Everyone's feeling nostalgic for viral 2016 beauty products
BRB, reactivating our Tumblr accounts
With 2025 well in the rear view mirror, you'd think we'd be collectively turning our attention to the year ahead, however the biggest trend sweeping the Internet right now is forcing us to look back a whole decade.
From King Kylie and her lip kits, to block brows, and cut creases — folks are feeling nostalgic about the simpler times of 2016.
Although we can appreciate the novelty of full glam makeup looks in the skin-first reality of 2026, we think there are ways to update these viral '10s beauty hits for the current day.
Interested in taking a wander down memory lane, and reliving 2016 with your beauty routine? Keep scrolling for the 2026 makeup, brow and hair products that'll transport you there.
Loved the Kylie Cosmetics Matte Lip Kit? Try VIOLETTE_FR Bisou Balm
We can't talk about 2016 without mentioning Kylie Cosmetics' Matte Lip Kit ($60 from Kylie Cosmetics). Kylie Jenner's sell out liquid lipstick and liner kits really set the tone for the era — matte and highly pigmented. Jenner's best-selling shades are still available today, but the beauty mogul has updated the formula a few times to meet modern tastes.
In 2026, matte lips are having a moment too, but they're soft, velvety, cloud-inspired and blurred around the edges thanks to makeup artists like Nina Park and Violette Serrat. While the former blends a contour along the lip line for an airbrushed finish, the latter created VIOLETTE_FR Bisou Balm ($50 from MECCA) to simplify the process — simply tap the balm onto the lips concentrating the depth of colour through the centre.
Loved Physicians' Formula Murumuru Butter Bronzer? Try Merit Beauty Bronze Balm
Physicians Formula Murumuru Butter Bronzer ($36.95 from MYQT) blended like a dream, and smelled like a coconut-heavy tropical holiday — plus, you could pick up a compact of the stuff at your local Priceline once a year, because it lasted forever.
These days, the gold-standard is cream bronzer that melts into skin and meshes with skin care for a flawless, streak-free finish. Merit's Beauty Bronze Balm ($48 from Merit Beauty) is just as addictive as the Murumuru Butter Bronzer, but the sheer formula is far more forgiving if you've always been prone to buffing a little too much bronzer on to your face throughout the day.
Loved Nars Orgasm Blush? Try Rhode Pocket Blush in 'Freckle'
Nars' sexually-explicit shade names had us all in a choke hold in the '10s, and the brand's Orgasm Blush ($62 from MECCA) had a firm place in our makeup bags and our hearts. The peachy shade had luminous gold shimmer running through it, marrying together illuminator and blush — however that didn't stop us from layering more highlighter on top it.
Rhode's Pocket Blush in 'Freckle' ($43 from rhode) possesses the same youthful peach hue, but it's glow comes from an injection of skin care-inspired ingredients, and a satiny, cream formula.
Loved Tarte Shape Tape Concealer? Try Haus Labs By Lady Gaga Triclone Skin Tech™ Concealer
We can't remember if we loved Tarte Shape Tape Concealer ($53 from Sephora) or if we just loved watching our favourite beauty YouTubers try the stuff on during the brand's infamous extravagant influencer trips of the '10s. Regardless, the full-coverage formula was just right for creating a wide range of geometric shapes on our faces that we would blend out for hours with a damp beauty blender — and cut-creases wouldn't have been possible without it.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a full-coverage concealer in anyone's makeup bag in 2026, but a buildable option like Haus Labs By Lady Gaga's Triclone Skin Tech™ Concealer ($53 from Sephora) certainly has a place in ours. It's sheer, lightweight and less likely to settle into creases. But it's also enriched with soothing skin care ingredients that help to improve the appearance of skin over time, so you don't need to layer on as much product as you would have back in 2016.
Loved Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade? Try got2b glued 4 brows & edges
The year of 2016 was propped up by block brows carved out with Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade ($42 from Sephora) and concealer that was two shades too light. The staying power of ABH's pomade made it easy to paint on arches at the beginning of the day and trust that they would hold on until you washed your face at night — even if you didn't have a single brow hair for the stuff to hold on to.
In 2026, we're still obsessed with brow products that promise longevity, but after discovering brow growth serums, it's all about grooming and holding our brow hairs in place all day. And there's no better product for the job than the got2b glued 4 brows & edges ($21.99 from Chemist Warehouse).
Loved the Urban Decay Naked 3 Eye Shadow Palette? Try Victoria Beckham Beauty Eye Wardrobe
Urban Decay really revolutionised the idea of a colour story makeup palette with their Naked series. These days the brand only offers a mini version of the Naked 3 Eye Shadow Palette ($59 from MECCA) — the most popular palette in the series in 2016 — but we'll take the muted neutral hues they've given us over nothing.
Many people have retired the concept of hoarding multiple eye shadow palettes. Instead, brands have tried to create succinct colour stories that people are likely to reach for and wear every day like Victoria Beckham Beauty's Eye Wardrobe ($128 from Victoria Beckham Beauty). The multi-hyphenate created a reusable luxury compact that can house any of the brand's beautiful quad eye shadow palettes, and it's small enough to slip into your handbag too.
Loved Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector? Try Saie Glowy Super Gel
BECCA was a force of nature in the '10s, and the Aussie makeup brand collaborated with all of our favourite beauty influencers too. However, the brand didn't make it through the pandemic and stopped distribution of it's signature glow-enhancing products in 2021. Thankfully, Smashbox swooped in and saved the day, and now sells a few of BECCA's best-sellers like the viral Shimmering Skin Perfector ($72 from MECCA).
Highlighter has changed a lot since BECCA's hey day, and now in 2026, Saie Glowy Super Gel ($48.96 from Cult Beauty) and it's sheer, lit-from-within glow is the gold standard. The multipurpose formula can be worn as a makeup primer, used as a mixing medium, or tapped onto select areas of the face.
Loved Coty Airspun Loose Face Powder? Try Dior Forever Nude Matte Filter Blurring Setting Powder
If you weren't baking your face with Coty Airspun Loose Face Powder ($15.77 from iHerb) in 2016, what were you doing? The matte, blurring setting powder was a non-negotiable for creating a flawless full beat and a crease-free, panda eyes resistant finish.
These days we love a matte finish just as much, but the coverage is a little less extreme. With blurring, no-makeup makeup products like Dior Forever Nude Matte Filter Blurring Setting Powder ($102 from Sephora), getting that on-trend mochi skin look just takes a few swipes of a fluffy brush. No egg timer required.
Loved Urban Decay All Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray? Try L'Oréal Paris Infallible 3-Second Setting Mist
No OTT 2016 makeup look was complete without a good wetting down with a setting spray. Picks like Urban Decay's All Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray ($66 from MECCA) ensured our makeup stayed put no matter how long we stayed up (and boy, did we test those longevity claims).
L'Oréal Paris' Infallible 3-Second Setting Mist ($14.99 from Chemist Warehouse) is undoubtedly the modern equivalent. It's beloved by beauty influencers and celebrity makeup artists alike for it's 36 hour immovable formula, that's transfer, water and smudge proof.
Loved the Dyson Supersonic™ Origin Hair Dryer? Try the Dyson Airwrap Co-anda 2x™ multi-styler and dryer
Yep, that's right, the Dyson Supersonic™ Origin Hair Dryer ($398 from Dyson) was born 10 years ago. The most cutting edge technology at the time, Dyson really revolutionised hair health in 2016 with the Supersonic.
The brand has adapted their hair tech tools over the last decade, and now we're living in an age of Bluetooth and app-compatible hair tools with the Dyson Airwrap Co-anda 2x™ multi-styler and dryer in 'Ceramic pink/Rose gold' ($999 from Dyson). In another decade, our Airwraps will probably be talking us through our relationship problems like our IRL hairdressers.
Main image credit: @kyliejenner
Nostalgia isn't the only thing popping off in 2026; Pinterest's palette is influencing our beauty routines.
Briar Clark got her start in the media industry in 2017, as an intern for Marie Claire and InStyle. Since then, her keen interest in fashion and beauty has landed her gigs as a Digital Content Producer and Beauty Editor with titles like Girlfriend, Refinery29, BEAUTYcrew and beautyheaven. She loves the way seemingly innocuous topics like skin care and style have the ability to put a smile on people’s faces or make them think about themselves a little differently. A big believer in self love and experimentation, Briar has made a point of becoming the Australian beauty industry’s unofficial guinea pig for unusual treatments and daring hair trends. When she’s not testing out the latest beauty launches, Briar is big on broadening her horizons, mostly in the form of food but she’s also partial to travelling to new destinations both near and far (and of course, allocating an extra bag to bring their best beauty offerings home with her).
