Sydney Sweeney, Selena Gomez and Zendaya add to the bombshell revival, with voluminous blowouts and cinematic drama back on the red carpet
After years of slick buns, glazed skin and “maybe she’s born with it” minimalism, beauty has rediscovered its appetite for a little drama – the big lash, peach blush, glossy lip kind. Suddenly, winged liner is back in everyone’s make-up bag, blowouts have volume again, and blush is visible on purpose. Sabrina Carpenter has become the poster girl for it: all fluffy bangs, soft waves and bombshell energy that nods to Brigitte Bardot but never crosses into full costume. It’s feminine, it’s cheeky and it’s proof that after years of paring back, we’ve remembered that a little play never hurt anyone.
Sabrina Carpenter, pictured at the 2025 Grammys, has become the poster girl for the trending 60s pin-up aesthetic. Photo: Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Carpenter set the tone at the 2025 Grammys in May, arriving in a custom baby-blue JW Anderson gown with glowing skin, flushed cheeks, pouty lips and that unmistakable Bardot-style blowout with bouncy blonde bangs. By midsummer, the mood had fully caught on. When The Fantastic Four: First Steps premiered in July, Lux Pascal turned up with a soft, side-swept blowout and winged liner straight out of a 60s daydream, while Xochitl Gomez went full Bardot with a sculpted bouffant do, peachy tones and lashes made for fluttering. And at the 2025 Golden Globes, the red carpet turned into a love letter to Old Hollywood with Zendaya’s glossy waves, Selena Gomez’s softly teased curls and Nicole Kidman’s sleek half-up bouffant, all carrying that same cinematic softness.
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Today’s hair and make-up trends echo 60s pin-up Brigitte Bardot’s iconic bombshell style. Photo: Corbis via Getty Images
While this year’s red carpets have made the revival impossible to ignore, traces of it have been around for a while. Anya Taylor-Joy has been perfecting that sculpted hair and defined liner long before anyone called it a comeback, while Sydney Sweeney’s soft curls and warm-toned make-up have quietly redefined what modern bombshell beauty can look like. Ariana Grande’s sharp cat-eyes and sky-high ponytails still carry that unmistakable 60s precision, and Lana Del Rey’s lashes and teased volume have always nodded to a more cinematic era.
Zendaya channels Old Hollywood glamour at the 2025 Golden Globes in January, in Beverly Hills, California. Photo: Invision/AP
So why now? Part of it is timing. The 60s are far enough away to feel fresh again, but close enough to remain familiar. Gen Z’s obsession with vintage and thrifting naturally spills into beauty, too: TikTok tutorials for 60s make-up rack up millions of views, and searches for Bardot bangs, peachy blush and “Sabrina Carpenter hair” keep climbing. The look fits with a culture that loves nostalgia but demands modernity, and if there’s one place where that throwback energy really shows, it’s in make-up.
Nicole Kidman sports a throwback half-up bouffant hairstyle, also at this year’s Golden Globes. Photo: Invision/AP
“The key elements of the 60s trend are major emphasis on eyes, especially the heavy lash look inspired by Twiggy, major winged-out liner and colourful eyeshadow,” says celebrity make-up artist and pop culture expert Nyssa Green. “There are also nude lips, and lots of earthy tones as well.”
Earth tones and retro waves reign supreme in Gisou’s campaign, starring Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Photo: Handout
What makes this new wave of glam so wearable is how much easier it feels than the original. The old version of 60s beauty was famously high-maintenance: hot rollers, thick powders and clouds of hairspray. The 2025 update is dewy, blended and far more forgiving.
