Welcome Back To The Black Parade: How ’00s Emo Has Invaded Beauty

Indie, scene, skater... The '00s brought us numerous alternative subcultures, but there's one in particular which hits many of us with an intense wave of nostalgia: emo.

Born from the emotional hardcore genre, bands like Hawthorne Heights, Funeral For A Friend and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus reigned supreme, singing (and screaming) about everything from society to heartache and failed relationships. But emo was always more about aesthetics and style than it was ever really about music.

Before selfies were even a thing, emo kids snapped them on digital cameras held high in the air, their faces consumed by a jet black sheet of a fringe and captioned with lyrics about shotgun weddings and not being okay (I promise). Eyes were rimmed with lashings of kohl, studded belts were fastened around uncomfortably skinny jeans and snakebite piercings protruded from lips – if you were brave enough, that is.

As iconic as emo became over the years, it was relatively short-lived. The demise of MySpace was followed by Fall Out Boy's hiatus and Panic! At The Disco's descent into jazz. Around 2010, emo disappeared into the shadows and was soon dead and buried in a black organza gown and swathes of red eyeshadow, like My Chemical Romance's Helena.

Despite the coffin lid being firmly nailed down, emo has slowly but surely clawed its way back to the surface in recent years. Weezer announced a headline tour; Kim Kardashian even started to rock a lip ring. And just like before, the latest genre of emo – modern emo – finds its new, true home in makeup. At London Fashion Week SS20, Marques’Almeida sent black velvet lips thundering along the catwalk, and all-encompassing winged liner ruled at Halpern. Charcoal-scribbled lids took over at Ashish and multicoloured tears were painted underneath eyes at DB Berdan. Suddenly, emo was back from the grave – and we weren't at all mad about it.

Ahead, we enlisted industry makeup artist Zoë Moore and beauty photographer Jackson Bowley to show us what emo looks like in 2019 – and it's just as unapologetically moody, playful and in-your-face as you remember.

Flesh Beauty Firm Flesh Stick Foundation, £14.75, available at Flesh Beauty, Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer, £20, available at Urban Decay, Illamasqua Demise Eyeshadow Palette, £35, available at Illamasqua, Flesh Beauty Fleshpot Eye & Cheek Gloss in Enchantment, £16.39, available at Flesh Beauty, bareMinerals Gen Nude Lipstick in Sexpot, £19, available at bareMinerals.

Hourglass Vanish Stick Foundation, £42, available at Cult Beauty, Fenty Beauty Invisimatte Blotting Powder, £24, available at Harvey Nichols, MAC Eyeshadow in Humid, £15, available at MAC Cosmetics, bareMinerals Gen Nude Lipstick in Sexpot, £19, available at bareMinerals, False lashes, £3.40 available at eBay.

Eyelure Individuals Duos & Trios, £7.25, available at Superdrug, MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lip Colour in Crowned, £19, available at MAC Cosmetics, MAC Lipglass Clear, £16, available at MAC Cosmetics, MAC Extra Dimension Skin Finish in Show Gold, £26.50, available at MAC Cosmetics, Hourglass Vanish Stick Foundation, £42, available at Cult Beauty, Fenty Beauty Invisimatte Blotting Powder, £24, available at Harvey Nichols.

Hourglass Vanish Stick Foundation, £42, available at Cult Beauty, MAC Eyeshadow in Bright Pink as part of the Art Library: It’s Designer Palette, £39, available at MAC Cosmetics, Make Up For Ever Flash Color Case, £77.50, available at Guru Makeup Emporium, Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer in Diamond Milk, £16, available at Boots.

Hourglass Vanish Stick Foundation, £42, available at Cult Beauty, Fenty Beauty Invisimatte Blotting Powder, £24, available at Harvey Nichols, Inglot AMC Eyeliner Gel in shade 77, £14, available at Lookfantastic, Glossier Lash Slick, £14, available at Glossier.