From glossy lips to crimped hair, the coolest Noughties trends

By Prudence Wade

The Noughties are back in a big way.

Y2K-inspired trends have been taking over fashion for a while now, and now our hair and make-up looks are getting the 2000s treatment.

No7 make-up ambassador Joy Adenuga believes TikTok plays a big part in this. “There are lots of trends from the past coming back and being made popular again by creators,” she says.

“Another reason is popular celebrities from the Noughties being in the spotlight right now. Great examples are Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears.” Both women were Noughties icons, and continue to make headlines today – JLo for her engagement to Ben Affleck, and Spears, who recently announced her pregnancy on Instagram.

Luckily, techniques and technology have come a long way since the Noughties. We’ve now got more knowledge and better products, meaning we can update these retro looks, so they’re fresher and more elegant…

 

Super glossy lips

You might have cringeworthy flashbacks to getting your hair stuck in sticky, overly glossed lips, but the Noughties trend is making a comeback – albeit with a bit more finesse.

To get the look, Adenuga says: “Start with slightly overlining your lip line with a shade two tones darker, apply a nude lipstick with ultra-reflective sparkles and pack on your favourite clear lip gloss.”

 

Baby braids

All you need to nail this look is a comb and several small, clear elastic bands, says Natalia Vera, expert stylist at Live True London.

“First, start by deciding how many braids you’d like to have, and go ahead and section out these pieces of hair evenly around your head, before tying the rest of the hair out of the way with a clip or bobble,” explains Vera.

“A top tip to achieve an effortless look, is to not create tension when braiding, to keep the plaits nice and loose. Simply braid and secure each one mid-way down the hair lengths with a clear elastic.”

 

Frosted eyeshadow

“This tends to go south if you’re not careful,” warns Adenuga – but you could have delicately frosted eyes a la Doja Cat or Hailey Bieber, with a bit of effort.

“The key to acing a frosted eyeshadow colour is warming up the crease areas with warm shades, and applying your favourite frosted shade to the middle of the lid,” Adenuga explains.

 

Clips, clips and more clips

Remember loading up your hair with as many clips as possible? That trend is well and truly back, judging by Emma Watson’s standout beauty look on the 2022 Bafta red carpet.

If you want to recreate the style, Vera says: “Split hair into a middle parting and smooth down the hair on your scalp, removing any bumps from the top. Pull the front sections of your hair tight to your head and back towards the ears, before applying four to eight clips each side.

“Insert the clips one by one and evenly on each side to frame the face, or place them in scattered and different directions for a funkier look. Finish with some salt spray to the ends of the hair, to add a beach-waved but natural effect.”

 

Smudgy black eyeliner

This is yet another TikTok trend that has made its way onto our Instagram feeds – and eventually the red carpet. It’s part of the ‘indie sleaze’ trend – the renaissance of grungy looks, a la Kate Moss in the Noughties. We can also thank actor Julia Fox for popularising this style, as she seems to have an obsession with black eyeliner – done to various degrees of maximalism.

From a make-up point of view, it’s all about smudgy black eyeliner. This is Adenuga’s favourite of the 2000s trends, “And actually the easiest to achieve”.

She says: “All you need is an eye khol pencil – black might be too intense for some, I’d advise starting with a brown shade.

“Draw a line (you don’t need to be neat) as close to your lashes as you can. Grab a smudger eye brush, run that through the line you just created and boom, smudgy black eyeliner achieved.”

 

Spiky buns

“This trending TikTok style doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, thanks to its versatility and suitability for all hair types, textures and lengths,” says Vera.

“To create Y2K spikey buns, start by ensuring hair is fully detangled, and separate any hair at the front that you wish to keep outside of the bun. If you wish to incorporate a middle parting, comb this in before proceeding. Group the rest of your hair together and twist into a bun, before securing with a hair tie, either at the nape of your neck for a chic low spiky bun, or higher up the head to mirror Billie Eilish’s go-to look.

“The key is to keep the last couple of inches of your hair ends out of the bun, facing upwards. To achieve this nostalgic style, the messier the better, so use the end of a comb to pull out some loose hair tendrils around the front of your face to frame the look.”