The 'Tell Me Lies' Beauty Looks Are a Trip Down Y2K Memory Lane
Suddenly, I want to crimp my hair and smudge my black eyeliner.
Anybody watching Hulu's Tell Me Lies knows that it's nothing short of an emotional rollercoaster. The drama series follows college students Lucy (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen (Jackson White) and all of the mess that ensues after they meet during Lucy's freshmen year. It's a masterclass on what not to do in a relationship filled with cheating, scandals, and, of course, lies. But in between all of the juicy drama, there are some Y2K beauty moments that have this editor taking a trip down memory lane.
During season 2 (which recently wrapped on October 16), Lucy heads back to the fictional Baird College for her sophomore year. It's 2008, "Low" by Flo Rida is the number one song of the year, and low-rise jeans are easily the biggest denim trend. Her dangerously low-slung pants and layered camis take me back to my own cringy fashion choices of the early aughts, but when I focus on her beauty looks, it's an entirely different story.
Jenny Lin and Caprice Green, the makeup and hair department heads on Tell Me Lies, respectively, nail key 2000s beauty trends to a T. From Lucy's Britney Spears-esque crimped hair to her party makeup of black eyeliner and glittery eyeshadow, her beauty looks are as Y2K-coded as flip phones and MTV—but in a way that makes me wonder why we ever moved on. I'm so obsessed, I'm planning on recreating a few of Lucy's looks myself.
Keep scrolling to see the best 2000s-era beauty looks from Tell Me Lies, then shop all of the must-have items in case the nostalgia bug bites you during the wait for season 3.
Crimped Hair
Lucy wears easygoing crimped waves for a Friendsgiving dinner scene.
Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and even Lizzie McGuire—these 2000s style icons ushered in an era of hairstyles that weren't straight or curled, but crimped. This in-between look had us all reaching for our straighteners to create zig-zag waves (and give ourselves wrist cramps in the process). Lucy often goes for this hairstyle to amp up her going-out outfits, and it's easier than ever to recreate at home with help from a triple-barrel waver.
Heavy Eyeliner
Lucy's party looks were never complete without a heavy dose of black eyeliner.
For some of us growing up in the 2000s, Avril Lavigne and Hayley Williams were the eye makeup blueprint. Emo culture thrived during this era, and black eyeliner was a mainstay in makeup bags everywhere. Fitting of the times, Lucy wears her eyeliner heavy and smudged—and not just for her nighttime looks. Her Warped Tour -ready makeup is achievable with eyeliner for the waterline, a pick that's waterproof, glides on easily, and has an especially creamy formula.
Glittery Eyeshadow
Lucy's Halloween costume was a masterclass on Y2K beauty trends.
There wasn't a single red carpet in the 2000s that didn't have at least one celebrity wearing glittery eye shadow. Nowadays, the trend can be spotted in a variety of hues. In its heyday, it was all about bright silver and white.
For her Britney Spears Halloween costume, Lucy had on almost too many Y2K beauty trends to count. Those included a silvery smoky eye, side-swept bangs, crimped hair, baby braids, and lots of eyeliner. You don't need to go all-in as she does to get the nostalgic look—just sweep a shimmery liquid or cream eyeshadow across your lids and call it a day.
Baby Pink Lips
Lucy is hardly ever seen without some version of a baby pink lip on.
Brown lipstick, a '90s makeup trend celebrities wore on repeat, gave way to a more feminine, subdued shade in the early '00s: pale pink. Whether it was a shimmery frosted lip or ultra-shiny gloss, there's no denying it was the shade of the decade.
Lucy wears a matte, almost chalky shade of baby pink the majority of the time—but she'll occasionally throw on a sticky pink gloss. Whichever formula you prefer, the key to replicating her barely-there lip is all in the pale pink shade.
