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9 Iconic Beauty Moments We’ll Never Forget

The trends that continue to influence us

By Audrey Noble
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We love getting beauty #inspo from the past; history is dotted with trailblazers who paved the way for how we define beauty today. From pushing back against archaic beauty standards to turning beautification into a charitable act, these disruptive moments remind us why we love the industry.

1

Blonde bombshells

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Our favourite beauty icons have rocked glamorous blonde locks for decades, from platinum curls to dirty-blonde feathered layers. Whether they actually have more fun remains up for debate.

2

Red lipstick feminism

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In 1912, more than 50,000 women marched to fight for the right to vote. The suffragettes wore red lipstick to make a statement of liberty and rebellion; some would say it’s been a symbol for power ever since.

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3

Graphic eyes

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What do you get when the most famous actresses of our generation stars as one of the most famous queens in history? A killer graphic eye look that we're still replicating decades later.

4

Pixie cut movement

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We can thank a 1968 classic horror film for giving us the inspiration we needed to say goodbye to long locks in favour of this subversive 'do.

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5

Non-white cover models

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It took more than eight decades, but the nation’s foremost fashion magazine finally featured a black model on its cover in 1974. The appearance opened the door for people of colour to grace the covers of other magazines and show readers that beauty is more than just one skin tone.

6

'80s mania

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A big thank you to the era for introducing electric blue into our eyeshadow colour palettes and making hairspray a mainstay in our styling routines.

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7

Transgender beauty campaign stars

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2015 marked a major milestone for transgender models when one became the face of a national cosmetics brand and another was chosen as the face of a hair product company.

8

Body size inclusivity

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While the average American is a size 14, for most of modern history, it was extremely rare to see a model remotely close to that size. In 2016, the first plus-size model graced the cover of a famous men’s sports magazine's infamous swimsuit issue, proving that you don’t have to be stick-thin to pull off a bikini.

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9

Going bare

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The #nomakeup movement of 2016 peaked when Alicia Keys walked a red carpet barefaced, encouraging everyone to celebrate their natural features instead of concealing them.

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