Why Do the ‘90s and Y2K Have a Hold on the Beauty Industry?

If there was any doubt that the ’90s and 2000s are back in a big way, rock band No Doubt’s Coachella set this past April — their first concert together in nine years — put that dispute to bed. Frontwoman Gwen Stefani performed “Just a Girl” in rhinestone-encrusted brows, and millennials everywhere were instantly transported back to 1995.

Nostalgia didn’t just make a comeback in the desert this past spring, though. Looks that defined the 1990s and early 2000s have been dominating runways, festivals and, perhaps most notably, TikTok for years. Gen Z is just as enamoured with the era as those of us who lived through it, and thanks to social media, the 20-somethings may even be driving the resurgence. But what’s behind the obsession? According to a few industry pros, the answer can be summed up by the lyrics of another No Doubt favourite: “All I ever wanted was the simple things.”

“Gen Z is really the first generation to have never known life without a digital presence and digital pressure,” says Lori Taylor Davis, global pro lead artist for Smashbox. “Perhaps they’re especially nostalgic because they yearn to experience a simplicity they’ve never known.” On the flip side, millennials are hoping to recapture the simplicity of a time they remember, when the internet was dial-up and learning about beauty trends meant waiting until the next newsstand drop.

While social media may be the cause of that digital pressure, it’s also the key to exploring past beauty eras with much more immediacy. It raises the question, though, “With so much access to literally all of beauty history, why the zeroing in on the ’90s and early aughts?”

According to Steve Kassajikian, head of global artistry at Urban Decay, it’s the sense of ease and play that accompanied doing makeup at that time. “Makeup is fun,” says Kassajikian. “Post-pandemic, people want to wear makeup again. And we loved makeup in the ’90s and 2000s.” Back then, having fun with beauty meant everything from soda-scented lip balm to rhinestone-covered temples to thick, smudgy eyeliner. It meant trying lots of different looks without worrying about any of them being too much. And after years of the barefaced, clean-girl aesthetic, adding a frosted eyeshadow or a bubble-gum-pink glossy lip feels fresh and fun.

There’s also the fact that images of the ’90s and Y2K are readily accessible, thanks to the era coinciding with the rise of MTV and the internet. Gen Z is looking to that era because we have a very visually documented record of it, especially compared to past decades.

Unsurprisingly, beauty brands have noticed and may even be feeling that nostalgia themselves. Everything from product formulations to marketing campaigns has gotten the nostalgic treatment. “I think the popularity of nostalgia within the beauty space comes from the fact that both makeup and nostalgia can evoke a sense of childish excitement and fun,” says Nora Zukauskaite, former global marketing director at Lottie London. The brand released a makeup collection inspired by the hit TV show The Vampire Diaries, which premiered in 2009. The show’s hashtag has a shocking 52 billion views on TikTok, according to Zukauskaite, demonstrating that our insatiable desire for all things nostalgia goes far beyond the aesthetic.

On the campaign front, Smashbox’s latest, for its Photo Finish Smooth & Blur Primer (a product that originally launched in 2000), stars ’90s icon Pamela Anderson and was shot by Davis Factor, the brand’s founder and one of the first photographers to shoot Anderson after Playboy.

And it’s impossible to talk about nostalgic beauty without mentioning retro-inspired sunscreen brand Vacation, which takes its cues from ’90s sun worshippers — with a 2024 emphasis on SPF, of course (because we have learned a thing or two about tanning over the past 30 years). The scent alone will make you smile in recognition if you’re over the age of 28. But even if you didn’t experience it the first time around, the inspiration is still powerful. “Beauty is so sensorial, and because of that, it’s a perfect vehicle to transport someone to a different time and place,” says Dakota Green, founding partner of Vacation. “I love seeing different interpretations of what ’90s or 2000s makeup is to Gen Z,” adds Kassajikian. “I think that nostalgia is actually bringing the two generations together.”

While this is certainly true figuratively, it’s happening IRL, too. At Coachella this year, Olivia Rodrigo joined Stefani onstage, while Billie Eilish was the special guest at Lana Del Rey’s headlining set — the former pair wore twisted updos (Stefani’s signature) while the latter showed off enviable voluminous blowouts (Del Rey’s go-to look).

Perhaps that’s why nostalgic beauty looks are so exciting. “Nostalgia will always be a rose-coloured destination for connection and refuge,” says Davis. That sense of connection is largely what drew us to social media in the first place, but it’s gotten harder and harder to find because audiences have ballooned and paid partnerships are steering content.

Channelling the past — even an overly simplified, rose-coloured version of it — evokes the sense of fun, wonder and simplicity associated with that era’s youthfulness. It’s no wonder we collectively want to go back to that playful and unscripted version of the beauty world. Or perhaps it’s just because we can all agree that facial rhinestones are a ton of fun.