Grunge Beauty Goes Back To The ’90s & Y2K Styles

This fall’s beauty trends are all about balancing edge with elegance. Grunge-inspired makeup returns with a modern, wearable twist: Think effortless smudges, deep tones and nods to ’90s and 2000s nostalgia—90s pixie cuts are on the rise with Gen Z.

And as the weather cools, cozy layering extends to fragrance, too: warm, nostalgic scents like apple, vanilla and caramel are the season’s must-haves, inviting you to wrap yourself in comfort, head to toe.

Grunge makeup holds a special place in the heart of Gen X—think Chanel’s “Vamp” nail polish or Urban Decay’s “Gash” lipstick.

Clinique’s “Black Honey” lip product also has held its own over the years with relevance to a variety of ages with some different versions of the OG brown-burgundy hue.

Hard Candy expanded on its cult-classic baby blue nail hue with a recent line of lip butters.

Marketers should tap some Gen X spokespeople like Chloe Sevigny or Winona Ryder to push product.

Minimalism @ NYFW

Revlon’s return to NYFW after nearly a decade-long hiatus was a collaboration with Christian Siriano’s FW25 runway show. Skincare brand Borghese also primed the skin’s canvas for the beauty looks.

With over 67 years of Italian craftsmanship, Borghese embodies the art of minimalism—where efficiency meets efficacy in a seamless five-minute skincare ritual, said the company. This philosophy was brought to life backstage at New York Fashion Week, where Borghese National Esthetician and Skin Expert Gabriel Taylor worked his magic. The result? A luminous, runway-ready glow, achieved through their time-honored Italian Recipe—minimal skincare, maximum results, said Taylor.

Celebrity MUA Vincent Oquendo keyed the show once again and designed the “Carbon Rouge” look featuring all Revlon products.

When describing the look, Vincent said: “The space where Christian did the show has all different tones of red, which is why I wanted to use a more purple-burgundy tone around the eyes. Within the collection, there are a lot of graphic, geometric shapes, which I modeled the eyeliner after. Christian was extremely inspired by automotive lines, so I took a mechanical approach to the eyeliner – something tough and geometric.”