Best beauty moments of 2014: The 10 most memorable things that happened this year

Date December 22, 2014

See our picks for best beauty moments of 2014 »

2015 is mere days away, and while this year might have provided us with some pretty annoying moments, it did also offer us ten great beauty moments that we’re still talking about. From the shocking news of Peter Philips‘ move from Chanel to Dior, to the emergence of man-braids, it was a pretty great time to be a beauty fan.

Oh and, although this didn’t make the list, we can’t talk about the best beauty moments of 2014 without giving an honourable mention to Jessica Simpson and her million dollar (!) beauty routine. (Are you over this yet?! We’re not.)

Browse the gallery to see the 10 beauty moments that made 2014 so memorable.

1/10

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Lupita Nyong’o for Lancôme

So many interoffice memos must have been fired off the minute Lupita Nyong’o set foot on the Golden Globes red carpet. Any cosmetic exec worth their weight in lipstick would have known that competition would be fierce to land the academy award-winning actress as a spokesperson. Well played, Lancôme.

2/10

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Beyoncé’s baby bangs

Beyoncé shocked us all last month when she debuted blunt micro bangs, and not in a good way. While this isn’t the first time she’s rocked the look, it’s always been a music video look. But this year, she took the plunge and sported the bold look and it was…not great.

While this may have been a misstep, we do applaud Queen Bey for taking more risks than ever in 2014, both in her look and her career. We can’t wait to see what she’s got in store for us in 2015.

3/10

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Peter Philips moves to Dior

It was heart-stopping news to Peter Philips’ super fans (e.g., us) when the makeup genius stepped down from his post at Chanel last year. But balance was restored to the beauty universe when Philips announced he’d be setting up his craft table at his friend Raf’s place, as the new creative and image director of Christian Dior Makeup.

4/10

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Rainbow hair

Celebs did not shy away from bright colours in 2014. Kylie went green, Nicole went purple, and Katy went, well, every colour of the rainbow. Even the blondest of the blondes, like Kate Hudson and Sienna Miller, added a pretty pink hue to their locks.

Our biggest beauty lesson of 2014? Expect the unexpected. See our list of our favourite celebrity rainbow shades.

5/10

Best beauty moments of 2014: male beauty

Male beauty trends

From Jared Leto’s ombré (which remains the best we’ve ever seen, male or female) to Cary Fukunaga’s braids at the 2014 Emmy’s, it was a great year for male beauty trends.

See our list of our 10 favourite

6/10

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Amber Valletta’s buzz cut

Boy cuts became a thing this year. Gisele’s hair in Balenciaga’s fall 2014 campaign solidified that. But as striking as her lid looked, it was achieved with CGI, not scissors. Nineties supe Amber Valletta’s took things a step further getting a fade for real. Hairstylist Teddy Charles chopped it for a TV show she’s working on, but we’re still impressed she had (ahem) the balls to go through with it.

7/10

best-beauty-moments-2014-eyebrows

Year of the brow

From Kim’s bleached brows, to Cara’s total domination of the fashion and beauty world, it’s no surprise that brows had a major moment in 2014. The trend shows no signs of slowing down and honestly, we don’t want it to. The eyebrow competition might be fierce, but we’re up for the challenge.

Need some inspiration? Check out our favourite celebrity eyebrows.

8/10

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The launch of Glossier

Into The Gloss founder Emily Weiss was probably an overachiever from birth. Long before her stint at Vogue and cameos on The Hills we imagine her as a toddler, interviewing friends about the contents of their toy box. This year she made us feel even lazier when she launched Glossier, a-first-of its-kind cosmetic collection, driven by social media and consumer feedback.

9/10

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Rise of real

Kardashians aside, this year saw many move away from contouring, spray tans, and ridic nail art, to something a little more real. See: Marc Jacobs’ moisturizer-only Spring 2015 show,, Kerry Washington’s pared down look for her Allure cover, and the Givenchy Spring 2015 campaign shot of Julia Roberts,, sans makeup and her signature watermelon grin.

Not to mention incredible women like Charlotte Rampling and Helen Mirren signing on with big beauty brands.

10/10

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Kardashian takeover

Whatever your view on the Kardashian Klan may be, there’s no denying that they totally dominated the scene this year.

From Kendall scoring campaign after campaign and taking over the runways, to Kylie’s ongoing lip speculations and line of extensions, to Kim breaking the internet and snagging her very first Vogue cover, it was pretty hard to keep up with the Kardashians in 2014.