The Olsen twins are the ultimate trendsetters, as proven by the pair’s iconic 2000s and 2010s outfits that remain relevant today. Their beauty looks are just as refined and effortlessly cool. Consider the “Olsen tuck” (aka tucking the ends of your hair into your collar) capturing the TikTok crowd. Alas, we’re not here to talk about hair. (Although I am a fan of “Olsen tuck fall,” FWIW.) We’re here to discuss makeup, namely, Ashley Olsen’s early 2000s glam that has reached its peak virality this winter. (Case in point? The hashtag #ashleyolsenmakeup now has over six million views on TikTok.)
The majority of videos reference a very specific Y2K aesthetic: soft-grunge eyes, nude lips, and luminous skin, as seen on Olsen during the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. Smoky, lived-in eye makeup is quickly cementing itself as winter’s hottest makeup trend, so it makes sense Olsen’s original look would face such a resurgence. As such, you can find plenty of users on the app recreating Olsen’s grungy glam, but allow me to direct you straight to the source. Pati Dubroff, the celebrity makeup artist who created the OG look 20 years ago, breaks down the full tutorial in a recent video. Keep scrolling for every detail.
(Image credit: Getty Images / Evan Agostini)
“Here’s the thing,” says Dubroff. “I don’t remember what products I used.” She provides some recommendations (more on that in just a moment!), but the key ultimately lies in the technique, not the exact products. That said, you’ll find plenty of editor-approved recs here to fill your makeup bag.
Now, first up is foundation. Dubroff applies “a really light liquid foundation” with a dense brush—just enough to even out the skin tone. “I don’t like a lot of concealer under the eyes,” she says, so she uses that same brush to blend foundation in the area.
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“[Ashley had] kind of the ‘good girl’ vibe, so I would do softer makeup on her. She liked things a little bit cooler,” adds Dubroff. (Mary-Kate, on the other hand, preferred more of a rock ‘n’ roll edge, she says.) She grabs Addiction Tokyo’s limited-edition 101 Amethyst Sea eye shadow palette (which is sadly discontinued, but find a similar rec below!) and applies a creamy taupe shade in the crease and underneath the eye to frame the eye shape. She then takes a shimmery neutral—”Sparkles were really important in the 2000s,” she notes—and applies it to those same spots. “It’s giving some shape and structure, but there’s nothing hard about it,” she adds.
She then uses another sparkly shade (this time in a brighter white) and pops it right on the center of the lid. She also adds a teeny bit on the brow bone, inner eye corners, and on top of the Cupid’s bow.
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Next up is mascara. “Here’s the thing that makes that 2000s look so ‘now’ is [that] the mascara was kind of minimal. It wasn’t a heavy, heavy lash, so go fine with the mascara.” She adds just a touch on the bottom lashes too, just enough to accentuate the eye shape.
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“I don’t remember what blush I used, but if I was doing it today, I would use something creamy, slightly apricot toned, [and] with a lot of shimmer right on the apples of the cheeks,” Dubroff notes. Again, soft glam is the name of the game, so think about nailing a slight flush. No heavy, doll-like blush here. Dubroff then applies a loose setting powder on the T-zone to create a fine balance of shine. “[Use] the tiniest little bit,” she says. “Keep that skin glowy, glowy, glowy.”
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As for the lips, Dubroff describes the Olsen-approved combo as a “super-pale nude [with] a lot of gloss.” She first swipes on a layer of light-pink lipstick to even out the tone before adding a tiny bit of lip liner in a similar shade. “This is not a heavily lined lip,” she notes. The sparkly shadow on the Cupid’s bow should easily shine through the color. “Ashley liked a paler lip, so this is about as pale as we could go,” she adds before topping it off with a light pink gloss.
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And there you have it: Ashley Olsen’s early 2000s makeup updated for 2025. If super-soft, grungy glam is on your winter beauty mood board, consider Dubroff’s tutorial your North Star. And if you crave more of a smudgey, rock ‘n’ roll edge? Onto Mary-Kate’s!
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