Picture this: I’ve got my combat trousers on, ‘Rachel from Friends’ layers in my hair, rolled up in a claw grip, brows plucked within an inch of their lives and a brown shade of lipstick to complete the look. Now, can you guess the year?
While you may have opted for the late 1990s or early noughties, the year is in fact 2023 – and I’m channeling my inner teen with these trends having come full circle. I grew up in this era, when girl power was our favourite mantra, you were lucky if you had a mobile phone (a Nokia 3310 to play snake on) and we had to watch TV in real-time – waiting a whole week for Saturday night’s Baywatch episode to drop.
We didn’t buy things on the internet back then, so Saturdays were also the only time you could shop. Going into ‘town’ was the highlight of my week. Hitting the high street in your Reebok Classics was the only way to get your hands on the latest chart-topping CD single, whether you were an indie-loving Blur or Oasis fan (you couldn’t be both). Of course, ‘essential’ beauty items like Miss Selfridge nail polishes or anything and everything from The Body Shop’s White Musk range were on the shopping list, too.
While those beauty buys can safely stay in the past for me, along with hair mascara, butterfly clips, bronzing pearls (too messy!) and skinny brows (don’t be tempted, they won’t grow back the same), there are some iconic buys that have stood the test of time.
Here, I pick my favourites that are as good today as they were back then, so I’m proudly wearing them a second time around…
Calvin Klein CK One Eau de Toilette, £34.99
If I close my eyes, I can still see the 1994 advert for CK One clearly: 90s ‘It girl’ Kate Moss is hanging out with a group of beautiful, cool people. It matched the unisex, genderless fashion, style, and culture of the time when the tabloid newspapers were obsessed with those turning stereotypical gender roles on their head with the way they dressed and behaved.
Marketing ‘a fragrance for a man and a woman’ was truly ground-breaking at the time; to this date I can’t remember a scent launch to have such hype. But CK One is much more than the first gender-neutral fragrance, it’s a delicious citrus aroma that has such a balance of floral, green and woody notes that I still can’t get enough of it today.
Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Heather Shimmer, £5.99
Speaking of ‘face-of-the era’, Kate Moss, she has said this was her first-ever lipstick. It was mine too and just about every other girl’s growing up in the 90s. The mauve-brownish shade, teamed with a frosty, subtle shimmer finish was the only one to be seen in.
Currently, it’s as popular as ever with Rimmel saying it’s been the bestselling lip colour for the brand over the last year. This may be down to its new following from popular TikTok videos, but also, like me, so many of you have rediscovered it – or never stopped wearing it.
Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara, £9.99
For lash definition, there were two iconic mascaras everyone reached for in the 90s and beyond. If you preferred a more natural-lash look, Maybelline’s Great Lash Mascara in its well-known bright pink and green tube would be your go-to. But for those of us who needed a little more drama to their flutter (that would be me) this was their tube of choice.
Reintroducing it back into my makeup routine, I’ve forgotten how much I love this wand. It doesn’t clump like most false lash-effect mascaras, and instead gives a natural-looking volume that still feels light on the lashes and is easy to build.
MAC Lip Pencil in Spice, £18.50
A deeper outline slightly overdrawn and filled in with a lighter shade for an ombre pout was dubbed ‘the supermodel lip’ back then. This was because it was a look Naomi, Cindy and the rest of the beautiful gang that dominated fashion that decade were always spotted with.
When Linda Evangelista – one of the ‘big five’ as they were known – name-dropped Mac’s Lip Pencil in Spice, the perfect pinky cinnamon hue to create the look, it sold out instantly. It’s recently been revealed it was Rachel’s go-to on the set of Friends, and Pammy was a fan too.
Personally, I’m leaving that look behind, but I am on board with the lip-liner revival as I’d forgotten how well they help with lipstick longevity. I’m just pairing my Spice with a similar shade.
Urban Decay 24/7 Moondust Eyeshadow in Space Cowboy, £20
Watching this eyeshadow go viral on TikTok brought back many memories for me. In my late teens, I was lucky enough to go to San Francisco with my best friend where we stumbled across the edgiest shop we had ever been in: Urban Outfitters (it wasn’t in the UK at that time). During our visit, we picked up this eyeshadow.
The champagne rose shimmer (remember, sparkle was in everything back then) was swiped across our lids for every vodka and Red Bull-fuelled club night. Today, I have to say it’s just as easy to swipe on with a finger for an instant easy eye when the occasion calls for glam. No wonder it keeps selling out!
Lancome Juicy Tubes, £18
If there’s a first prize for beauty icon of the era, it has to go to this iconic lip gloss that came in a cocktail of colours. Scented either fruitily or sweetly, and available in different ultra-glossy finishes, the shimmer formulas were always my favourites.
I remember you couldn’t just have one; these were made for collecting. They were however pricey for a late teen on a weekend-waitressing-at-Pizza-Hut budget, so double shifts had to be pulled.
There have been many imitators (I’ve tried them), but nothing compares to these. Long live the Juicy Tube!
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