As makeup returns to the days with Spice Girls and Friends, buyers are looking for glitter and redefining their pouts.
Fashion’s obsession with the 90s has been given a boost by the Friends reunification. Lip gloss, lip pencils, and blue eyeshadow sales are soaring as customers recreate the look of decade’s fashion icons such as Jennifer Aniston and Naomi Campbell.
John Lewis claims that customers have been rushing to purchase lipgloss and lip pencils in dark colors since the shops reopened last week – an essential tool for defining a pout by Victoria Beckham as Posh Spice. High-end brands like Clinique and Mac have seen eyeshadows in frosted shades of blue rise in sales. This eyeshadow was popularized by actors like Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez, and Reese Witherspoon in the 90s.
In 2020, sales of cosmetics fell by 5%. This is due to high-street closures and shift to home work. L’Oreal, the largest cosmetics company in the world, predicts that sales will rebound this year. Lipstick is a symbol of life’s return to normalcy.
Superdrug claims that sales of the cosmetics category increased by almost a fifth in this month’s Superdrug. The high street health and beauty chain has cashed in on the return of Friends with a branded range.
Simon Comins is Superdrug’s Commercial Director. He says that the 90s-inspired “glossy, nude lips and soft brown, smoky eye” were spotted at all the award shows this season. Friends are also showing interest in the trend.
Cosmetify, a makeup price comparison website, reports that UK searches for “roll on glitter” and “frosted lip” have increased by 33% and 25%, respectively, since the 1990s, a decade that allowed for grunge and the Spice Girls. Cosmetify reports that global searches for “graphic liner” and “overlined lips have increased by more than 20% in the last year.
Celebrities like Dua Lipa, who wore blue eyeshadows and Rihanna, who wore body glitter on Instagram, have helped to increase the appeal of 90s styling. TikTok and YouTube videos offer a wealth of inspiration.
Cosmetify’s beauty editor Carly Cochrane suggests that 90s makeup is popular because it was simple.
Cochrane says that you can easily make your own Spice Girls moment with a simple “swipe” of glitter or bold brown lipstick. We have become so used to wearing sweatpants with no makeup in lockdown that this equally fun and minimal era offers everything we need for our post-lockdown makeup looks.
It seems like all trends, even makeup, are having a moment in nostalgia. It is unclear if this is due to recent freedoms and lockdowns. However, revisiting older styles and trends is a great way to escape.
