, stereo) and we all tuned into Dawson's Creek on Wednesday nights to watch illicit teen drama. Here are 5 of the beauty trends none of us could live without in my middle and high school days, for better or for worse.
Hard Candy nail polish. (above) The Hard Candy nail polishes launched a frenzy for Easter-egg colored nails. I remember my mom taking us to the department store and letting us pick from the dazzling array of bottles, each of which came with a squishy ring. I could have the same pale blue nails as Drew Barrymore! But this millennium, Hard Candy has gotten so stale that you can only buy it at...
Walmart. 
Body glitter. We used to scoop this gelatinous stuff up by the gallon at Claire's, and no square inch of skin was spared. I didn't stop until my entire abdomen was covered in iridescent glitter sparkles that smelled like cheap vanilla. Looking back, our teachers probably thought we were crazy for sparkling ourselves silly just to go to algebra class.
Dark lipstick. I can spot 90's celebrity photos instantly by looking at one thing: their lipstick. These days, a dark, smoky eye and nude lips have reigned for years, but in the 90's, it was more about a light eye and dark lips. Whether you wore a gloopy, frosted brown or a Gothic deep purple, the big deal for lips was dark.
Butterfly hairclips. Oh, I think every one of my prom hairdos in high school featured an updo with a million things clipped in it. Whether it was those ubiquitous butterfly clips, the "twist-in" metal jewels, or tiny barrettes, we all bedazzled our hair to capacity and thought we looked cool.
Straight center-parted hair. I remember my mom telling me my hair in the 90's was flat and needed more body, but I was determined to let my bangs-free, straight hair hang long and heavy around my face. With the 80's revival of the 2000's, we've seen a lot more volume and waves come back into play.
CK One. Whether you were a guy or girl, this was the scent you wanted to leave in your wake as you sauntered down the hall to your locker, because it was UNISEX. How edgy.
Which beauty trends did you rock in the 90's, Lovelies?
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Comments (78)
Strippers still wear body glitter...
omg.... butterfly hairclips. i remember buying them for 25 cents at the drugstore....
I miss all of these! I rocked everything on this list expect for the CK. There was the comeback of flared jeans, then there was metallic jeans, tie dye jeans, high heeled jelly sandals . . . and of course insanely colored lipsticks like blue and green :) Gimme a break, I was 10 or younger during the 90's lol.
(I still like metallic jeans and jellies though).
Butterfly hairclips!
HAHAHA. oh my gosh... i totally rocked out the butterfly clips and loads of body glitter. ^_^
i also wore hideous eyeshadow "crayon" colours.. like lime green and teal blue.. not to mention blue and purple eyeliner.. LOL.
@vixen_with_a_cause@xanga - OMG, high heeled jelly sandals..i had a blue pair..i loved them!!
@StillNotaPrettyGirl@xanga - OMG!!!! I wanted blue ones and never got em'! I could swear I have a pair in a size 3 somewhere in storage that I might be able to squeeze into . . . I never find any trend outdated. It's just a matter of updating the rest of an outfit accordingly :) Nice eyeliner choices, by the way!
wow. that dark lipstick look really wasn't for everyone.
@vixen_with_a_cause@xanga - high heeled jellies, I do miss. The shoes were the coolest in the 90s.
holy cow, I remember going to Claire's for their "10 for $5" sale and half of it was hair bedazzling nonsense like the butterfly clips, twist-in things, and spray in glitter. And tons of body glitter. I thought I looked awesome with a little on my eyelids or cheeks. hahaha oh high school . . .
You can still use butterfly clips modestly and look nice.
You can totally still rock the nail polish, no one needs to know it's hard candy. Plus center parts make a comeback like every other season, and dark lipstick was down for last fall!
BUTTERFLY CLIPS!!!!!!
haha. thats totally the 90s.
great post! i'm a little older, but boy this takes me back. man, i loved dark lipstick.
Jelly sandals! They were the epitome of all things preteen girly in the 90s and they ALWAYS gave me horrible, nasty blisters!
i remember a short-lived trend of tassled belts... like they were leatherish belts that were cut into strips at the end to make long tassles you tied... I had one of those.
Maybe that was more like really early 2000's though.
hm...
i wasn't a very trendy kid :p lisa frank stuff, I guess. that was more what you had for school supplies though
LOL @ the body glitter. Man, did I love that stuff. But the goopiness of it was God-awful and it smelled gross (wow, I can quite literally remember the exact feel and scent of that crap)! You'd think someone would have converted us all over to sparkly lotion a lot sooner.
And freaking butterfly clips... I must have had a billion of them! I remember searching far and wide to find butterfly clips that no one else had, so mine would be admired by all the girls in my Sunday school class. Yeah... I was so cool. lol
i hope the 90's comes back full throttle. that was the best.
@PerkyPunk8064@xanga - LOL yessss! 10 for $5 sales were the best thing in my little elementary school life back then. I could buy a million ridiculous accessories from Claires and not break the bank... hey, $5 seemed like a lot back then.
i was still a little girl in the 90's, but i definately remember the butterfly clips, even i had those. the plastic ones & then there were the metal ones that had the bouncy wings, i was hardcore in love with them.
Omg I loved body glitter back in the day. The dark lipstick I didn't start doing until the early 2000's but then again I was finally going into my pre-teen years by then. And only within the last year or two did I decide to do a side part. Other then that my hair is usually very straight, long and has a part in the middle.
Glitter is a bitch to get off.
aw, butterfly hairclips! i just found some of mine hiding in the back of my closet and couldn't believe i ever actually wore them in public.
haha i totally remember the glitter- i did dance and for every performance we'd coat ourselves in the bath and body works roll-on "art stuff" glitter =]
and i HATE center parts. they're like blunt bangs; if you're over ten, they look awful.
hahaha body glitterrr! how i loved that. lol butterfly clips :)
all the kids who lived in the 90's = the bestttt