What Is Y2K Makeup

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Makeup and fashion trends have always come and gone, making some of them hard to keep up with, especially with the fast-paced nature of social media today. As trends circulate, we start to see many beauty patterns repeat themselves well beyond their original era. The beauty industry is consistently flooded with new products that cater to what’s trendy, so staying up to date is important to know what is in style. In recent years we have seen beauty trends take over the internet like the clean girl aesthetic, as well as makeup trends that embrace the minimalistic style of no-makeup-makeup. Although that clean aesthetic is still making its rounds around the internet (as it remains a classic look), those trends do not allow for those with a creative edge to express themselves and their eccentricity. That’s where Y2K makeup comes into play as it is making its comeback!

What is Y2K?

Y2K beauty refers to the makeup trends that circulated and gained widespread popularity in the beauty space during the early 2000s. This era started to develop in the later years of the ’90s just as the 2000s was approaching. The social scene in the media was starting to make a shift as social media began to be a new contributing factor to the new influential celebrities we have started to love to pay attention to. The Y2K aesthetic helped shape celebrity culture because it was the era that birthed the “icon.” There was a whole new level of sass given to the women of the Y2K era who found a way to make identities for themselves through the style they curated from this aesthetic. Women such as Christina Aguilera and Paris Hilton are two perfect examples of women who made a direct impact in setting the tone for Y2K beauty; they both have created unforgettable looks that drove the media into a complete frenzy on many occasions.

Y2K makeup has allowed people to be creative and has bolder, more defined looks. People are able to encapsulate their personalities with Y2K makeup because it is a display of artwork. With the trend forcing its way back into the beauty space we have seen more modern twists on the Y2K makeup aesthetic. Many are choosing to steer away from the all too familiar natural makeup trends that flooded the ’90s because they find fun in the bright colors and exciting contrast of all the combinations of potential makeup looks. The aesthetic was not created to be for your everyday activities, but some have found much comfort in implementing little iterations of Y2K makeup trends into their everyday routines.

There is no right or wrong to makeup, there are a lot of self-discoveries and finding what you love and do not love about the process of it all, including trying to find the perfect product for your needs. With color coming into play, there is a large number of videos that creators have put together and they display amazing, step-by-step tutorials.

Why is Y2K Important?

Makeup brands in the beauty industry have relished the resurfacing of Y2K trends, creating an abundance of lip glosses, eyeshadows, lipsticks and lip liners that come together into colorful and curated makeup collections. The surplus of vibrant makeup on the market is allowing content creators to share new daring looks online, and even celebrities are once again enjoying bringing personalized looks to the carpets. In fact, influencers online have started to take advantage of the opportunity they have to collaborate with brands who put out Y2K collections because they can express individuality while still creating trendy content for their audiences.

If you go on TikTok you can find a plethora of Y2K makeup looks and beauty influencers who either give helpful tutorials or showcase their elaborate creations that spark inspiration for people. There is no doubt that the beauty community on TikTok is a dominant force.

YouTube and Instagram are platforms that still benefit greatly from beauty influencers because there is always something new trending, and influencers that hop on these trends still find themselves flourishing on these other platforms. There are a ton of new tips and tricks on the internet to help you achieve the exact look you are going for. Y2K makeup making its comeback has had people eager to achieve the iconic frosty eyeshadow look or learn how to perfectly line their lips with a deep liner. Finding what is best fitting for you is the most fun part because the confidence will radiate off you once you find comfort in your style!

Before you go out and get started venturing into Y2K makeup, here is a small list of some of the trends that have come from the Y2K aesthetic:

· Smudge eyeliner

· Visible lip liner

· Blue eyeshadow

· Frosty eyeshadow and lip gloss

These Y2K makeup trends bring an edge to your everyday makeup look, easily taking your average makeup routine from common to iconic!

If you are interested in getting more inspiration, here are 25 Y2K makeup looks for you to try all throughout 2023!