The year is 2016 and you’re getting ready for a night out. Drake’s “One Dance” is blaring from your iPhone and your Beachwaver curling iron is plugged in on the counter. You reach into your cosmetic bag for your favorite beauty product, most likely seen in a YouTube video from Michelle Phan, Jackie Aina, or NikkieTutorials. Maybe it’s the Tarte Shape Tape Concealer or the Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kit. Or could it be the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow? No matter; you apply your look with abandon, free from the pressure of TikTok trends and influencer endorsements.
It’s always easy to romanticize the past, but there was truly something special about 2016 beauty. Sure, our liquid matte lips were as dry as the Sahara desert and our eyebrows just a touch too dark, but nevertheless, we loved the way we looked. So much so that we documented it in countless photos and selfies (dog ears filter optional) and 10 years later decided to post them on the internet in a collective retrospective.
As the 2016 trend has us digging through our camera rolls, it’s clear the way we approached beauty and social media is vastly different from today. Yes, we were online in 2016—but in a low-stakes way that allowed us to actually play with our hair and makeup. We didn’t think twice about our thick liquid eyeliner or dramatic cut creases. We were bold enough to wear matte lipsticks in shades like dark purple, fuchsia, and brown. We were naive enough to think that simply overlining our lips would magically give us a Kylie Jenner pout. In 2016 there were no concerns about being “cringe" or “chuegy.” Back then social media was forgiving in that way.
How ironic that despite 2016 beauty being rather elaborate, it feels much simpler than today’s minimalist and clean girl aesthetic. It turns out, chasing something natural and effortless-looking is a lot more work than simply wearing something for the joy of it. And the joy was abundant—a quick poll among Glamour staff had us sharing photos of matte lipsticks in every color of the rainbow, painstakingly drawn eyebrows, and beach waves taken directly from the blog pages of Amber Fillerup Clark.
Ahead, the Glamour staff reflects on their signature 2016 look, biggest sources of inspiration (King Kylie and Lorde, anyone?) and what this special era of beauty meant to them.
Alanna Martine Kilkeary, commerce writer
King Kylie reigned at this time and so did one of my favorite social media platforms ever—Tumblr. I took a lot of inspo from Tumblr: The dark matte lips, tie chokers, big felt hats. I had multiple colors of the Kylie Lip Kit and I also loved Lush (and still do). The scents, the colors, the vibe of visiting the Lush store in the mall is forever engrained in my memory. I can still smell it. This era of beauty was definitely a time of experimenting with what styles I liked and figuring out what makeup suited me best. It was when I learned that beauty and fashion really gave me confidence inside and out.
Perrie Samotin, digital director
In 2016 my hair was everything to me. I wanted slightly grungy, second- (or fourth-!) day waves and I’d finally found the right tools (RIP the very particular Amika waving wand that’s since been discontinued). I also was obsessed with the two blonde streaks at the front of my hair, which were partially inspired by a photo I’d saved of New York It girl and DJ Harley Viera-Newton. Her highlights blended more seamlessly, but I loved how my “money pieces” added a clear point of view to my look. Also, 2016 was the year I dabbled in lip filler, inspired to a lesser degree by Kylie Jenner. I loved it then and still love the way I look in photos from that era. In fact, I’m thinking about going back to adding those two blonde streaks, so I guess you could say I’m inspired by own 2016 vibe ten years later.
Ariana Yaptangco, senior beauty editor
The year 2016 was my “edgy” year—I was a Tumblr girl at the time, and if the chokers, dark lipstick, and smizing are any indication, I was really feeling my vampy cool-girl persona. There was this one plum lipstick from Smashbox (that I can vaguely recall reading about in a Lorde interview) that I used all the time. I remember feeling very “grown up” and empowered by the makeup of this era. I also remember a feeling of freedom and being able to try on different personalities—as if you could be anyone you wanted on any given day. It kind of makes me sad for the younger generation in today’s beauty landscape, which doesn’t really encourage the same kind of imagination or experimentation (or delightfully cringey photos!).
Sam Reed, senior news and entertainment editor
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My signature look was all about winged eyeliner, burgundy, wine, or brown lipstick, and my curly shag haircut (and subsequent curly bangs in 2017). I was most inspired by (obviously) Lorde in her Pure Heroine era, with big curls and dark lip products. I had a Milani lipstick from CVS that was my go-to for going out and the Kylie Lip Kit because I interviewed her (but had to stop using it because it dried my lips out so badly). I was 23 in 2016 and working my first big-girl reporting job, which included a lot of fancy events in and around Beverly Hills, Weho, and Hollywood. Wearing the burgundy lip made me feel like less of a poser at these things.
Monique Wilson, executive assistant
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I was a brooding emo teenager who swore that wearing Kat Von D liquid lipstick and black eyeliner would make her look older. Videos from YouTubers like Jackie Aina and Jaclyn Hill were my 2016 beauty bibles. With Jackie, I loved watching a dark-skinned Black woman have fun with makeup. She was so bold and creative, which I didn’t see a lot when I looked at other creators. And on top of that, she made really great content for beginners and made sure that she walked through all the core steps before showing anything new. 2016 was my first time experimenting with makeup. I practiced different makeup techniques like a shimmery eye shadow crease or the perfect way to highlight your face (tops of cheekbones, under the eyebrow tail, tip of the nose, and Cupid’s bow). I had so much fun playing with different eyeshadow looks and lip colors, and I kind of miss it.
Chantal Waldholz, senior global director, audience development
In 2016, I tried every beauty trend available to me (yes, including the hat and the Taylor Swift–coded red lip). I wish I could share a closer look at my aggressively bold eyebrows: mismatched shapes, far too dark, applied with zero hesitation. Overall, the boldness of 2016 had me in a chokehold: red lips, full-coverage foundation. ColourPop was a staple, especially for eye looks. Pigment mattered more than anything else. MAC was also nonnegotiable. I owned just about every lipstick they made. Being bold on the outside helped me step into it on the inside, which is corny but true. This was the year that pushed me closer to knowing who I was—stylistically and otherwise—and set the tone for the confidence I found in my 30s.
Anna Moeslein, deputy editor
I had full blunt bangs that took an exorbitant amount of care, time, and money to upkeep. But they were my signature and I got compliments on them all the time, so it felt worth it. The bangs were definitely a holdover from my Zooey Deschanel/New Girl twee era. I was also influenced in a big way by Stranger Things. I started wearing so many retro sneakers and striped T-shirts that I realized Finn Wolfhard was kind of my new style inspiration (no really, I wrote about it). I also went down a rabbit hole researching photos of Winona Ryder in the ’80s and ’90s; I started to reference those when I went shopping or got my hair cut. (This image specifically is pinned to the top of the mood board in my brain.)
Anastasia Sanger, director, programming and creative development
My beauty look in 2016 took the residuals from the height of twee (thick cat-eye eyeliner, blunt bangs) and added a lot of dark lip experimentation. I am very grateful to say I never fell prey to the block-brow trend. I had DIY’d ombré green hair that faded into a gross sea foam when I ran out of Manic Panic. I was deep on Tumblr and obsessed with the pastel grunge aesthetic and Japanese street fashion. Rookiemag was still going strong and Tavi Gevinson was definitely on the mood board. I was a broke college student, so I wasn’t buying much makeup beyond what was at the drug store, but I definitely remember coveting Urban Decay, MAC and Kat Von D (pre-cancellation). I definitely was way less afraid of how I’d be perceived on the internet because there wasn’t an algorithm there to thrust my crusty black lipstick toward an unsympathetic audience ready to ridicule me.
