Tracing Taylor Swift’s Beauty Evolution, from Country Curls to Bombshell Bangs

Since she first rose to fame with her self-titled debut album, Taylor Swift has evolved from a country princess to a bombshell pop star with some serious statement hair and makeup moments to match. And while the lead-up to her latest album, Midnights, out today, saw Swift leaning into a glitzier aesthetic at the 2022 VMAS, she appears on its cover with a soft blue smoky eye and blurred red lip, proving just how subtly transformative her approach to beauty can be.

Swift burst onto the scene as a curly-haired ingenue strumming notes—and shedding teardrops—on her guitar, but in 2010 at the American Music Awards, she brought mod appeal with a pair of bold kohl-rimmed eyes and blunt bangs. For her first Met Gala, the singer experimented with what would become her signature look: a fiery red pout and a soft, romantic updo. She continued to play with pops of color for red carpets after, adding touches of icy blue liner and washes of cobalt.

Swift has also been known to adopt new beauty signatures to align with each album release, cutting her hair into a side-swept bob for 1989 and swiping on a dark pout for Reputation. Most recently, in her new music video for “Anti-Hero” she sports long, chest-grazing bronde lengths and a curtain of fringe that skews ’70s preppy worn with old-school pointed collar shirts. Needless to say, we can’t wait to see what signature beauty comes next.