2016 Makeup Is Coming Back With A Vengeance In 2026
Pounds of contour. Boxy brows. Cut creases. Whether you love it or hate it, the “more is better” makeup from YouTube’s tutorial era had us in a chokehold in 2016. […] The post 2016 Makeup Is Coming Back With A Vengeance In 2026 appeared first on Essence.
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By India Espy-Jones ·Updated January 16, 2026 < /> Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… Pounds of contour. Boxy brows. Cut creases. Whether you love it or hate it, the “more is better” makeup from YouTube’s tutorial era had us in a chokehold in 2016.
With everyone talking about 2016 nostalgia right now, TikTok currently has the hashtag #2016makeup reaching over 65,000 videos of creators reviving the makeup trends YouTubers like Aaliyah Jay and Jackie Aina ruled 10 years ago.
It was a year of cosmetic excess. Sephora hauls were bigger than ever and it showed through eyebrow-touching lash extensions, dramatic contour mapping, and glitter eyeshadow juxtaposing full-coverage matte foundation. It was kitschy, maximal, and most of the time, inconvenient in that it was a time-consuming, detailed look to achieve (hence why YouTube tutorials were so in >Pat McGrath launch makeup lines, MAC’s “Ruby Woo” and “Velvet Teddy” matte lipsticks were everywhere, and stars like Rihanna, Zendaya, and Beyoncé (in her Lemonade era) showed just how good 2016 makeup could get.
Now, 10 years later, the kids who were too young to wear makeup in 2016, but grew up watching their older sisters do theirs, are romanticizing the makeup looks they were once bystanders to. Gen Alpha and young Gen-Z are having FOMO about it all, growing up in the skincare-heavy 2020s where makeup feels exclusively skinimal.
Although 2016 did see a surge in makeup-free selfies (which was a bit of a looking glass into the 2020s), it was an act of defiance to the dominance of cosmetic maximalism. While cosmetic waste isn’t something we should want to go back to (or can even afford to), the maximal looks we saw 10 years ago can still be achieved with much less in 2026.
Are vamp lips, statement wings, and heavy contour reviving the beauty looks (and #BlackGirlMagic) we thought were buried in the past? Below, we look back at some of the makeup era’s most iconic celebrity beauty moments.
Rihanna
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – APRIL 01:Event honoree Rihanna attends Black Girls Rock! 2016 at New Jersey Performing Arts Center on April 1, 2016 in Newark, New Jersey.(Photo by Gary Gershoff/WireImage) Jackie Aina 
DALLAS, TX – MARCH 19:Jackie Aina attends the 2nd Annual Beautycon Festival at Centennial Hall Fairpark on March 19, 2016 in Dallas, Texas.(Photo by Peter Larsen/Getty Images for Beautycon Media) Zendaya 
LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 29:Actress/singer Zendaya Coleman attends the Zendaya and Law Roach present Daya by Zendaya shoe collection at Raleigh Studios on January 29, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.(Photo by Vincent Sandoval/WireImage) Beyoncé 
NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 28:Singer-songwriter Beyonce attends the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City.(Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage) Lil’ Kim 
NEW YORK, NY – JULY 11:Lil Kim at Dinner Honoring Missy Elliot & Lil Kim Jue Lan Club on July 11, 2016 in New York City.(Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images) Solange 
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 02:Solange Knowles attends the “Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology” Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016 in New York City.(Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images) Aaliyah Jay 
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 01:Aaliyah Jay attends 2016 Beautycon Festival NYC at Pier 36 on October 1, 2016 in New York City.(Photo by John Lamparski/WireImage)TOPICS: 2016 makeup 2026 makeup trends celebrity makeup makeup trendsThe post 2016 Makeup Is Coming Back With A Vengeance In 2026 appeared first on Essence.
