When we think back to decades past, they are most notably defined by the fashion and beauty of the era: the 70’s are remembered for hippies, flared pants, floral patterns and fringe, while the 80’s were a stark contrast in comparison; a fast-paced era of neon, crimped hair and sweaters featuring more colours than a kaleidoscope.
As we usher out another decade and welcome the 2020’s, what better time to take a trip down memory lane and look back at some of the defining styles and trends that dominated the 2010’s.
Australian influencer Shanni Grimmond. Image Source: Instagram
Birth of the Influencer
With the advent of Instagram came the rise of the beauty and fashion influencer. The famed social media site paved the way for stylish and creative individuals to earn their living by posting perfectly curated pictures and videos of them living their every day lives, all the while expertly positing products within these posts to be consumed by the masses. The influencer revolution birthed social stars such as Tammy Hembrow and Jade Tunchy, as well as makeup gurus James Charles and Carli Bybel. These days, we are just as likely to clamour for the latest styles and products touted by our favourite social stars than by Hollywood’s elite.
Kim Kardashian modelling for her beauty range KKW Beauty. Image Source: Instagram
Contouring
One family who is always at the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist, and thus our minds when it comes to all things beauty and fashion, the Kardashians helped to put contouring on the map. A technique once reserved for Hollywood red carpets and designer fashion shoots, contouring became a hit in the 2010’s after Kim Kardashian’s makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic used the look on his famously influential client, thus igniting what would become a cultural phenomenon. As we clambered to appear as perfectly sculpted as Ms Kardashian, the newly instated beauty influencers of the social sphere pounced on the opportunity to share their tips and tricks, and suddenly we all became contouring experts overnight. These days, you’d be hard pressed to visit any makeup store that didn’t have endless products dedicated specifically to emulating the look.
Brow and beauty queen Cara Delevigne. Image Source: HD Brows.com
Beefed-out brows
Back in the 90’s and 2000’s, the thinner the brow, the better. The lament of women the world over, we were required to keep our eyebrows plucked within an inch of our lives, not a hair unaccounted for. Well, no longer, as the 2010’s ushered in the revival of the healthy and thick brow. First seen on runways modelled by the fashion elite, this look prompted a collective sigh of relief, as we believed we no longer had to keep up bi-weekly appointments to make sure our brows remain pencil thin. However, this look has posed a new set of issues, as we are now tasked with vying for the perfect techniques to keep our brows thick and luscious, some going as far as to have their brows permanently tattooed on! Someone let me know when the ragged, unruly brow comes back in.
Owner of Fenty Beauty Rihanna at a launch event for the beauty brand. Image Source: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
Celebrity Cosmetic Labels
With the rise of the beauty influencer also came the rise of the celebrity-beauty influencer, with many celebs trying their hand at becoming beauty gurus. Most notable labels to emerge from this are Kylie Jenner’s label, Kylie Cosmetics, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty range, and Lady Gaga’s Haus Laboratories.
Image Source: Stay Glam.com
Ombre/Balayage Hair
If you at all had a Tumblr or Pinterest account in the 2010’s, then you would’ve been privy to the craze of ombre/balayaged hair. While this look was most notably popular towards the beginning of the decade, there wasn’t a high school, university or shopping centre you could walk through without seeing multiple heads dip-dyed to emulate the trend. If you look closely, you can still see many of us trying to grow out of two-toned locks, no matter how fervently we’ve tried to plaster dye over them in years recent.
Hailey Bieber pulling off high-waisted boyfriend jeans in ways we wish we could. Image Source: Shutterstock
High Waisted Jeans
A call back to the 80’s and 90’s, high-waisted jeans made a big comeback this past decade after a brief hiatus in the 2000’s. I shudder to think back to a time where I owned a pair of jeans that weren’t high waisted, and believe that I speak for the most of us when I say that the hip-hugger look is long gone for the better.
Models Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid appearing effortlessly chic in their activewear. Image Source: Independent.Ie
Athleisure
Long gone are the days where you had to dress up to go out, or brace yourself for the discomfort of jeans, when all you needed to do was pop down to the shops. In the 2010’s, we embraced Athleisure, a trend where looking like you’ve just stepped out of a HIIT session in where no sweat occurred is encouraged. We are free to walk the streets, run errands, and sometimes even face work in a pair of leggings thanks to this new trend. It helps that activewear brands in tandem with the trend have upped their style game, creating new pieces that seamlessly transition from the gym to the street.
A Bonds campaign image from March 2019. Image Source: Who.com.au
More options for more people
The 2010’s also brought a plethora of social movements, some inspiring and well overdue, such as the #MeToo movement, and some more controversial and a seeming over-correction, like cancel culture. However, one great step in the right direction from this decade has been the demands for brands to be more inclusive in their campaigns and products, being called to create fashion and makeup options for a larger variety of consumers. While we still have a long way to go, this has seen notable success, such as brands like Fenty Beauty providing a range of over 50 foundation shades to accomodate for all skin tones, and the cancelling of the world famous Victoria’s Secret fashion show after years of critics condemning the event for it’s narrow and close-minded views when it came to their runway models.
While she may not have started the trend, no one is more notably known for her winged liner than Miss Grande. Image Source: Access Online
Winged Eyeliner
Seeing prominence in the middle of the decade, winged eyeliner burst onto the scene in late 2014 as a beauty guru’s must-do, rivalled only by contouring. This trend became so popular that there are now even products you can purchase that stamp your eyeliner on for you, as it became all too apparent that many of us struggled to perfect the wing. While we have mostly settled on the winged liner front in years passed, no one will ever be able to buy back the hours upon hours we spent furiously scrubbing out our eyeliner when it didn’t match up to start again, all the while the clock ticking by, texting our friends that we were absolutely leaving soon.
What were some of your favourite styles and trends of the decade? Be sure to leave us a comment below!
Featured Image Source: E! Online
