Is 2016 Makeup Back for Good?
On TikTok, 2016 glam has quickly turned nostalgic.
In 2025, it’s hard to escape the clean girl makeup look. Whether you’re scrolling on TikTok or looking towards the fashion week runways, no one can deny the prominence of no-makeup makeup. Thanks to recent advancements in skincare and the emphasis on functionality over excess, our routines have become incredibly minimal. As a result, beauty fans have started romanticizing the 2016 era — when bold glam was the norm.
On the internet, nostalgic beauty trends resurface quicker than you think. Although our feeds are also flooded with Y2K references and odes to beauty icons of the ’90s, the trend cycle continues to move at an alarmingly fast rate. As skinny brows and concealer lips go through a major renaissance online, beauty details from 2016 are simultaneously making waves on the platform.
@ur_fave_content No clean girl aesthetic around here #fyp #foryou #era #2016 #throwback #2016makeup #trends #newgen #oldgen #makeup #kylejennerlipkit ♬ original sound – king b
Synonymous with Kylie Jenner‘s “King Kylie” era and a multitude of YouTube beauty gurus, 2016 makeup has a reputation for being the antithesis of subtle. Categorized by matte foundation, blocky eyebrows, shimmery cut-crease eye looks, intense contouring, liquid lipstick and blinding highlighter — TikTok’s obsession with 2016 makeup harps on the platform’s affinity for experimental glam amid the minimalistic beauty movement.
For members of Gen Z, 2016 is associated with unappologetic, maximalist beauty — it’s forever cemented in our minds as the time when everyone wore rainbow eye looks to school and high-coverage foundation on the daily. Although it may seem like makeup inspiration is rife on the app, users have been inevitably reverting back to an especially fond time — one that encouraged creativity and play above all else.
@nisimondragon Did somebody say 2016?!?!😏 @Benefit Cosmetics @Morphe Cosmetics @Too Faced @urban decay @Anastasia Beverly Hills @milkmakeup @Juvia’s Place @ONE SIZE BEAUTY #fullbeat #fullcoverage #2016makeup #kyliejenner #makeuptutorial ♬ original sound – nisimondragon
Whether the 2016 makeup craze is a result of the modest makeup we’ve become accustomed to or another example of feeding into our nostalgic tendencies, the trend has taught us that there will always be beauty fans looking to disrupt the status quo. It might not be 2016 anymore, but TikTok is proof enough that if anything can transcend time — it’s makeup.
While you’re here, read what beauty professionals have to say about the “girl maintenance” trend.
