Matte Lips, Bold Brows and Dramatic Lashes—Is 2016 Makeup Making a Comeback?

The ‘80s, the ‘90s, the 2000s—the nostalgia trend cycle comes for the heydays of us all. I just didn’t think we’d be reliving the 2010s this soon. Alas, I must not have been keeping track. After all, it’s officially been an entire decade since the ball dropped on 2016—fair game for a semi-ironic revival. And if the posts all over our Instagram feeds are any indication, we’re already in the midst of it, from the fashion to the beauty looks that defined the era.

Allow me to jog your memory. ‘Twas the year before TikTok hit the U.S., and the year Snapchat dropped its famous dog filter. Instagram Face (the precursor of Love Island Face) reigned supreme, an approach to makeup that was big, bold and dramatic, designed to look good (and pre-filtered) on your perfectly curated IG grid. Pouts were matte and overdrawn, created (or inspired) by Kylie Jenner’s now-iconic Lip Kits. Brows were dark and defined, courtesy of Anastasia Beverly Hills’s Dipbrow pomade. Contours were baked, cut creases were sharp and everything was intensely pigmented. It was a far cry from the subtle, more natural-looking “clean girl aesthetic” that came into favor in the early 2020s.

Now, with millennial wistfulness coinciding with Gen Z’s romanticization of the generation that came before it, a 2016 renaissance is coming for our routines.

Beauty guru and entrepreneur Lilly Ghalichi is the founder and CEO of Lilly Lashes, a line of luxury false lashes, as well as the co-founder of Hairtamin hair-growth vitamins and Bumpology body butter.

The first signs of a 2016 revival came courtesy of Kylie Jenner herself, who celebrated the ten-year anniversary of Kylie Cosmetics in October by stepping out with matte lips, teal dip-dyed hair and, later, bubblegum pink strands, all reminiscent of her “King Kylie” era (an edgy social media persona she leaned into throughout the 2010s). A slew of beauty gurus also started turning back the clock on social media. This past summer, makeup artist Mikayla Nogueira shared a TikTok tutorial on how to make 2016 glam feel fresh, while beauty creator Sean Anthony—who missed the boat the first time around, given that he was 9 years old—recently demonstrated the look for his followers, concealer triangles and all.

You can already see the comeback in action on some of 2026’s buzziest celebrities. Oscar nominee Teyana Taylor, for one, went full 2016 glam for her Golden Globe appearance (and big win), while Sabrina Carpenter has been known to combine bold brows and matte lips with flutter-worthy babydoll lashes—the latter of which are set for a big return, even for those of us who aren’t performing to sold-out arenas.

“2016 glam is back and better, especially when it comes to lashes,” says Lilly Ghalichi, an OG glamazon and founder of beauty kit staple, Lilly Lashes. “Think spiky, dramatic, layered sets with a flared finish that scream main character energy.” Ten years later, though, the girls are doing things a little differently. “The drama is back, but elevated. Lash glue? We don’t know her. Glam girls are locked in on self-adhesive for that Miami-level drama without the mess,” she continues.

While Ghalichi has also noticed the (re-)embrace of colorful, creative makeup (“think crystal accents along the lash line, outer-corner gems or under-eye sparkle”), she adds that, this time around, the techniques are more refined: “I'm seeing throwbacks done smarter: sleek glossy lids that look like glass, not sticky; sheer bronze warmth like you just stepped off a private beach; thin, pigmented liner with a soft flick; skin that glows like highlighter meets the sun.” Nogueira echoed this in her video discussing the updated aesthetic, ditching fully matte skin in favor of more luminous foundation and glowy blush, creating a complexion that also looks good in real life, not just through a Snapchat filter.

But whether you’re trying out a 2016 beat for the first time or taking it for yet another spin around the block, you’ll want to go big when it comes to the three main focal points of the era: brows, eyes and lips. So, prepare to paint your pout, whip out the rainbow palette and get those falsies ready—the understated look is so 2022.