To mark the 21st Century making it through its teen years, the #20teens is a series from Teen Vogue celebrating the best in culture, politics, and style from the last decade.
It’s hard to believe but we’re fast approaching a new decade. While it may feel like just yesterday Blake Lively sported that braided ponytail to the Emmy’s red carpet or ombré hair took over, well, everything — it was actually 10 years ago. Yep, mind-blown.
For the past ten years, celebs have continued to use their beauty looks as a form of self-expression. And celebrity beauty moments have started trends and turned heads along the way. From shaved heads to long locks, metallic shadows and vintage updos — so much has changed throughout the decade and with celebs having some of the world’s best makeup artists at their disposal, each look is seemingly better than the last.
To ring in the new decade in style, scroll down to see our favorite celebrity beauty moments from 2009 to 2019.
2009 — Kesha Original Glitter Queen
The original glitter queen, Kesha (or, Ke$ha back then) is known for her colorful, sparkly makeup looks and never disappoints. With Bowie-esque glittery stars across her eyes and shimmery sequins across her chest, she’s been embracing disco-ball vibes since 2009 — and we are so here for it.
2013 — Rihanna’s Doobie
In 2013, Rihanna showed up at the American Music Awards in a doobie, or in other words, with her hair wrapped. A classic black girl style worn before bed to keep hair intact or before you go under the dryer when getting a wash-and-set. She not only looked stunning, but gave the world a Black history lesson, and sparked conversations for days.
2015 — Zoë Kravitz’s Braids
Throughout the years, nobody has rocked braids hairstyles quite like Zoë Kravitz — whether as a brunette or platinum blonde. In this 2015 look, her long hair was braided into tons of tiny twists brushed out at the ends — and we’re still swooning.
2015 — Beyoncé’s High-side Pony
We must bow down, yet again, to Queen Bey for this high-side ponytail. At the 2015 Met Gala, she wore a barely-there bedazzled dress but if you ask us, her hair stole the show on its own. Her sky-high pony fell to the side, with long curls falling to graze her shoulder, serving as the ultimate accessory.
2015 — Zendaya’s Locs
Zendaya made headlines in 2015 for rocking long locs in a half-up, half-down style to the Oscars red carpet. E! News host Giuliana Rancic caused quite the controversy when she made racist comments saying the hairstyle made Zendaya look like she, “smells like patchouli oil. Or, weed." This led to a bigger discussion about natural hair, race, and bias that “ended” with Rancic apologizing to Z. “"My wearing my hair in locs on an Oscar red carpet was to showcase them in a positive light, to remind people of color that our hair is good enough,” Zendaya said at the time.
2016 — Lady Gaga’s Bleached Brows
Did she shave her eyebrows? Nope — but she did bleach them! In 2016, Lady Gaga showed up to a red carpet event with bleached hair and brows to match. Three years later, we’re still thinking about this look.
2016 — Taylor Swift’s Vampy Lip
What’s better than a platinum blonde Taylor Swift? A platinum blonde TSwift with a bold, dark lip, that’s what. Taylor’s vampy look at the “Manus x Machina” Met Gala in 2016 remains one of her bests to date and we’re here for it!
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2016 — Lupita Nyong’o’s Met Gala Hairdo
That same day, Lupita Nyong’o took her hair to new heights, quite literally, at the 2016 Met Gala. Her four-tiered updo stole the show, while her perfectly applied blue eyeshadow was pretty awesome too (and she even stepped up her game for 2019!)
2017 — Jaden Smith’s Cut Locs
Jaden Smith switches up his hair quote often. He’s been pink, green, long, short, shaved, loc-ed — and each one gets better than the next. But, this 2017 cut-close blonde style is, and always will be one of our favorites. Plus, is there something more iconic than carrying you own hair to the red carpet?
2017 — Timothée Chalamet’s Hair
Timothée Chalamet made headlines in 2017 for his incredible acting in Call Me by Your Name — but his hair that year deserved its own award, too. Typically worn long, wavy and tucked behind his ear, we have serious hair envy. White boy of the month, you say?
2017 — Cara Delevigne’s Shaved Head
Cara Delevigne stunned fans when she debuted her freshly shaved head on the red carpet for her film Life in a Year in 2017. “It was really liberating to realize that you don’t need hair to be beautiful and to feel like a woman," Cara told USA Today of the look — and we couldn’t agree more.
2017 — Adele’s Signature Cat-eye
Nobody does a cat-eye quite like Adele. Her meticulously winged eyeliner has always perfection, but when paired with peachy and brown eye shadows with perfectly full brows, thing get to a whole new level. Her piercing blue eyes popped like never before at the 2017 Grammy Awards.
2017 & 2019 — Kylie Jenner’s Wigs
Kylie Jenner’s ever-changing hairstyles made quite the stir from 2017 to 2019, but she didn’t have to fully commit to either style. Instead, Kylie rocked platinum and purple wigs on the red carpet — turning heads and taking names.
2019 — Rowan Blanchard’s Pixie
Once known for her long and curly hair, in 2019, Rowan Blanchard chopped it all off opting for this mature pixie instead. The chic cut beautifully accentuated her cheekbones and honey brown eyes while also pairing perfectly with her brow style.
2019 — Kim Kardashian’s “Dripping” Met Gala Look
Only Kim K can pull off a fresh-out-of-the-pool but still glam, glam. Her sleek, wet, looking tresses are only part of what makes this look so stand-out. Shimmery nude and bronze shadows and bronzer complete it perfectly.
2019 — Lizzo’s VMAs Vintage Updo and Red Lip Combo
Va-va-VOOM! Lizzo wowed yet again at the 2019 VMAs with vintage pinup style hair and a bold red lip. Luxe lashes and a glam purple mani were icing on the cake.
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