From contouring and K-beauty to smoky eyes and all kinds of eyebrow shapes, a hoard of beauty trends have come and (thankfully, in some cases) passed.

Now, with the arrival of a new year – and a whole new decade – it’s the perfect time to look forward and maybe even play around with an entirely new beauty look.

One major source for beauty inspiration comes in the form of Instagram. Just take a look at my saved posts and you’ll be overwhelmed with an endless scroll of tonal nails, colourful winged eyeliner and intricate plaits.

“Instagram is the most popular social media platform for beauty lovers in the UK,” says Kristie Dash, Instagram’s beauty partnerships lead, “24% of UK millennials engage with beauty content which connects one of the biggest and most diverse communities on the platform.”

So, there’s no doubt that Instagram will be a big part of setting the trends of 2020. Here, Dash runs through the biggest beauty trends you can expect to see (and maybe try) this year…

“We’ve seen dozens of brow trends over the years, ranging from brow tattoos to microblading. The next big thing in semi-permanent make-up is set to be brow lamination, which is essentially a perm for the brows, to create the illusion of colour and a thicker, fluffier texture.”

“There’s been an increase in gender-neutral beauty over the past year on Instagram, with movements like #makeuphasnogender growing in popularity. This is set to become even bigger in 2020, building on the success of ranges like Mister from Givenchy and gender-inclusive brands such as Milk and Fenty.”

“The super sculpted contoured look of the 2010s is firmly in the past. In recent years we’ve seen softer variations appear with techniques like strobing, but the next big thing is set to be nontouring, which involves super subtle highlighting to give the skin an ethereal sheen. Watch this space…”

“As the fastest growing sector of the beauty market, ‘Niche’ or independent beauty has emerged as a leading trend. Huda Kattan founded her award-winning blog and Instagram channel just six years ago and has since built over 1 million followers and a billion-dollar brand, Huda Beauty. People are on a continual quest for products that cater to their specific needs - from perfumes that perk you up to skincare designed to suit your DNA, and are turning to smaller niche brands to supply this.”

“A community-led movement which has gained traction on Instagram has been people embracing their natural look and challenging notions of traditional beauty. One example is people with the skin condition vitiligo challenging notions of traditional beauty by sharing images of themselves without make-up or editing, sending a message to others to love the skin they’re in. With hashtags such as #vitiligopride, #girlswithvitiligo and #vitiligansofinstagram, people are using Instagram to share their experiences with vitiligo and build communities of support. 

“In an extension of the body positivity movement, young people are also challenging the concept of ‘perfect’ skin by sharing selfies without make-up or filters to let their acne and redness show through. Using the hashtags #skinpositivity and #acneisnormal, people are encouraging others to embrace their skin and empowering them with the confidence to do so.

“There’s also a community committed to driving positive conversations around natural hair, and challenge mainstream media perceptions of natural, black hair. Using hashtags like #naturalhair, #naturalhairstyles and #happyfroday, the community includes inspirational people such as @niathelight, @curltureuk and @freddieharrel. Freddie Harrell recently secured $2 million in funding from investors for her startup RadSwan, which creates synthetic hair extensions for women with natural hair, showing just how in demand products for this community are.”

Main image: Getty