Hailey Bieber’s Calling 2024’s Biggest Beauty Trend

What goes around comes around–and nowhere is this truer than in the world of beauty trends, where second (or third… maybe fourth?) comings happen periodically. If, like me, you were born in the ’80s or ’90s, you’ll be more than familiar with the latest trend to garner 251 million views (and counting) on TikTok. Nineties grunge is back, with the youth–including Hailey Bieber, who just told Vogue it was an “effortless” trend she will be experimenting with this year–are wielding their jet-black kohl pencils and sleeping in their makeup again. 

“Beauty trends have a way of coming around again, repackaged under different names,” says makeup artist, Lisa Eldridge, an industry veteran. “In the last few decades, a heavy, hyper-perfected makeup look has dominated and the resurgence of ’90s grunge is a manifestation of our fatigue trying to achieve this. Likewise, the first time round, ’90s grunge makeup was a reaction to the excessive glamour and full-on makeup of the ’80s.”

Noting that she has lived through “almost two identical loops of makeup trends,” Eldridge is excited at the return of ’90s grunge: “It was always a favorite of mine and I’m particularly thrilled to see a new generation gravitating towards something less ‘paint by numbers’ and appreciating the beauty of the perfectly imperfect,” she says. Meanwhile, makeup artist Jamie Genevieve welcomes the return of ’90s grunge because it “encourages people to play with their makeup,” adding “it’s more fun.” 

The ’90s grunge of today is not far removed from what it was 20 years ago, with Bieber referencing the “beautiful, undone skin” and “smudgy eyeliner” that she’s seen on TikTok. But back then, it was a revolutionary movement: “As a young makeup artist in the ’90s, I could see the glamour of the ’80s was beginning to look old-fashioned,” Eldridge explains. “We wanted real skin and lived-in makeup and for it to look cool, androgynous and youthful. It was about creating something that felt fresh and made a statement–and this ran through every channel you can imagine, from Seattle to London and New York; through music (think Nirvana) to fashion (think Marc Jacobs and Perry Ellis). It was the first time in history that makeup had been so pared-back, stark and sometimes brutal.”