Is 2026 the New 2016 in Beauty, Too?

It’s 2026, but the internet has decided we’re emotionally parked somewhere around 2016. TikTok and Instagram are flooded with throwback photos and videos, Facebook albums are being unearthed like digital time capsules, and suddenly everyone swears their best makeup era involved matte lips, cut creases, and brows that could slice glass. 

“2026 is the new 2016,” they say, half-joking, half-dead serious, as if rewinding a decade might help us make sense of the now.

But when it comes to beauty, was 2016 really that era? Or are we collectively misremembering it, remixing aesthetics from nearby years, and calling it nostalgia?

First, let’s get 2016 beauty right.

Before we romanticize it, let’s dissect it. Because some of what’s currently being labeled “2016 beauty” actually belongs to 2014 or 2015: the height of Tumblr soft grunge, pastel hair chalk, galaxy leggings, and chaotic color play. That was the era of messy eyeliner, burgundy lips worn like armor, and DIY everything.

2016, by contrast, was more structured. This was beauty growing up alongside early influencer culture. Instagram had fully taken over, tutorials were sharper, lighting was blinding, and makeup was all about glam and precision.

This was the reign of King Kylie and the Kardashian-Jenner industrial complex, when faces were sculpted within an inch of their lives. Think: full beat makeup with heavy contour and blinding highlight, matte liquid lipsticks (or nude gloss layered on top), aggressively overlined lips courtesy of Kylie Cosmetics, and thick, perfectly carved brows. Notably, cut creases were a skill set and glam eye makeup leaned smoky and metallic.

For hair, teal-green dye had its moment. Sleek middle parts coexisted with bombshell waves. 

Fashion-wise, it was the time of athleisure, bomber jackets, bodycon dresses, and thigh-high boots. The “baddie” era was born here. 

So no, 2016 wasn’t soft nor edgy. It wasn’t chaotic. It was controlled glamour. It was polished, hyper-feminine, and social-media ready.

Why are we suddenly longing for it again?

The urge to bring back the 2016 aesthetic isn’t happening in a vacuum. It’s part of a much bigger pattern. Actually, we’ve seen this happen with Y2K, indie sleaze, 1980s, 1990s, and even mob wife glam in the previous years.

Beauty, much like fashion, has always looked backward to move forward. But the why behind that pull is deeply psychological, according to experts.

It’s a way to comfort us in difficult times. When the present feels overwhelming, people tend to romanticize the past, using memories as an emotional anchor.

Carolyn Mair, PhD, a behavioral psychologist and author of The Psychology of Fashion, explains that the feeling of having little control is one of the biggest stressors people experience. That’s why, in moments of uncertainty, we instinctively gravitate toward things we can control—like memories of the past, and the beauty rituals tied to them.

That hits especially hard in 2026. We’re coming off years of global instability, a global pandemic, digital burnout, and trend cycles that move at an exhausting pace. In moments like these, familiar beauty and fashion aesthetics, ones we associate with simpler versions of ourselves, feel grounding.

Misremembering the past, on purpose

Of course, nostalgia is selective. We forget the flashback-heavy photos, the overly dry matte foundations, the Instagram brows that didn’t translate well offline. What we remember instead is confidence. The feeling of showing up fully made-up in a way that felt powerful at the time.

That’s why the current throwback wave isn’t a carbon copy. No one actually wants 2016 back exactly as it was. What we’re seeing instead is a softened revival. 2016 beauty, but done right.

So, is 2016 the new 2026?

Maybe not literally. But emotionally? Definitely. The return of 2016 beauty speaks less about trends and more about timing. When the “clean girl” aesthetic starts to feel restrictive, when minimalism turns into monotony, people crave drama again. They crave effort. They crave fun.

And beauty nostalgia delivers that, wrapped in familiarity. As history has shown us, nostalgic beauty will always cycle back. Not because we’re out of ideas, but because we’re human. We reach for the past when we need comfort, control, or a reminder of who we were before everything got complicated.

So go ahead, overline your lips just a little. Blend that crease. Throw on a gloss that reminds you of 2016. Allow yourself to be “cringe” again. Not because it’s trending, but because sometimes, looking back helps us move forward.