The Y2K wave has officially splashed all over American beauty and fashion trends. The cheeky, cute, and colorful vibes of the early aughts have also made their way to Seoul, South Korea, and music videos for hit K-pop songs, like Somi’s “Dumb Dumb,”Sunmi’s “You Can’t Sit With Us,” and Taeyeon’s “Weekend,” are pretty solid (and stunning) proof.
K-pop stars are bringing Y2K aesthetics to their hair, makeup, and nails in droves. So many throwback looks are returning that we can hardly keep up, but some of our favorites include baby braids, black nail polish, and chunky glitter makeup. (We’ll dive into each — and many, many more — below.)
Even Unistella’s Eunkyung Park can personally attest to the rising popularity of Y2K beauty trends in Korea — and has even bolstered it with her creations for the likes of Blackpink, DPR, Somi, and Sunmi. The Seoul-based nail artist was just getting started in the industry in the 2000s. Back then, manicures actually veered more on the conservative, simpler side in Seoul.
“The era of nail art was just beginning back then,” she tells Allure. “Us nail artists struggled a little to explore what we could do without being concerned too much about what people would say. I love how [Y2K] has become a trend now, so we can all try different things on nails without being judged.”
However, the K-pop groups of the early 2000s, like S.E.S., Fin.K.L, Baby V.O.X, and SHINHWA, were all about the same looks we’re seeing now in their hair and makeup, like tendrils, bright pastel eye shadow, and chunky hair accessories. Keep scrolling to see how K-pop stars of today are giving Y2K beauty trends 2021 twists.
