By Cynthia Vera
With over 1 billion active users and eager content creators wanting to make a name for themselves in the world of internet fame, it’s easy to lose track of time and fall in the endless abyss of TikTok one scroll at a time.
Launched in China 2016, TikTok has become a social media giant in it’s own right, unmatched by most social media platforms. Providing an online home to viral trends like dance challenges to the latest pop songs, absurd and often self-deprecating comedic skits, memes and make-up tutorials, TikTok has a community for everyone.
Whilst trends come and go, TikTok content creators find a way to revive them in short-form videos that are easy to digest and additively entertaining. Some of those trends has been in the beauty community on the app.
PolicyBee, an independent digital insurance broker, researched and analysed hashtag views for 100 nostalgic beauty viral trends that highlighted current ‘most popular’ trends on the video-sharing platform, finding that ‘90’s beauty trends are making a speedy comeback.
Research conducted by PolicyBee.
These iconic moments in beauty trends that have been reinvented for a modern touch include: eyebrow slit with 74.1M views and a weekly growth of 6.62%, blue eyeshadow sitting comfortably with 58.2M views, razor thin thin brows with 10.2M views maintaining a weekly growth of 4.08%. PolicyBee also discovered that fake freckles and beauty marks saw marginal weekly growth; however, they’re still on the rise like all re-emerging trends from the past.
PolicyBee’s research found more and more people on TikTok’s Gen-Z demographic are eager to take a memory down lane with hair styles becoming increasingly ‘fast growing’. Think mullets, which grew by 20.41%, to shaggy haircuts with a 3.27% growth; and of course, it wouldn’t be the 90’s without any hair tinsels and scrunches.
Research conducted by PolicyBee.
Whilst the 90’s aesthetics seemed to be a good track, PolicyBee saw ‘no-change’ in trends like body glitter, clumpy mascara, face gems, butterfly clips and mood nails. Though these scream nostalgia, their lack of fast-paced growth can mean these “trends returned as short-lived fads and are now slowly losing traction among consumers” highlights PolicyBee.
Even though the 90’s are making a comeback, Y2K aesthetics are performing considerably better than its predecessor. PolicyBee’s research found that based on the total views from the 7th of May, the ‘top 10’ most popular nostalgic beauty trends defined the YK2 playful and light-hearted aesthetics and fun approach to colours and textures with press on nails reaching 1.3B views. Other popular contenders were scrunchies at 946.4M views to temporary tattoos with 554M views, red lipstick hitting 239.9M views, to tooth gems with 46.5M views and glitter lips reaching 156.2M views.
Research conducted by PolicyBee breaking down each down trend by area of beauty.
Head of Customer Service at PolicyBee, Kerriann Hockley commented:
“The current Y2K trend, as well as a resurgence for all things 90’s over the last year, has brought many nostalgic beauty trends back into the mainstream. With this in mind, we headed to TikTok to analyse the hashtag views for 100 nostalgic beauty trends to decipher which were currently the ‘most popular’. Whether you want to experiment and try a new look out on yourself, or you’re a beauty practitioner or hairdresser looking to discover the next big trends to offer your clients, we hope this research provides you with some inspiration.
“However, even if you’re confident you have all the skills you need to deliver a great look, it’s a fact of life that things don’t always go according to plan. Mistakes and accidents can be both expensive to fix and damaging to your hard-earned reputation. Before jumping in with a new look or service, make sure to do proper research and training, if necessary, and always do a patch test beforehand! It’s also a good idea to protect yourself and your business with treatment and professional liability insurance, in case things go unexpectedly wrong”.
After spending over a year in lockdown, many of us were looking for an escape and it’s no wonder we went back to the past for a modern makeover as a means of escaping a monotonous routine. The 90’s and YK2 aesthetics in beauty marked a period defined by experimental yet frivolous trends that radiated fun and wit.
Research conducted by PolicyBee.
A nostalgic trip down memory lane is what we need right now, especially in the face of harsh global realities; so it’s time to dig up the blue eyeshadow, put your glitter lip gloss on and get your mullets rocking!
Independent digital insurance broker PolicyBee specialises in professional insurance for freelancers, sole traders, limited companies, and charities. Award-winning, jargon-free customer service provides a choice of buying a policy online or speaking to an expert adviser by phone.
