Nostalgic '90s makeup worn by Gen X queens like Drew Barrymore, Cindy Crawford and Jennifer Aniston is back in a big way. (Getty Images, Amazon)
For us women of a certain age, beauty nostalgia isn’t just a TikTok meme — we actually lived through these trends the first time. That might be why it’s fascinating to see ‘90s styles come back in full force, from chokers to slip dresses to barrel-leg jeans. But when it comes to the beauty products we loved back then (ahem, burgundy lip liner to match our maroon Doc Martens), the truth is, many of them never really left. Some looks feel just as wearable today as they did then, transforming what once felt like fleeting trends into true classics. (Though, I do draw the line at frosted lipstick, I'm fine parking my DeLorean and leaving that one in the past!)
There are, of course, instances where a beloved, discontinued makeup product returns from the dead. Legacy beauty brands like to dig into their own archives, resurrecting cult classics and revamping them with upgraded ingredients and updated packaging. One example is Bath and Body Works, which, every so often, brings back its most popular ‘90s fragrances (Cucumber Melon, anybody?). Earlier this year, MAC Cosmetics launched a “Nudes” lipstick collection, which included ‘90s favorites like Folio, a grayish beige famously worn by Angelina Jolie in her goth days. On that note, I immediately picked up the revised version of MAC Spice Lip Liner (more on that below).
If the words “Revlon Rum Raisin” feel like a welcome blast from the past, keep reading to find lipsticks and other beauty products that look just as good now as they did 30 years ago. (Hopefully the memories they bring are the good kind of nostalgia, and not some traumatic flashback to a makeup mishap!)