Hair scrunchies, temporary tattoos, and glitter lips are among the most popular nostalgic beauty trends on TikTok, new research has revealed.
The research, conducted by independent digital insurance broker PolicyBee, analysed the hashtag views for 100 nostalgic beauty trends to decipher which were currently the ‘most popular’ on the video-sharing platform.
Based on the total views as of 7th May, the ‘top 10’ most popular nostalgic beauty trends were revealed as:
- Press on nails (1.3B views)
- Scrunchies (946.4M views)
- Fake tan (593M views)
- Temporary tattoos (554M views)
- Brazilian wax (342.4M views)
- Middle part (268.3M views)
- Red lipstick (239.9M views)
- Baby hair (223.1M views)
- Winged eyeliner (166.5M views)
- Glitter lips (156.2M views)
Space buns (106.9M views), fake freckles (97M views), eyebrow slit (74.1M views), blue eyeshadow (58.2M views), Sun-In (53.7M views) and tooth gems (46.5M views) all featured in the top 25.
The research also looked at weekly growth* to decipher which trends are currently ‘fast-growing’, or ‘ones to watch’. This found that certain hair trends – including mullet haircut (+20.41%), shag haircut (+13.27%), and hair tinsel (+10.97%) – were specific trends to watch over the coming months:
| RANK | TREND | AREA | TIKTOK # VIEWS (30/04/2021) | TIKTOK # VIEWS (07/05/2021) | WEEKLY GROWTH |
| 1 | Mullet haircut | Hair | 19.6M | 23.6M | +20.41% |
| 2 | Shag haircut | Hair | 17.2M | 19.5M | +13.37% |
| 3 | Hair tinsel | Hair | 15.5M | 17.2M | +10.97% |
| 4 | Micro braids | Hair | 4.6M | 5.1M | +10.87% |
| 5 | Scrunched hair | Hair | 370.5K | 407.5K | +9.99% |
| 6 | Press on nails | Nails | 1.2B | 1,.3B | +8.33% |
| 7 | Impulse body spray | Fragrance | 6,212 | 6,727 | +8.29% |
| 8 | Blusher | Face | 19.4M | 20.8M | +7.22% |
| =9 | Glossy eyes | Eyes | 1,4M | 1.5M | +7.14% |
| =9 | Orange lipstick | Lips | 1.4M | 1.5M | +7.14% |
A few 90’s favourites narrowly missed the top 10 based on weekly growth, including eyebrow slit (74.1M views, weekly growth of 6.62%), spiky hair (2.4M views, weekly growth of 4.35%), and thin brows (10.2M views, weekly growth of 4.08%). Also, while fake freckles are more popular, beauty mark saw marginally more weekly growth (0.52% vs 0.57% respectively), so could be one of watch.
21 of the nostalgic trends did not see enough weekly growth to change the hashtag views figure – for views over one thousand, the figure is rounded to the nearest thousand or hundred thousand, written to one decimal place. Amongst the ‘no-change’ trends were body glitter, clumpy mascara, face gems, butterfly clips, concealer lips, and mood nails, which imply that these trends may have returned as short-lived fads and are now slowly losing traction among consumers.
Kerriann Hockley, head of customer service at PolicyBee, commented:
“The current Y2K trend, as well as a resurgence for all things 90’s over the last year, has brought many nostalgic beauty trends back into the mainstream. With this in mind, we headed to TikTok to analyse the hashtag views for 100 nostalgic beauty trends to decipher which were currently the ‘most popular’. Whether you want to experiment and try a new look out on yourself, or you’re a beauty practitioner or hairdresser looking to discover the next big trends to offer your clients, we hope this research provides you with some inspiration.
“However, even if you’re confident you have all the skills you need to deliver a great look, it’s a fact of life that things don’t always go according to plan. Mistakes and accidents can be both expensive to fix and damaging to your hard-earned reputation. Before jumping in with a new look or service, make sure to do proper research and training, if necessary, and always do a patch test beforehand! It’s also a good idea to protect yourself and your business with treatment and professional liability insurance, in case things go unexpectedly wrong”.
For more information about the research, visit: https://www.policybee.co.uk/blog/most-popular-nostalgic-beauty-trends
