Nicole Richie doesn’t believe in trends. Despite all the amazing looks he’s worked for over the years, he’s learned that following the herd “can be very limiting” . . . especially when it comes to beauty. She points to instant hits like the frozen lipstick trend of the early aughts. “It was really good for my friends, and bad for me,” she told Popsugar, explaining that it didn’t work for her skin tone. “I was like, ‘That’s what I get for following a bad habit.’
Intrigued by this, I asked for her ideas on a few other beauty tricks (sorry). His decision? Side parts and faux freckles: in. Short nails and matte base: out. “I feel like there’s a 90s trend, [to] everything you said,” commented Richie, with great humility despite officially not knowing that she’s one of the biggest ’90s beauty icons in recent memory.
It’s fun to look back at some of her most memorable beauty moments (colorful extensions, anyone?), but these days, you’re unlikely to find Richie indulging in body beauty and pencil-thin eyebrows. Instead, she’s rocking a slicked-back bun and a light updo that includes glowing skin, a sharp smoky eye, and a perfectly nude lip. After collaborating with Australian beauty brand Nude by Nature on their US debut through Walmart, Richie has made a wholehearted pivot to the “miniature approach” — and thinks you should too. She says: “I like to feel like myself. This is very important to her as she has “very sensitive skin.”
It’s a big change, and Richie knows it. But when she looks back on her beauty evolution, she’s glad she embraced cleaner products and more natural beauty. In fact, he wishes he had done it sooner. “When I look at videos and pictures of myself in 20 years, the first thing I think is, ‘I thought I needed more,'” Richie said. Now, literally beaming with confidence, it’s clear that Richie’s beauty doesn’t come from the realm of fashion. But he’s not exactly crazy about the choices he made in his youth, either. “[I] it was really fun, and I think beauty and fashion should be something that’s always flowing, always changing,” she said.
Even if her beauty style has changed since then, she learned a lot from her previous looks, even if she would have liked to see her natural beauty sooner. “Exploring what you like and what you’re drawn to is amazing, and so important to self-expression,” she says. “I’m not winning at all, but I’m here [also] like, ‘You were young, you didn’t even need all that stuff.’
Chandler Plante (she) is a social producer and staff writer for the Health & Fitness team at Popsugar. She has over five years of experience in the industry, previously working as an assistant editor for People magazine, social media manager for Millie magazine, and a contributor to Bustle Digital Group. She holds a degree in magazine journalism from Syracuse University and is based in Los Angeles.
