A Look Back at the Biggest Beauty Trends of 2023

Nostalgia stepped into centre stage this year, with everything old — or '90s — being made new again. Twenty-twenty-three saw the reclamation of a few unexpected retro trends, from lower-back tattoos to pigtails and bouffant hairstyles. These trends were not only brought back but improved with a fresh and exciting twist.

There were a handful of standout haircut trends over the last 12 months (with bobs deserving of an honourable mention), but few compared to the influx of "polarising" hairstyles that we saw. Last year's mullet haircut trend was nothing compared to the rat tails and sideburns we saw this year, which all seemed to funnel from the larger "anti-beauty" trend.

We can't talk about the biggest moments of 2023 without including Margot Robbie's "Barbie," which hit theatres in July. What started out as your run-of-the-mill film turned into a global event, and that had a lasting effect on the beauty space. From Barbie-pink nails to Barbie ponytails, people embraced life in plastic in any way they could.

Blame it on Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour (and her blazing-hot romance with Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce), but the colour red completely took over this year. Hair, nails, lipstick — every area of our beauty routine got the red treatment. It doesn't help that Jenna Lyons and her iconic bright-red lipstick also took over our TVs on "The Real Housewives of New York." No matter how you slice it, the trendy colour was everywhere.