Beauty Trends of the 2000s

Nothing says '00s like a pouty blonde reality star! "Paris Hilton became an icon of the celebutante, super feminine, very 'done' version of the blonde bombshell with her super pink glossy pout and hair extensions," says Too Faced Cosmetics Jerrod Blandino."

Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images

From '00 to '05, no-makeup makeup was the name of the game. Stars walked the red carpet in seemingly bare faces, foundation was considered totally passé (tinted moisturizer made its debut during this time) and subtle cheek stains pushed powder blush out of the limelight.

Makeup artists used words like "dewy" and "natural" to describe the desired look. They brushed shimmery highlighters across cheekbones, down the bridge of the nose and in the inner corners of eyes to give fresh-faced, luminous glow.

"From Marc Jacobs to Balenciaga, and even Gucci, there was NO foundation," explains makeup artist Shawnelle Prestidge. [link: http://www.shawnelleprestidge.com/ ] "But there was a healthy amount of sheen to the skin and we did very subtle color accents. It was about 'real' skin."

But we knew this would last, didn't we? Eventually makeup artists and beauty brands realized that women didn't want to look like sparkly wood nymphs-they wanted to wear makeup. Real makeup. And that's where we are today.

Stila/ Benefit High Beam

We can thank Latin hotties like Jennifer Lopez and Brazilian supermodels like Gisele and Adriana Lima for making women everywhere want the "glow" – whether they could pull it off or not. Face and body bronzer, spray tans and self-tanners hit their peak in the early 2000s, but the bubble burst when many a celebrity started showing up on the red carpet looking more orange than bronzed.

Says Blandino of J. Lo: "She was bronzed and gorgeous and showed off the skin that launched the bronzer craze!"

Alabaster complexions may be back in style but Lindsay Lohan is still riding the Fake Bake train – she introduced her own tanning spray called Sevin Nyne in early 2009.

Frank Micelotta, ImageDirect/ Amanda Edwards, Getty Images

Ah, Gisele. Every man wants you; every woman wants to be you.

Besides a killer bod and bone structure to die for, Gisele's tousled mane was the most universally desired hairstyle of the '00s. (And let's be honest-it still is.) Rodney Cutler, owner of Cutler Salons in NYC and Miami [link: http://cutlersalon.com/], explains, "Gisele's long, loose beachy curls made women feel more comfortable about letting their hair stay wavy. Why it works is because it's a young, non-contrived look."

When Victoria's Secret started televising their runway shows, Cutler says, "That had a big impact on hair because it tied into the sexy, disheveled look." This easy feeling translated onto the red carpet, too. "You started to see messy updos that were cool and loose-something women could do for themselves."

Vince Bucci, Getty Images

Extensions can be great-or terrible. When super long hair became en vogue, celebs wanted length now. All was fine until they started playing around with colors and textures, which presented more than a few hair extension disasters.

"Britney had hideous extensions," says Cutler. "She was a big player in making extensions a hot thing, but then she was a big part of them going away."

Before Nicole Richie became the boho earth mama she is today, she unfortunately succumbed to the siren song of "funky" hair extensions. This is one trend we are happy to leave behind!

Matt Sayles, AP Photo/ Carlo Allegri, Getty Images/ Dr. Billy Ingram, Getty Images

"Just when you think it's going away..." muses Cutler. "The bob always comes back."

Rihanna sparked a firestorm in 2007 when she chopped her hair into a sleek angular bob. Victoria Beckham, Jenny McCarthy, Katie Holmes and countless other celebrities followed the trend, as did thousands of American women.

Unfortunately the angular bob has since morphed into the weird, spiky Kate Gosselin 'do which can now be seen on heads all across the country. Yikes.

What started out as edgy now just looks tired.

Stephen Lovekin, Getty Images for IMG/ Steve Granitz, WireImage/ Dr. Billy Ingram, Getty Images

Chunky highlights were-for a brief moment-kind of cool. But this look took a turn for the worse quicker than Kevin Federline's music career. "When these highlights are done badly it looks cheap and cheesy," explains Cutler.

And nine times out of ten, they're done badly. Ladies, please-move away from the skunk stripes!

Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images

With the introduction of Japanese straightening treatments, tourmaline technology in flat irons and mega-watt blow dryers that don't fry your hair, suddenly women could straighten their hair without causing major damage. Huzzah!

Celebs like Gwyneth and Demi showed off their long, shiny, frizz-free hair with gusto, and suddenly the old rule of not having long hair past a certain age was thrown out the window. "Demi Moore-here's a woman with long hair who isn't 20," says Cutler. "Women see her and think, 'Hey, I can have long hair, too' because she looks so great."

Try the trend:
Hot Tools Tourmaline Flat Iron, $100
[link: http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Tools-Tourmaline-Flat-Iron/dp/B000PWP6W0]

David Westing, Getty Images/ Tourmaline/ Jason Merritt, Getty Images

We're not too sure how many women were inspired by Amy Winehouse's over-the-top beehive hairdos and thick winged eyeliner, but we'll all certainly remember the rise and fall of Winehouse as a key moment in '00s pop culture history. "Amy Winehouse definitely made a splash," says Cutler.

Gwen Stefani on the other hand-here's a retro look we can get behind. Stefani consistently spins classics like red lipstick and pompadour-y updos into modern, wearable looks. The '00s won't be remembered for a lot of risk-taking on the red carpet, so we applaud Ms. Stefani for pulling off a unique style that stands out from the crowd.

"Gwen captured the decade of beauty by constantly evolving while staying true to her signature style," says Blandino.

Eamonn McCormack, WireImage/ Marc Andrew Deley, FilmMagic

It all started in 2006 when Chanel introduced Black Satin nail polish. Women. Went. NUTS. It sold out, blah blah blah, Ebay, etc. (It was the same situation when Chanel introduced Vamp back in the '90s.)

Suddenly dark nail polish was mainstream! At one fell swoop it went from punk rock to office appropriate. And the love affair continues. Navy blue, chocolate brown, forest green, dark purple-if it's dark and moody, women want it on their nails.

Try the trend:
Chanel Black Satin, $23
[link: http://uma.chanel.com/home.php]

OPI Russian Navy, $8.50
[link: http://www.amazon.com/OPI-Russian-Collection-Navy-R54/dp/B000VA6HZG]

Chanel/ O.P.I