As a “pre-teen,” the bright images from Seventeen magazine, movies like “She’s All That,” and clothing catalogs like Alloy and Delias were my guides to what was great in 1999. Well, that and what my older sister said was brilliant. If you are my age, you may remember these trends fondly, as I do, or you may remember them with horror, as I do. Here’s a list to look back on and be ashamed of.

Lip kisses

Bonne bell Lip Smackers were essential for any preteen. My favorites were the jumbo-sized versions with bright speckles. Shine aside, the biggest selling point for these balms was the crazy flavors. We’re talking Kool Aid, Dr. Pepper, Starburst, Cotton Candy, and even birthstone inspired flavors. For those of us who were too young to wear lipstick, Lip Smackers were our beauty tool of choice that stayed with us wherever we went.

Glow-in-the-dark nail polish

I wish I could remember exactly the brand I first used as a kid. The idea of ​​playing Bloody Mary in a dark bathroom with luminescent hands seemed like the coolest thing in the world. As lovely as this polish was, it had a hideous chalky texture that felt awful when rubbed against anything.

Glitter Eye Gel

With the millennium approaching, all preteen girls looked to the future and envisioned the dazzling opportunities that awaited us in the year 2000. In preparation, we used celebratory glitter. Glitter is still popular, as long as it is used in extreme moderation, but the Type I, and so many others, that they used to use was anything but easy to use. The gel would separate the pieces of glitter so that you end up with a lot of sticky substance and no sparkles. The gel would take hours to dry, and sadly, you never looked like the pop stars you aspired to be.

Butterfly hair clips

If there was a hair accessory you owned in 1999 other than elastics, it was butterfly hair clips. They came in all different colors and were essentially mini decorative claw clips. They were mostly great for sectioning small pieces of hair, as horrible as that may sound, but the worst part is that most people used them in conjunction with mini buns. This particular look was cute and fun for a boy, but let’s not pretend that we never saw adult women sporting this look as well.

Plastic Tattoo Chokers

Wearing these drove me crazy. As soon as I put one on, I was eager to get out of it. It didn’t matter that they didn’t look anything like tattoos, they were a HUGE trend. These might have been more popular than puka shell necklaces, multi-colored rubber bracelets, and toe rings. While these might have been the quintessential jewelry of choice for tweens in the late 90s, my favorites were BFF bracelets and mood rings.