Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Autumn Winter 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    1. Beauty

    Revealed: The most iconic beauty look of the century

    Can you guess?

    Natalie Lukaitis's avatar
    By Natalie Lukaitis
    Published 23 November 2016 In Features

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    iconic beauty look
    (Image credit: SNAP/REX/Shutterstock)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Can you guess?

    Think about all the iconic beauty looks over the past 100 years. There's been Brigitte Bardot with her beehive and black liner, Marilyn Monroe with her red lipstick and peroxide blonde coiffure, Elizabeth Taylor with her bold brows and brunette hair and Audrey Hepburn with her micro fringe. And that's just the 1950s decade!

    Look further than that and you have Madonna's beauty spot, Grace Jone's shaved head, Brooke Shields' bushy brows, Diana Ross's 70s style, Amy Winehouse's beehive and Lady Gaga's blonde bow hair. In fact, the list goes on so much, you could be here all day reading it.

    So imagine what it would feel like to win the award for the most iconic beauty look of the century. Recently, this award was given. And it was presented to a very modern beauty indeed - Cara Delevingne.

    Love all things make-up? Powder can match you to the best products for you in less than 30 seconds! Find you perfect liquid eyeliner here!

    You may like
    • Beauty Moodboard SS27 ’90s Kate Moss, Stevie Nicks and “Digital” Skin—The Beauty References to Inspire You for the Season Ahead
    • Celebrity twin makeup I Discovered the Perfect, Expert-Devised Makeup Routine–Thanks to My "Celebrity Lookalike"
    • collage of beauty items on sale 18 Iconic Beauty Buys That Are Either on Sale, Have a Discount Code or Both

    In a recent poll conducted by cosmetic brand NKDb , 1,000 Brits aged between 18 and 65 were asked to vote for their number one iconic beauty. And thanks to Cara's bushy, bold eyebrows, she won top position - beating the likes of Cindy Crawford and her beauty spot, Twiggy with her 1960s lashes and Drew Barrymore's brown lipstick look of the 90s.

    Of course, Adele, Gwen Stefani and Kim Kardashian featured in the top ten. And Marilyn Monroe came in second place. But let it be known from this day forward that according to a shed load of people in the UK, Cara Delevingne is the most iconic beauty of them all.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    'It's great to see a mixture of current celebrities and icons from decades gone by in the top 10, proving that women find make-up inspiration from numerous avenues', Marco Robinson, co-founder of NKDb, said.

    Check out the top ten here:

    1. Cara Delevingne
    2. Marilyn Monroe
    3. Kim Kardashian
    4. Audrey Hepburn
    5. Twiggy
    6. Elizabeth Taylor
    7. Kylie Jenner
    8. Dita Von Teese
    9. Gwen Stefani
    10. Adele
    Natalie Lukaitis
    Natalie Lukaitis
    Social Links Navigation
    Read more
    Beauty Moodboard SS27
    Beauty ’90s Kate Moss, Stevie Nicks and “Digital” Skin—The Beauty References to Inspire You for the Season Ahead
    Celebrity twin makeup
    Beauty I Discovered the Perfect, Expert-Devised Makeup Routine–Thanks to My "Celebrity Lookalike"
     
     
    collage of beauty items on sale
    Beauty 18 Iconic Beauty Buys That Are Either on Sale, Have a Discount Code or Both
    Kiko Milano
    Make Up I Watched Kiko Milano Build a Beauty Empire in Plain Sight—Now the World Is Finally Catching Up
     
     
    Latest in Beauty
    Laura Pearson reviews SKINVIVE and HArmonyCa
    Skincare I Avoided Injectables Until I Was 42—These Are the 2 Treatments That Changed My Mind
    Autumn fragrance
    Fragrance Your Autumn Reset Starts With Your Fragrance—Here's How to Find the Right One
     
     
    Celebrity twin makeup
    Beauty I Discovered the Perfect, Expert-Devised Makeup Routine–Thanks to My "Celebrity Lookalike"
    New Beauty Launches Romilly Wilde / Cécred / Bobbi Brown
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Cécred Comes to the UK, Romilly Wilde Returns & £22 Skincare Gets Serious
     
     
    Latest in Features
    NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 10: Anne Hathaway attends Moncler Fifth Avenue Flagship Opening at 767 Fifth Avenue on September 10, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by The Hapa Blonde/GC Images)
    Life The “Hot Pregnancy” Era Is Supposedly Empowering. It Just Made Me Feel Worse...
    Sienna Miller red jackets white jeans
    Fashion Sienna Miller's Easy Autumn Outfit Highlights How to Wear the Colour of the Season
     
     
    Health freelancer Ellie-Mae Hammond trying the new WHOOP Meridian
    Fitness I’m a First-Time WHOOP User—Here’s My Honest Review of Its New Jewellery-Inspired Band
    Louise O'Neill started dating at 39 -- here's what she learnt
    Relationships I Started Dating Again at 39. Here Are 21 Things I Learned About Men
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.