For many ’90s babies, Aly & AJ were the epitome of their best Y2K memories. When I think back to that era of my life, I’m instantly reminded of watching Disney Channel original movies, singing “Rush” at the top of my lungs, and trying to perfect the duo’s signature emo-yet-glam smoky eye look.
Someway, somehow, Aly & AJ have kept up their momentum throughout the years, acting in movies and TV shows periodically and touring with their latest albums. They’ve seen the revival of the Y2K trends they started out their careers with return to the beauty zeitgeist once again, and the sisters are majorly feeling the nostalgia. Their beloved songs from the 2000s have even become the soundtracks to viral TikToks and inspired them to release an explicit version of “Potential Breakup Song.”
But what was Y2K beauty like from their perspectives? Aly & AJ had some free time while on their current U.S. tour to catch up with us via Zoom.
When thinking about Y2K, Aly suddenly recalls covering her cheeks in streaks of the Bath and Body Works Art Stuff Roll-On Glitter before heading to school. “That was a little scary,” she jokes. “I’m glad that we’re not back to that moment.” AJ interjects to say she remembers that look all too well and the intense fruity scent of the deodorant-like product.
Aly also associates Y2K with experimenting with makeup for the very first time. Back then, both the sisters watched as their mom put on her makeup. “She loves totally drawn-in, thick eyebrows,” Aly shares. However, when it came to her daughters, she had parameters for their makeup routines. Aly & AJ could only use certain products at certain ages. For instance, AJ mentions eyeliner wasn’t introduced into their makeup bags until they were about 15 years old — just around the time of their individual debuts onto the Disney Channel scene.
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“Our mom was very conservative about our makeup use,” Aly adds. “I think she didn’t want us to feel like we need to look older and that we should just embrace our natural selves, which is actually a good thing to teach young girls.”
Now, about 16 years later, Aly & AJ are 33 and 31, respectively, and they’ve hung onto that au natural philosophy — especially when doing their makeup in their free time. These days, they keep things fresh, dewy, and bronzy with a gorgeous California cool-girl aesthetic.
In fact, Aly & AJ both share they prefer soft shimmer over the bold glitter of their youth. AJ mentions she loves adding some to her brow bones. Wait, when you think about it, brow highlighting is an early 2000s makeup technique that’s not getting enough credit with 2022’s Y2K beauty revival. Back in the day, hints of champagne shadow along the duo’s brow bones were the perfect accent for the pop punk-inspired smoky eyes Aly & AJ mastered on the red carpet and music videos for songs such as “Like Woah.”
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Speaking of which, a 2022 remixed version of “Like Woah” dropped today alongside another throwback: the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick. I’m pretty sure that product was my introduction to eyeshadow as a teen. Aly & AJ are partnering with Bobbi Brown on the relaunch of the iconic shadow stick, which now has a more buttery and budge-proof formula and comes in 10 new metallic shades. The duo has been reaching for it for their 2022 takes on their Y2K smoky eye looks.
Aly & AJ have proven to become encyclopaedias of the product’s entire shade selection in preparation for this campaign, listing off their favourites for me. Aly has been wielding the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Sticks as liners, particularly Bark, a matte dark chocolatey shade. First, she’ll blend a base of Cashew (a matte peachy beige) or Sand Dune (a matte tan) all over her lid. Then, she’ll use the tip of Bark to draw along her lash lines and add a flick, which she defines with a thin liner brush. She’s also a fan of the new shades Smokey Topaz (a twinkly pewter with a hint of purple) and Forest (a glitzy khaki green) to complement her blue eyes.
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AJ, on the other hand, prefers Golden Bronze (a shimmery hue that matches its name) across her lids or just Incandescent (a new metallic pinky rose gold) on her inner corners. Sometimes, she’ll even add Smokey Topaz to her creases for major throwback Aly & AJ vibes. AJ mentions she prefers cream eye shadows over powder formulas because they are as mess- and transfer-proof as eyeshadow gets. The sticks are also easy to blend out with just your fingers. “I’m not really someone that likes to use applicators for things,” AJ explains. “I’m very much all about hands.”
No matter what shades they add to their lids, Aly & AJ love to pair their eye makeup with bronzy blush. AJ says she leans more toward warmer tones for her cheeks than rose ones because she doesn’t like to accentuate the pink tones her skin naturally has. Aly goes on to tell me that she’s all about sweeping her blush over the bridge of her nose. “It almost looks like I went out into the sun,” she adds.
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To take the summery look even further, Aly also amps up her natural freckles. However, “this is maybe controversial, but I do not like [faux freckle pens]. I just use a really sharp brush and either an eyeliner or a brow pencil — as long as it’s not too black; it needs to be more brown based.”
Of course, eyebrows come up in our Y2K beauty conversation. With the thin brow filter taking over TikTok and the mention of their mum’s painterly arches, this topic was inevitable. When I bring thin brows up, I’m met with a chorus of “no”s. The ladies refuse to even entertain the idea of the look on themselves. “I actually look back on photos where me and AJ used to get our eyebrows waxed, and I’m like, ‘That was a terrible move,'” Aly laments. AJ winces thinking about how terrible it was for her skin to get her brows waxed over and over again.
The ladies prefer to embrace their brows in their fullest, most natural states. Aly jokes her mum wishes she would do her brows as dramatically as she does, even though she’s more of a fan of simply defining the tails of her brows and holding everything in place with a clear gel. “I like seeing the hair follicle of the eyebrow,” Aly explains. “It’s actually something that I am in disagreement with my mom. She will literally be like, ‘Oh, your eyebrows could be drawn a little more.’ Mom, no.”
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Aly goes on to joke that she’s toyed with the idea of bleaching her brows. At first, I’m not truly sure if she’s serious about this statement or just wanting to spite her mom by sharing this. At the moment, her hair is caramel brown with blonde face-framing highlights, by the way, so bleached brows would look incredibly stunning and complementary with the rest of her look. “My mom would probably really lose it if I did that,” she goes on to add.
But thought has gone into this hypothetical plan. AJ chimes in to say she’s thought about bleaching her hair platinum, though, while keeping her brows dark to have the reverse version of Aly’s look.
I tell the sisters they should reconsider these bold changes and follow through with them. “I still love the idea,” AJ says. “I’ve never done anything crazy with my hair; I’ve never changed it. Yes, highlights, lowlights, whatever, but I’ve never done an actual, full processing of a different colour.” Her hair has always been a golden blonde, so platinum wouldn’t be that far off base, either. Just saying.
While on the topic of TikTok, Aly brings up a beauty trick that’s been making her laugh every time it comes up on her For You Page between cute animals and food prep hack videos. “People are obsessed with skinning cucumbers and having a frozen cucumber and rolling it on their faces,” she says, leaving AJ absolutely confused yet curious. (AJ’s FYP, by the way, is mostly horse-related, babies getting facial massages, and “that one guy that is always cooking in a forest,” she says.)
Aly and I try to explain to AJ how people have been using “cucumber ice pops,” as Aly puts them, as frozen facial rollers or ice globes to depuff their faces. When I mention the latter, AJ finally understands, noting she thinks ice globes are great. Aly says she loves Sundree’s, in particular. “I’ll just stick with that,” she adds. “I don’t know if I need to freeze a cucumber.” I couldn’t agree more. We’ll leave cucumbers as a beauty treatment in Y2K as spa-like eye covers and embrace the modernity of skin-care tools.
Read more about the latest Y2K-inspired beauty trends:
- The Butterfly Eyeliner Trend Is the Prettiest Ode to Y2K Beauty
- The ‘2000s vs now’ makeup trend taking over TikTok is making us feel *so* nostalgic
- Zig-zag partings are back (just ask Ariana Grande)
Follow Devon Abelman on Twitter and Instagram.
This feature originally appeared on Allure.
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