Beauty

12 Nostalgic ’90s Beauty Products That Bring Back All The Feels

Remember crimpers?

by Tyler Atwood and Paris Giles
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
Nostalgic '90s beauty products that'll bring back all the feels.
M.A.C. Cosmetics; Urban Decay; Gap

No matter your personal style, you can’t argue that the 1990s were an excitingly experimental time for beauty and fashion. Those on the societal periphery were maybe drawn to the raw-edged allure of grunge, while others were all about feminine minimalism, à la Calvin Klein and Gwyneth Paltrow. In the beauty realm, nothing was out of bounds — from a starkly contrasting swipe of nude lip gloss over dark lip liner to glitter-infused body lotion that would put even the shimmering vampires of Twilight to shame. To pay homage to the decade that proved anything was possible, Bustle rounded up the nostalgic ’90s beauty products that’ll take you right back.

Rediscover the moody wine-colored pigments that accompanied every grunge phase, yummy scents that you couldn’t leave the mall without (even if you just stole or spritz or two because couldn’t afford the whole bottle), and the fruity lip balms and glosses that were every ’90s girl’s introduction to beauty. The best part? You can pick up some souvenirs on this trip down memory lane, because everything ahead is still available for purchase.

Scroll on for 12 of the nostalgic ’90s beauty products that still (and forever) have our hearts.

We may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

1. The Pale M.A.C. Lipstick

Creamy-matte nude lip colors like this pale peach one from M.A.C. were ubiquitous in the ’90s and were typically paired with smudgy black eyeliner.

2. The Sun-In Spray

If you were a teen in the ’90s looking for a way to get a sun-kissed halo of golden highlights without the dye, then no doubt you reached for Sun-In, the ever-so-slightly more effective version of a squeeze of lemon juice over sun-heated locks.

3. The Bath & Body Works Fine Fragrance Mist

The bottles may have gotten a revamp, but the classic Bath & Body Works’ body mists will forevermore retain their kitschy, ’90s reputation — especially the old-school scents like Warm Vanilla Sugar.

4. The Crimper

Those who craved a walk on the wild side did so with insouciantly crimped hair. Straightened locks, after all, were far too mainstream.

5. The Black Eyeliner

No ’90s girl’s Caboodle was complete without blackest black eyeliner — to be smudged to perfection, of course. See: Wet n Wild’s Baby’s Got Black pencil.

6. The Chanel Vamp Nail Polish

Thanks perhaps to the ’90s grunge movement, Chanel’s aptly named and devastatingly dark Vamp Nail Colour became a must-have cult-fave nail polish.

7. The Urban Decay Glitter Eyeliner

The ’90s were all about glitter eye makeup: shadows, liners, whatever you could get your hands on. And Urban Decay’s offerings were a pre-teen’s BFF.

8. The Fruity Lip Glosses

Any ’90s girl who loved beauty could whip one of these fruity-flavored tubes from her back pocket on demand.

9. The Clinique Noir-Colored Lipstick

Universally complementary, Clinique's Almost Lipstick in Black Honey graced the bathroom counters of every tween girl in the ’90s — and has recently had a major comeback on BeautyTok.

10. The Fluttering 3D Butterfly Clips

When a ’90s girl wanted to get fancy, she pinned her hair with one (or five) of these 3D butterfly clips that, wait for it... actually moved and fluttered! Talk about state-of-the-art technology.

11. The Lip Smacker Flavored Balms

If you were a little young for the heavy stuff (i.e. your mom didn’t really allow makeup) you had to collect all the Lip Smacker fruity lip balms, the perfect beauty introduction to a ’90s girl’s beauty journey.

12. The Gap Fragrance

In the ’90s, the acid-wash denim wasn’t the only reason to venture into Gap. Chances are you were also on the hunt for the retailer’s signature and nuanced scent that’s still around, albeit in an updated bottle.

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