9 Beauty Trends From the Early 2000s You Already Forgot About

Chunky Highlights

Zebra stripe highlights were the opposite of the blended balayage or gradient ombré looks we’re obsessed with now. If we only knew then that thick, chunky highlights weren’t as cool as we thought. Clearly the words natural and seamless weren’t in our hair color vocabulary.

Blue Hues 

Icy blue shadow or liner was a staple in every makeup bag. Although the early ’00s saw a lot of experimentation in terms of hair, with our makeup we were very loyal to just one shade on the color wheel. Whether it was a frosty, silvery or baby blue, this was our go-to shade and we were all going to wear it—whether it complemented our eyes and skin tone or not. 

Fake and Bake

Nothing says youth and beauty like the color orange. Although we weren’t on vacation in St. Tropez, we wanted to look like we were. Instead of achieving that beautiful bronze glow, the self-tanner formulas at the time had us all looking like we just got off the plane from Loompa Land. 

Soft, Barely-There Brows

The 90s had us plucking our eyebrows into thin, sharp lines. The early ’00s were a little more forgiving and we finally gave our brows a break. Thankfully the trend shifted toward a more natural, undefined brow. 

Hair Extensions

Long, obvious and super fake hair extensions were all the rage. It didn’t matter that they didn’t look or feel anything like human hair, synthetic clip-on hair was a way to dramatically change your look in an instant. Coupled with a fake tan, you could make all your Barbie dreams come true. 

High Shine Lip Gloss

If you weren’t glossed to the hilt in the ’00s, then you weren’t doing something right. The lip gloss game was fierce and whether yours had extra sparkle or extra shimmer, it didn’t matter, you just had to shine. 

Two-Toned Hair 

The opposite of the chunky highlight, the two-toned dye job was another out-of-the-box hair trend that took off in the early ’00s. It gave you a spunky, edgy look in a very mainstream, nonthreatening way. It was a way to say, “I want to be punk, but my mom won’t let me.”

Smudged Liner

Perfectly lined eyes weren’t going to cut it in the early aughts. Smudged liner brought variety to a world filled with icy blue for a “good girl gone bad” look that paved the way for the smoky eye.