Y2K Frost
Icy shimmer, glossy lips, tiny sparkle. 5 steps, roughly 11 minutes, rated easy.
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Y2K makeup was unapologetically synthetic: frosted lids, lip gloss you could see from space, and a thin brow with a high arch. It should look a little plasticky, and that is the charm.
The modern version keeps the shimmer and the gloss but skips the over-plucked brow, so it reads as a reference rather than a costume.
What you will need
- A light, luminous base
- An icy silver or lilac frost shadow
- A pale shimmer for the brow bone
- A cool pink blush
- A clear or pink lip gloss
- Fine cosmetic glitter, optional
No specific brands. Any version of each will behave the same way.
Luminous base, minimal coverage
Keep the base light and reflective. Y2K skin was never matte, and the shimmer on top needs a slightly glowy surface to sit on.
Skip contour almost entirely. This look is about light and colour, not structure.
Tip
A drop of liquid illuminator mixed into your base does the job better than powder highlighter on top.
Frost across the whole lid
Press an icy silver, lilac or pale blue frost across the entire mobile lid, right up to the crease, with a flat brush.
Do not bother with a transition shade. The flat wash of frost is the era, and blending it out softens the reference.
Tip
Frost shades grab. Press with a slightly damp brush for intensity, and do the eyes before your base.
Brow bone shimmer, high arch
Add a pale shimmer directly under the arch of the brow and blend it upward slightly to lift the whole eye.
Brush the brows up and keep them groomed but natural. A modern full brow keeps this from tipping into fancy dress.
Tip
The shimmer goes under the arch, not along the whole brow. A full strip flattens the shape.
Cool pink on the apples
Smile and place a cool, slightly frosted pink blush right on the apples of the cheeks, then blend up toward the temple.
Keep it high and pink rather than low and bronzed. Warm sculpting belongs to a different decade.
Tip
If your blush has shimmer in it, skip highlighter entirely or the cheek turns into a single reflective patch.
Gloss, generously
Line the lips softly with a pinky nude, then apply gloss thickly enough that it catches the light and pools slightly in the centre.
This is the one look where more gloss is genuinely better. Reapply often and enjoy it.
Tip
A tiny dot of extra gloss right in the centre of the lower lip is the classic Y2K trick for a fuller-looking mouth.
See it on your own face first.
Two minutes of questions, one optional photo, and this look gets rendered onto your own colouring before you spend anything.
Common questions
No, and please do not. Brush them up, keep them groomed, and let the frosted lid and the gloss carry the reference.
Silver on cool undertones, lilac on almost everyone, and pale champagne if you want the reference to stay subtle enough for daytime.
Choose a thicker, less sticky formula and blot the outer edges with a tissue. You want the shine concentrated in the centre of the lip anyway.