Read moreTop Beauty Trends for 2020
Hollie Shirley / Hair & Skincare Editor As we say goodbye to 2019, and an entire decade of contouring, blinding highlight, a plethora of eyebrow styles and the balayage/ombre effect, it’s that time of year to look forward to what 2020 has in store in the beauty sphere.
With the dawn of a new decade fast approaching, the current sought-after hairstyles are set to undergo a serious shake-up, skincare is being stripped back to the essentials, and cosmetics are becoming more inclusive. We have pulled together our favourite trends for 2020.
Hair
The bob gets an upgrade
The cool French girl bob was big in 2019, and 2020 will see it continue everywhere. 2020 will see the bob move from being blunt and harsh to become a little softer with more body and movement, grown out with soft side-swept fringes. A Grown-up version of 2019’s break out hairstyle. Think relaxed loose waves, eyelash skimming bangs, and a tousled, undone, “I woke up like this” vibe.
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Lived in shadow roots
Balayage and ombre hair colour techniques have opened a plethora of new hair colour trends in the last ten years, including shadow roots, smudging and colour melts. (I’m still saving for my Guy Tang colour job). The biggest advantage of these hair colours is that it can be an opportunity to allow your new growth to grow out with your natural colour, but still allows you to have colour through the lengths of your hair. If your hair is naturally dark, the contrast between your darkest undertones and the white-blonde lift over top creates cool, built-in dimension. On the other end of the spectrum, the palest blonde tones look best when soft brown roots progress to brighter blonde through mid-shaft, ends, and around the face.
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Bangs – big or small
Tiny bangs were pinned by Vogue Australia as 2018’s biggest hair trend, and they are set to make a return in 2020. In addition to this, long, eyebrow sweeping bangs are also set to be a hot haircut to make a return, as well as soft curtain bangs for those who don’t want to commit to a full-on fringe for the ultimate cool-girl vibe. Before you reach for the scissors, consult your stylist about what fringe would suit your face shape. Tiny bangs mean you have nowhere to hide – you can’t pin or braid these back, and the wrong shape of fringe can overwhelm or cover your face. Try a faux fringe clip in first to see what suits you best first and remember – fringes can take a while to grow out, so this is a commitment. (Trust me, I know).
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Curls everywhere
The curly girl movement is really having a moment right now, with natural hair influencers showing us how they achieve their perfect curls, ditching sulphate laden products and rocking natural hair. 2020 see this trend continuing with natural hair prevailing during NYFW, proving that natural hair is going to be a big contender for 2020s top hair trends. If you are sick of having to chemically treat or heat style your hair, now is the time to book in with your stylist and sit down with them and discuss the options for styling – you may want to consider booking with a stylist who specialises in curly hair.
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Skincare
Cream skin overtakes glass skin
K- Beauty has been on the up for a few years now, starting with the likes of Sephora, Boots and ASOS stocking one of the big players, Dr Jart+. Since then, skincare lovers have bought every product going to achieve what has been coined as “glass skin” – where your skin is so luminous it almost looks transparent, which involves strategically layering lightweight products infused with botanicals. While the results are certainly stunning (who doesn’t want to look poreless and dewy), it’s not the most achievable look, no thanks to the 10 step routines advised. Enter, cream skin. This is a lot less effort and sweeps the lengthy routines to the side replacing them with one product – a featherweight, milky hybrid of a toner and moisturiser combined in one. The result? A complexion that is dewy, soft and moisturized, but also effortless. The best part is this routine is perfect for all skin types, as the cream is light enough for those who find heavy moisturisers too much, but toners not enough to quench the skin, and still offers enough hydration to even the driest skin.
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Sustainability and eco-friendly upgrades
A welcome shift that we have seen in 2019 was a shift in eco-friendliness. Consumer demand predicts that both high- and low-end brands will be hopping on the sustainability train in 2020. From packaging being minimised and made from post-consumer recycled materials, to refillable options either by a subscription option or purchasing refills for your bottles, to the products themselves becoming compostable and nontoxic (I’m looking at you makeup remover wipes) with ingredients and formulas no longer being tested on animals, thanks to Chinas colossal shift towards removing mandatory animal testing. Sustainability will no longer be a selling point – it will become the standard for all brands.
Beauty fluidity and inclusivity
In recent years, consumers have become more aware than ever before of celebrating their own and others’ individuality. Say goodbye to airbrushing and coverups, photoshop and unrealistic beauty standards, because realness is in, and it’s forcing a new visual dialogue around what beauty truly means.
A few years ago (in a time I like to call B.F – Before Fenty), makeup brands were rarely held on a pedestal for not having a wide enough range of foundation shades for all skin tones. You were lucky to get into double figures sometimes, and if you were on either end of the extremes, good luck finding a shade close to yours. With 50 shades and two finishes, the Fenty effect made other companies sit up and take note. With 40 shades seeming to be a magic number in shade range, inclusivity is key. When a brand releases a new line that isn’t inclusive, be it cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, they are rightly held to account by social media until they put it right. Get ready to see more gender-free and gender-fluid products on shelves too. Unisex fragrances, makeup and skincare mark changes in attitude from consumers, and beauty lines are sitting up and taking note of this.
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