If Queen Victoria walked into a Sephora, would her mind be blown? It’s possible that the sight of people wearing glittery eyeshadow and dark-red lipstick would make her think she’d wandered into the wrong side of town. But in reality, modern-day makeup trends are heavily inspired by what came before them — even fashions from Queen Victoria’s time. With every passing decade, makeup has become edgier and more creative. From the thick, white-pancake powder of the Victorian era to the “no-makeup makeup” look of the 2020s, women have waged mini-revolutions with their cosmetics for generations.
1860s: Do as Queen Victoria does
People looked to the Queen for guidance, and this was equally true for makeup trends. Since Victoria preferred a milky complexion and clean features, so too did the women of England.
Victorian-era makeup trends can be summed up in just a few words: pale, clean, and rosy. But achieving these three royal beauty standards meant navigating a minefield of potential faux pas.
Pressure to be beautiful
There was a general perception that makeup was for women who couldn’t be trusted. But at the same time, if you weren’t naturally beautiful, then you probably felt pressure to at least seem like you were. The goal was to have porcelain skin with a naturally rosy complexion, like a doll.
To achieve this look, women covered their cheeks and lips with a light pat rouge and applied white powder to their faces. The white powder hid any “unclean” blemishes, such as dark spots, acne, and fine lines.
1870s: The paler the lips…
Although it was a huge no-no to wear lipstick, there were some unavoidable conditions that simply had to be addressed, chapped lips being one of them. Women started to carefully and discreetly use products such as lip salve to soothe chapped lips.
But when actress Sarah Bernhardt blatantly applied red lipstick in public, she unwittingly sparked an entire movement. It’s no coincidence that some women, who often made their lip salves at home, started to sport slightly pinker smiles after Bernhardt’s scandal.
1880s: They made their own makeup out of spices and foods
For Victorian women, kitchens doubled as a place both to cook food and concoct makeup products. Although mascara wasn’t used during that time, women would discreetly smooth burnt cloves onto their lashes to darken them.
As the Hair & Makeup Artist Handbook attests, women would also dab strawberry juice or crushed geranium leaves onto their cheeks as a natural-looking rouge.
Dying to be beautiful
Clearly, women had to get creative when it came to the “less is more” approach to Victorian-era makeup. But sometimes, this creativity was downright dangerous. In an effort to achieve that glowing, almost-translucently white complexion, some women bought facial pigments that contained substances such as arsenic, mercury, and lead.
We know now that these ingredients are toxic. At best, women would experience hair loss and conjunctivitis; at worst, kidney failure and death.
1890s: Walking works of art
As the Victorian era came to a close, so too did the long-held belief that outwardly using makeup was a social sin. Although some members of the sickly-pale upper class held fast to their discreet ways, other women chose to embrace a much more glamorous, in-your-face makeup trend called “enamelling.”
This controversial departure from the norm meant that women started slathering their faces with toxic, thick, white paint and rubbing their cheeks with unsightly bright-red rouge. It was a popular, albeit brief, makeup revolution.
1900s: Taking makeup out of the shadows
Western beauty has almost always been connected to youth, and at the turn of the century, the pale and virginal look still reigned supreme. And yet, times changed: more women started to push the envelope with colors, particularly with bright-pink lip stains.
Queen Victoria’s death meant that women needed a new beauty ideal, and they found their idols in, well, each other. When Selfridge’s department store introduced the beauty counter, it took makeup out of the shadows.
1910s: Becoming “angelic” Red Cross nurses
World War I saw women once again straddling the line between traditional and modern makeup trends. Women who volunteered as nurses in the Red Cross were expected to stay in their gender lane, look good, and save lives while doing it.
It was essential for women to evoke optimism and femininity during the war years, and it was easier to look hopeful when pale powders and facial creams covered the stress lines on their faces.
Maybe they’re born with it…
There were two major makeup inventions in the 1910s: “cake” mascara by Maybelline, and the first lipstick tube by William Kendall — though the real inventor is disputed by historians. Both inventions made applying and selling makeup easier.
Powder compacts meant that women could achieve that powerful pale glow from anywhere. The era of “shameful” makeup was on its way out thanks to these inventions.
1920s: Lights, camera, action!
Clara Bow, Lillian Gish, Marion Davies, Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson, and Louise Brooks — these are just a few of the women who revolutionized makeup trends in the 1920s, and they were all major movie stars.
Regular women looked to celebrities for inspiration, and this resulted in some of the most iconic makeup looks of the decade, including Bow’s cupid’s bow lips, Pickford’s sweet, rounded cheeks dabbed with rouge, and Brooks’ dramatic flapper-esque brows and eyes.
Flappers redefined beauty
The Roaring ‘20s are defined by flappers, or women who reclaimed their sexuality by laughing in the face of social convention. Everything about flappers was daring, from their short, blunt bobs and bright red lipstick to their body-hugging, flashy dresses that were made to be danced in. For flappers, makeup wasn’t something to hide, but to embrace.
One of the defining features of a flapper was her eyebrows, which were either plucked into long, thin arches or shaved off altogether and drawn on.
1920s: Welcome eyeliner to the stage
The practice of accentuating one’s eyes with black liner was already popular in other cultures, but it took Western women in the ‘20s by storm. Where once eyeliner was forbidden, now it was all the rage.
Actresses sported dramatic, heavy eyes lined with kohl, which gave them a mysterious, almost dangerous look that other women tried to emulate.
1930s: Less was more during the Great Depression
The early 1930s can be characterized by one word: thin. From the ideal body type to eyebrows to budgets, thinness defined the era. And at the height of the Depression, “less is more” applied to nearly every facet of life, especially makeup.
Lashes were thin and wispy, eyebrows were a bit fuller than in the ‘20s, and dramatic kohl eyeliner was replaced with light brown pencil liner, if it was worn at all.
Innocence is bliss
While the everyday woman adopted a stripped down, naturalistic look with barely-there eye makeup and rouge, movie stars were a different story.
Actresses such as Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, and Carole Lombard simultaneously evoked innocence and sexiness with their pale, blemish-free skin — thank you, petroleum jelly — striking white-blonde curls, and sophisticated, high-arched brows. And at a time when people were desperate for cheering up, these ladies’ eye-catching looks definitely got the job done.
1940s: Makeup as a patriotic duty
In the 1940s, women didn’t leave the house without red lipstick. It was a sign of support to the soldiers fighting in WWII. After leaving lipstick kisses on letters to their husbands — providing morale and a reminder of who was waiting for them back home — women would go to work in factories and on construction sites.
They needed an easy, practical makeup routine, and it was both simple and striking to apply a bright shade of red lipstick along with softly arched brows and chiseled cheekbones.
The trendsetters of World War II
World War II impacted every part of life, including Hollywood and its most famous actresses. Maureen O’Hara, known for her bright-red curls and lips, often played strong, independent characters during that decade. Rita Hayworth, with her plump orange-red lips and eyes dusted with gray shadow, could carry films like Gilda all by herself.
And Veronica Lake’s sharp cheekbones and sultry blonde waves made her one of Hollywood’s most sought-after femme fatales. For them, too, makeup was as much a sign of strength as it was of beauty.
1950s: The “return” of the housewife
Faces in the ‘30s and ‘40s were largely bare — or meant to look bare — because of the political and economic hardships women endured. But in the ‘50s, makeup had a major resurgence. Cream foundation worn under a heavy powder helped women look soft, pure, and smooth.
Light rouge on the apples of cheeks achieved a more youthful look for housewives and mothers. The goal was to appear modest and sexy, though some women resented the “nice housewife” look…
Everyday vs. glam makeup
The ‘50s was one of the first times that makeup split into major categories. There was a softer, lighter, more practical look for the everyday housewife — always with a pop of lipstick — but then there were the edgy, sultry trends for those in search of a more glamorous look.
Grace Kelly expertly combined the two categories: her natural brows and pale, powdered skin made her approachable, but her soft blonde waves and pink lipstick made her a movie star — and later a real-life princess!
Actresses set the trend with their unusual features
Women looked to the actresses of the time — Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, and Doris Day — for inspiration, and some of these celebs turned their own unusual features into trends.
Hepburn’s thick, sculpted eyebrows gained popularity, as did Taylor’s striking cat eyeliner and Monroe’s sexy beauty mark. Like Kelly, Day also evoked both sexiness and approachability with her freckles and bright-red lipstick.
1960s: WWTD or What Would Twiggy Do?
Ah, the ‘60s: everything from the music through the movies to the makeup underwent a major revolution. Skirts got shorter, heels got higher, and eyes became the heart and soul of the face. Twiggy best represents the ‘60s shift in beauty from lips to eyes.
Mascara made a comeback in a big way, ushering in huge spiky lashes — on the top and bottom lashes — and even falsies. Thick liner of many colors made eyes look otherworldly. Clearly, experimentation was key.
Hippies bucked the trend
The point of makeup in the ‘60s was to stand out, and hippies certainly did just that. Although a large component of hippie beauty was, well, not wearing makeup, others took their makeup experimentation to the next level.
Young hippies with “square” parents wore bright, bold eyeshadow or even decorated their faces with colorful flowers, rainbows, and patterns. Pastel colors also gained traction as eyeshadow and lipstick shades: just look at Sharon Tate or Cher.
Black women fought for representation
In the '60s white women fought for leadership positions at work, and evoking a pure-yet-sexy makeup look was a big part of being taken seriously. But at the same time, women of color were fighting for opportunities everywhere — including with makeup.
Stars like Diahann Carroll paved the way for future black actresses, and she did so while wearing soft, white eyeshadow, an alluring cat eye, and pastel-pink lipstick. Carroll was often seen with the dramatic cut-crease eyeshadow look that defined ‘60s makeup.
1970s: Farrah Fawcett's makeup made her strong and beautiful
As the Vietnam War continued, many women worked as military nurses, and they expertly blended practical beauty looks with hints of sexiness. They wore makeup to enhance their best features, regardless of the trends.
For example, they wore soft-pink blush to draw eyes to ample cheekbones, and concealer or tinted cream to brighten tired eyes. The goal was to be strong and sexy, and no one embodied that ‘70s look better than Charlie’s most famous Angel, Farrah Fawcett.
Bare-faced, breezy beauty
Remember how many women went barefaced in the 1800s? The trend returned in the ‘70s, but not because of social constructs — quite the opposite, actually. At the height of feminism’s second wave, women intentionally wore less makeup as a political statement.
Others, such as Carrie Fisher and Ali MacGraw, stuck to more natural eyeshadow hues, sometimes only wearing shadow on one lid. For the first time, the most important part of the face was the skin itself: bronzer was supposed to evoke a sunkissed, breezy, and vital look.
Gimme that night fever…
Of course, women are more than just their makeup, and some of the most politically active feminists also loved to groove at the disco. Like a disco ball, women’s makeup was supposed to sparkle and shine. Blue powder-pastel shadow around eyelids and even under their eyes made their irises pop, and some women even wore white liner under their bottom lash lines.
A rising nostalgia for the ‘40s meant darker lip shades made a brief return, too. You can see it in action on disco songstresses Donna Summer and Diana Ross.
1980s: Pastels, pigments, patterns — oh my!
Girls, they wanna have fun! From pink polka dots to plush purple pants, the ‘80s were all about pizzazz! Okay, we’ll stop with the “p” theme now. Everything in the ‘80s was big and exaggerated: just look at Cyndi Lauper’s hair or Madonna’s makeup look.
Women wore everything from bubblegum-pink blush to icy-blue eyeshadow, usually all at once. They’d often contour with blush — a.k.a. “draping” — which made them look a little severe. And this was exactly what they were going for!
Punk added an extra edge
When punk rock exploded in the 1980s, one of beauty’s most famous — and controversial — trends was born. Instead of soft pink eyeshadow, women painted their eyelids with bright reds, electric blues, and vibrant purples, sometimes of all them blended together.
Some people would call their eyeliner “raccoon-like”, but it also gave them a haunted, Joan Jett quality. And for the first time in years, brows were natural, thick, and unkempt — and sometimes shaved off completely. Rock on.
Moms, squares, and nostalgia
When we say things were “square” in the ‘80s, we’re not just talking about shoulder pads. Ronald Reagan’s presidency marked a return to conservative values. Beauty-wise, some women’s goal was to be both modest and alluring.
They achieved this by bringing back some nostalgic fun and mature makeup trends from years past: 1950s face powder, bright 1940s lipstick, and blue 1970s eyeshadow. Beauty was about striking that balance between soccer mom and runway model, but because it was the '80s, it was important to stand out, too.
1990s: Sugar, spice, and everything nice
And by “everything nice,” we mean “body glitter,” “pink shimmery eyeshadow,” and “frosted lipstick.” As makeup looks separated into clear categories in the ‘90s, the girlie girls swept sparkly pink eyeshadow over their eyelids and filled their overlined lips with frosted lipstick.
After all, if sparkly pop stars like Posh Spice and Britney Spears slathered their shoulders with body glitter and lined their eyebrows with highlighter, then that must be a good look… right?
Vampire chic
On the other end of the makeup spectrum in the ‘90s was the vampire-chic look inspired by the grunge music movement. Characterized by pale, bloodless skin and dark-brick lipstick, the grunge look was for girls who “weren’t like other girls.”
Facial products were totally mattifying, and eyebrows were dark, thin, and plucked to form high arches, which gave women an aloof, judgemental appearance. Just look at ‘90s Drew Barrymore — we wouldn’t want to cross her!
“I’m not wearing makeup” makeup
Perhaps the “coolest” makeup trend of the ‘90s was the “I’m not wearing makeup at all” makeup look. As culture-shaking events such as the L.A. riots and the Clinton sex scandal emerged, some women may have reacted to the newfound uncertainty by taking any complications out of their makeup routines.
This meant minimal blush, a mere sweep of eyeliner, and a pop of nude lip gloss before leaving the house. Models like Kate Moss let their natural features do the talking instead of their makeup, which made them all the more confident — and beautiful.
2000s: We’re hardcore emotional over here
There was so much to be emo — or “hardcore emotional” — about in the early 2000s, and many women and teens expressed their angst via makeup. It was as though the punk style from the ‘80s and grunge from the ‘90s had a baby: emo kids sported sickly-pale skin, eyes smudged with thick dark liner, and a startlingly nude lip.
Or, if they were especially in their feels, they’d swap the nude lip for a bright-red, blood-like lip, tri-color unblended eyeshadow, and a few well-placed facial piercings. Emo-queens Avril Lavigne and Gwen Stefani always managed to pull this look off.
“That’s hot”
In the 2000s, reality TV turned regular people — or, at least, people who seemed normal on the outside — into household names. Formerly unknown rich kids such as Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie became “trendsetters” overnight, and suddenly everyone was slathering their cheeks with bright-pink blush, contouring with highlighter, and wearing white, unblended eyeshadow.
In its essence, 2000s beauty was about looking as doll-like as possible, with bright dewy skin and glossy lips. And how could we forget the dreaded return of the pencil-thin flapper brows?
Tanned and glittery
In light of huge cultural events including 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, some young women had to grow up fast. Heavy and dark lip liner, overly-tanned skin with bronzer, and contoured cheeks made young women look years older than they were.
And thanks to the internet, young makeup-lovers were constantly introduced to new trends: raccoon eyes, golden glittery eyeshadow, and thick fake eyelashes came into style. We finally said goodbye to lip liner and opted for a vivid-red stained look instead. It was all very dramatic, but so was Y2K!
2010s: Everyone was Insta-glam
Instagram ushered in an era of beauty that was all about performance: you had to look your best and use the most trendy products all of the time.
And in order to look like a poreless filter, you had to pile on cream foundation, concealer, contour, highlight, blush, smokey eyeshadow, and dark lipstick every day. And even though our skin was practically screaming out for moisture, we just added more highlighter. That’s what James Charles did!
Only eyebrows were celebrated for being “natural”
If you didn’t want to smother your pores with cakey makeup products in the 2010s, then you had a few options, though they were still over-the-top even by 1800s standards. Products including hydrating spray, fake lashes, thick cream concealer, BB cream, and tinted chapstick made sure you still looked done-up without a heavy contour or smokey eye.
But thanks to models like Cara Delevingne, we at least got to keep our natural brows, so long as they were brushed out and filled in.
The Kardashian Takeover
Kylie Jenner’s 2015 lip kit kicked off the lip-plumping trend that continues to this day. Lips were supposed to be plump and mattified, and if you couldn’t achieve this look with her product, then girls would go out and get filler injected into their lips instead.
KKW Beauty, Kim’s beauty line, promised to help women achieve “the beat”: heavy contour, highlight, and “baking” powder that led to smooth, bronzed, matte skin. First we were laughing at the Kardashians and their hilariously out-of-touch ways; now, they’re laughing all the way to the bank.
2020s: Not about function, but creativity
It’s beauty influencers who do most of the trendsetting these days. In theory, all you need is an appreciation for makeup, a camera, and a TikTok account to become a millionaire influencer.
Even celebrities ventured into the makeup world in the late 2010s-early 2020s: Rihanna, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, and Lady Gaga have all added millions to their bank accounts in the process. Rihanna’s line in particular, Fenty Beauty, brought the beauty industry into the 21st century with its extremely diverse foundation shades.
All about self care
It’s safe to say that the early 2020s have been… exhausting, to say the least. Enduring a pandemic and civil unrest can really put things into perspective, including the role makeup plays in our lives. Nowadays, makeup is less about looking good than feeling good. And most importantly, skincare is about self-care.
All over social media, men and women alike post videos of themselves washing their faces, applying retinol serums, smoothing on moisturizer, and imploring viewers to wear SPF. Beauty in the 2020s is about real health, not the illusion of health.
There’s a trend for everyone
So, we return to our original question: how would Queen Victoria react to a modern-day Sephora? She'd probably think she was on another planet. She’d see people of all genders, races, and sizes experimenting with elaborate cut-crease designs, vibrant lipstick shades, and self-tanner. Plus, there’s a trend for everyone: “glam girls”, “clean girls”, “cold girls”, “egirls” — they’re all names for people who want to evoke a certain vibe through their makeup.
“Clean girls” emphasize feathered, laminated brows and super-glowy skin, while “egirls” apply liberal amounts of blush to their cheeks and nose and cover their faces with fake freckles. Whichever look you choose, you’re correct — there’s no “wrong” with modern-day makeup.