The 90's are officially back in fashion and I could not be happier (although I do want the 00's to come back as well. It might be too soon for that though). I have been celebrating this by listening to some classic TLC, Destiny's Child, Blink-182 and Steps among other heroes of that era and let me tell you, it's been a good few days of reminiscing. I may have been born in the second half of the decade and spent most of that time unable to walk and talk but I did still grow up listening to 90's music so to me it still is my childhood.
Now, we've all seen the pictures of Kylie Jenner's grungy eye makeup and the brown lip which for me is synonymous with the 90's and I know I am not alone in obsessing over this trend. I looove that 90's lip and I have Kylie to thank for it's re-emergence into the beauty-sphere. In bringing this trend back, Kylie has definitely put herself out there as a figure to watch and I'm sure we're going to see much more trend-setting with her in the future. I absolutely love her style and her ever-changing hair!
Having sufficiently established how much I love 90's makeup and music, I thought it would be a fun idea to combine the two in cataloguing my favourite beauty looks from famous music videos of that decade. These are in no particular order because if I had to decide between them I think I'd explode from my indecision. It was hard enough to cut this list down to ten videos.
1. Just a Girl- No Doubt
Gwen Stefani is a royal figure of the 90's era and this video is my favourite from this decade in terms of the makeup look. Gwen often rocks a red lipstick and this shade is an amazing true red colour that compliments the gold accents on her lower lashline. The neutral eyes and winged eyeliner keep the look fresh and playful. I can't say I agree with the eyebrows though! As an added bonus, the extras in this video showcase a whole range of lipstick shades which are quintessential to the time period, ranging from darker nudes, to browns, to vampy berry and sultry dark red shades.
2. I Will Always Love You- Whitney Houston
The ultimate power ballad of the 90's most definitely had a killer makeup look to match. I really like how minimalist this look is (to be honest, a lot of the 90's makeup was) with a subtle wash of dark brown eyeshadow over the lid and eyeliner smudged into the lashline to give a softer feel. The lack or very little use of blusher on the cheeks gives this an even more natural finish so that the main focus of the look is Whitney Houston's flawless and beautifully contoured face (aided by an incredible natural bone structure) and that burnt red lipstick. The colour reminds me of something similar to MAC's Chili which is a favourite shade of mine. This burnt red shade was very popular in the 90's and we see a lot more orange-toned reds than blue-reds, which I personally prefer.
3. Say My Name- Destiny's Child
This music video had a variety of looks in it as each group member had their own colour scheme that determined their makeup. Beyonce's bronzed look gives her the most amazing complexion and the heavy contouring and brown tones look gorgeous. I also really like the orange gloss that she wears and would quite like to find one similar for myself! More interesting to me, however, was Kelly's look. Dark blue and brown are not colours I would usually put together but I actually like how it turns out. I think the wash of blue on the eye is a nice break from the very neutral colours that are seen a lot in this decade. Similarly, I like how LeToya (bonus points if you can remember which original member of Destiny's Child she was) has a wash of silver-grey on her eyes and a brown gloss. LaTavia's look is less interesting to me because it is a very classic look with a shimmery champagne colour on the lid and a bold red lip , but she still looks amazing and the gloss helps give it a more 90's feel.
4. Nothing Compares 2U- Sinéad O'Connor
Perhaps an unexpected choice due to how minimalist this look is but I think that the stripped back nature of this look really works with the music video and highlights the natural make up of the 90's days. The lack of blusher is something we've seen before but here it really brings attention to Sinéad's wonderfully pale complexion. The hint of a peach colour on this lips is the only hint of colour on the face and is the perfect shade to make the face appear brighter. The brown smokey eye is soft to give an undone look.
5. Honey- Mariah Carey
While Mariah's acting in the video is a bit, well rubbish, her makeup is at least up to standard. Her look is all about the golds and browns, including a light brown lip colour that acts as a nude for her skin tone. I was drawn to the glamour of this look created by the gold tones, namely in her eyeshadow and highlight, that gave the look a luxurious feel. The highlight also adds dimension to the face and demands the viewer's attention, but it is placed sparingly in certain areas so it does not become too "glowy" and detract from the classic glamour look. Matte foundation and powder a key for this.
6. Scream- Michael Jackson
The most expensive music video of all time! This was an extraordinary video and so I could not pass up an opportunity to include it. The makeup look is very different from the rest in this list but I do believe that it really showcases the grunge end of the 90's makeup spectrum. Janet's dark, smokey eye is lined very thickly with black shadow which just screams (hehe get it *wink wink nudge nudge*) drama. Her lips appear to be (although I can't be certain since the video is in black and white) a neutral shade close to her skin tone, and so presumably a light to medium brown colour.
7. Who Do You Think You Are- Spice Girls
No 90's list would be complete without the Spice Girls. For me, Who Do You Think You Are is a great video makeup wise because each look has been carefully considered to represent the personality of the member. Scary Spice had a fierce, glossy black smokey eye paired with a brown lip. Baby Spice sported a fresh-faced, simple look that focused on her eyelashes (giving her babydoll eyes). Sporty Spice wore a "no makeup" makeup look to suit her boyish personality. Posh Spice had a gold and black feline-shaped eye look that was as glamorous as she is. Ginger Spice wore a grey smokey eye that complimented her hair and by skipping the blusher nothing detracted from her fiery hair, making it appear brighter.
8. Un-break My Heart- Toni Braxton
Ahh the lip liner look. This is perhaps a look that should stay in the past BUT I will still mention because like it or not, it was part of our beauty heritage and I kinda love to hate it. Actually, that's not being completely fair to it. I think it worked back then, but it would not work now. I mean, I think Toni looks amazing in this video and the lip liner is part of that reason. This is also a rare occasion where we find someone who is wearing blusher after so many instances of this step being skipped. Again dark brown eyeshadow makes an appearance (it really was the colour of the decade) and the bronze tones give this a classy but dramatic look.
9. Violet- Holes
Another queen of the 90's was Courtney Love. She was the ultimate queen of 90's grunge and this video really shows that off with its dark smokey eye make up and dark red lipstick. The eyeliner on her lower lashes adds to the grungy and mysterious nature of the look.
10. Never Ever- All Saints
Lastly we have All Saints. When I think of 90's make up and fashion I immediately think of this group. For me, they encapsulate what it meant to be 90's and this video is probably the one that sticks with me most in terms of 90s looks. The girls tend to wear similar looks with browns, bronzes and nudes featuring heavily. I just love the sultriness of each makeup look with the dark eyes and lips combination. They all have very dewy complexions which look absolutely stunning and again blusher is left aside in favour of contour and highlights. This, to me, is the look that Kylie Jenner has brought back and it's the one I love most.
So those are my favourite looks from 90's music videos. I'm sure there are plenty of other amazing makeup looks that I have forgotten to include so if you have any suggestions please do leave them in the comments!
Before I go though, I wanted to share some of my favourite songs from the 90's. Most of these are RnB songs because thats the genre my parents listen to and so I grew up with it:
California Love- 2Pac (dad's favourite song)
Viva Forever- Spice Girls
Hypnotize- Notorious B.I.G
Doo-wop- Lauryn Hill
All The Small Things- Blink-182
Ready or Not- Fugees
Genie in a Bottle- Christina Aguilera
No Scrubs- TLC
Gangsta's Paradise- Coolio
The Boy is Mine- Brandi ft. Monica
Jump Around- House of Pain (believe it or not but this is a family party favourite)
No Diggity- Blackstreet
Thanks for reading! xxx
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