Taylor Swift swept the VMAs yet again this year; she took nine wins including Artist of the Year, Best Pop, Song of the Year and Video of the Year. Our girl really said that the 2009 stage invasion was not going to be her VMA's history. She's now the second biggest winner of all time at the awards show, two behind Madonna. And we're so proud. While she won Best Pop, she spoke about the joy of country too, and her hair did just the same. Her elaborate up-do really said 'you can take the girl out of country music...' Because this was basically a faux mullet.
Nowhere near a half-up half-down, but so much more than tendrils, Swift's chic twisted up-do was uniquely styled with a delicate single layer of curls flowing down from around the hairline, creating this mullet effect.
She wore it with a dense thick fringe and face-framing bangs, only adding to the retro look. Who knew mullets went so well with Versace gowns?
Maintaining her natural curls and waves throughout gave an effortlessly pretty finish and a texture you just can't create. Just look at mother with all of her babies.
Meanwhile, her glam also stayed close to her roots with a vintage winged eye and a trademark red lip making an appearance for her after-party look. She's right, she does "got that red lip classic thing that [we] like." And she will never go out of style.
*wipes a single tear*
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Elena Chabo is Cosmopolitan UK's former beauty writer, working on everything from buzzy celeb news and trending beauty, to sincere first-person reviews and engaging video content for social media. She also creates meatier features and expert-led how-to guides, for print and online. Her passion for Black beauty, textured hair, and the ways beauty interacts with culture, society, identity and relationships, quickly took over her writing career and led her into beauty journalism. Following an MA in Magazine Journalism in 2017, she cut her teeth across various roles at Stylist Magazine, before taking on a Digital Writer role at Good Housekeeping. It was here that beauty took centre stage and she launched and ran the site's first stand-alone beauty section. Remaining at Hearst, she joined the Cosmo beauty team in 2022. Find her on LinkedIn.
