Trends can be a mixed bag. Between mom jeans and hand chains, sometimes we don’t know whether to laugh or cry… or go shopping for mom jeans and hand chains. Luckily the subject of 2014’s makeup and beauty trends is a lot less polarizing — we kinda like ’em. A lot. With the year coming to a close, let’s look back at our top 10 favorites.
1. Beauty Oils: 2014 has been the year of body and face oils of all kinds, from eyebrow growth serum to the strangest mouthwash ever (we love them all, for the record). We especially love the kind of oil that helps us get our makeup off at the end of the day. The oil cleansing method involves emulsifying healthy oils with water to take off the grime and leave your face soft and moisturized — we don’t see this trend going out of fashion anytime soon.
2. Big Brows: Yet another trend we’re hoping to hold on to… well, forever. Brooke Shields will be looking to you for advice once you transform your brows with our tips. (via @caradelevingne)
3. Dewy Skin: A fresh face is always in, no matter the season or the century — but 2014 was an extra big fan of this dewy skin look. Skin care and makeup formulas have advanced so far that barely-there makeup really does look barely there nowadays.
4. No Poo: This year, the women of the world stopped washing their hair. Seriously, it’s supposed to be really healthy for your follicles, and we found a bunch of ways to ditch the suds in lieu of totally natural hair care.
5. ’90s Makeup: The decade you never ever in a thousand billion years thought would come back has returned in full force. The grunge, the glam, the Cindy Crawford hair, the henna… what’s old is very new again, and we love it even more than our old Lisa Frank sticker collection.
6. Dark Lipstick: Deep plum, brick red and even black lipstick is totally jiving with the other ’90s-inspired makeup comebacks. (via Glamour)
7. BB, CC and DD Creams: Whaaaa, there’s a DD cream now? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? Our own Misty Spinney tested a whole mess of them and wrote a guide about it, in case you need a spelling lesson on these supercharged foundation/moisturizer/sunblock/corrector/everything creams that have been oh-so-trendy this year.
8. Negative Space Nails: Nail art’s gotten crazier and crazier this year, in a great way (mostly). One of the most interesting trends we’ve noticed is negative space designs like this geometric print that includes a couple of unpainted areas for effect.
9. Big Lashes: Eyelash curler? Check. Serious volumizing mascara? Check. Easy tricks to make your lashes look so big that people will think you have falsies on? Check. We’ve got all the lash secrets locked up in this post. (via Harper’s Bazaar)
10. Nude Lips: Best done in combination with those big lashes or smokey eyes (like the pic above), nude lips are still very much on trend. Whether you go ’60s Bardot-style or a more modern take on the nude lip, the less-is-more look is a chic way to stay current.
Which trends should stay and which should go? Let us know what you think in the comments.