The Y2K wave has officially taken over the entire fashion and beauty trend today. Cute and colorful tunes from Seoul, Korea and music videos of popular K-pop songs like Somi’s “Dumb Dumb”, Sunmi’s “You Can’t Sit With Us” and “Weekend” ” by Taeyeon shows the popularity of this beauty trend.
The Y2K beauty trend is reflected in the hairstyles, makeup and nails of K-pop stars. There are many styles that are making a comeback, which include braids, black nail polish and glitter makeup.
Even Unistella’s Eunkyung Park has recognized the popularity of the Y2K beauty trend in Korea, even bolstering it with her own creations to beautify Blackpink, DPR, Somi, and Sunmi. She said: “The age of nail art only started in 2000. Experts have had to do research to discover what’s new. The popular Y2K trend today was also a success of the experts of the time.”
However, K-pop groups of the early 2000s, such as SES, Fin.KL, Baby VOX, and SHINHWA, were all similar in terms of hair and makeup, such as fringes, pastel eyeshadows, and chunky hair accessories. Check out what today’s K-pop stars are creating in the Y2K beauty trend below!
Y2K . inspired nail art
While nail art isn’t as welcoming as it is today, K-pop stars are looking to Y2K textures for nail inspiration, like the Powerpuff Girl gradient heart, Polly Pocket-like design, and plaid pattern. .
All of those trends can be seen in Sunmi, as well as Red Velvet’s Yeri and Taeyeon. Soyeon took the trend one step further with 3D jewelry for her recent debut. You can have cute nails without having to walk to the salon with the pre-sale nail stickers.
Braided hair
Pop singers these days are bringing back a pretty classic hairstyle. Previously, Brtiney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez were very fond of this braided hairstyle. Nowadays, braids are now associated with more sleek looks in the K-pop world such as on STAYC’s J, Everglow’s Onda, Joy of Red Velvet and Blackpink’s Jennie.
Los Angeles-based hairstylist Andrew Fitzsimons says the return to face-hugging braids is a fresh Y2K-inspired trend. You can do it in less than 10 minutes by tucking your hair in the middle before braiding the long sections at the sides.
Vivid Pastel makeup
The glossy 2000s makeup looks are back in a brighter shade. You can see bright bluish shadows in the corners of Boyz’s eyes, or a dreamy color in Taeyeon’s eyes, and a deep pink shade in Mark’s eyes.
These pastel colors can be easily found in eyeshadow palettes. For the best results, British makeup artist Jo Baker recommends applying foundation before an eyeshadow primer.
Lip piercings
The trend of wearing lip piercings with rings and nails stacked vertically became more popular. K-pop stars often wear fake lip rings, but the “Apollo 11” singer put a real silver ring on the side of her lip. If you are not ready to do so, you can use patches instead.
Black nail polish
While most of the Y2K beauty trends that are taking over K-pop come in a variety of colors, the edgy blacks of 2000s pop-punk are not overlooked. Boy and girl group members both love black nail polish. Han of Stray Kids and NCT 127’s Johnny simplified their nails with a few coats of custom black polish. Red Velvet’s Wendy has developed super long nails when combining nails covered with matte lilac purple lacquer.
Bubble braids
The recent Y2K trend is the highlight of HyunA’s aesthetic. If a look is neat and eccentric, she will not hesitate to make it suitable for her. Most recently, she tied her blue hair into bubble braids. No matter what color or style your hair is, you can do it.
Bubble braids are suitable for all hair types and most hairstyles, as hair stylist Matt Newman has said that elastic bands are suitable for thicker hair because they are less disruptive. Once you’ve got the right hairpins, part your hair into two braids and secure them underneath each ear.
Next, take two more pieces and secure the sections underneath to form bubbles. Then, clamp the outer edges to gently pull the bubble open. “If the balloon looks too flat, pinch the front and back and gently pull open to highlight the sphere,” says Newman. From there, repeat that step to create another bubble.
Chunky glitter
Star and confetti sparkles, glitter emojis, and oval diamonds are popular beauty trends these days. Golden Child’s Kim Ji-beom used some classic sparkles in small sizes, up one eyebrow to create an asymmetrical disco brow look.
Choose star shapes, confetti big enough to save for later use. Just use tweezers to remove them from your face and set aside for another time. Some of the chunky glitter styles include hearts, stars, and more.
High ponytail
The high ponytail is a trend among K-pop artists. TWICE’s Dahyun as well as Somi love this hairstyle. On the other hand, Red Velvet’s Seulgi and Soyeon created a long ponytail with bangs. She often has her hair wrapped around the base to hide the hair band.
Use stacked hairpins
Hairpins have long been the beauty style of K-pop stars. Today, however, hairstylists have a new method based on Y2K to create elegance. Take for example Stray Kid’s Hyunjin. The silver headbands on the head are almost like those of the 2000s.
Somi and Irene of Red Velvet, appeared in clips with neatly stacked hairpins. On the other hand, ITZY’s Yeji gently added neon accents. For those who want to add more accessories to their hair, hairstylist Justin Marjan recommends paying attention to the face. If you want a high bun on top of your head, clip the hairpins along the line with your eyes or eyebrows.
Neon Color
K-pop stars love to use neon colors when applying eye makeup, dyeing and nail art. A styled layered hair in green inspired by Y2K. AleXa says not to use too much neon with vibrant watermelon hair, and a luminous clothespin. On the other hand, Sorn of CLC opted for neon nail art, adding colorful flames to the tips of the fingers.
Butterfly hair clip
Mentioning the Y2K-inspired beauty trend will not forget to mention butterfly hairpins. Fanciful hair accessories were very popular in the early 2000s, appearing on red carpets, music videos, and TV shows. For a very personal Lizzie McGuire moment, see Ningning clipped into her hair like a light, brightly colored headband.
Eyebrows slit
This cosmetic procedure can be easily done without losing any brows with carefully covered concealer. Simply coat with an angled liner brush, then, apply concealer to your brows where you want the false slit.
Jazzy headband
Headbands are popular again for Gen Z. IU, Sunmi, Twice’s Jihyo, and Weekly’s Monday all love their hairdos with headbands.
