With Jennifer Aniston's revelation that the lipstick she wore as Rachel Green on Friends is still available to buy (MAC's Satin Lipstick in Paramount, £17.50, just FYI), and the upcoming reunion finally in sight Friends mania has reached fever pitch. Oh the Friends beauty nostalgia! Who, after all, could forget 'The Rachel' hairdo that debuted in Season 2, or the bleached-out beach waves the style evolved into later down the line. Likewise, the Monica tribe made hair colour appointments to emulate her exact shade of brunette, and the Phoebe troop dabbled in long blonde hair extensions and the odd bandana. The real beauty takeouts, though, came in-character, within a goldmine of beauty-expertise-laden episodes.
We sense a few raised eyebrows and cynical stares, but would you have been quite so cautious when consulting the teeth whitening colour chart in your dentist's chair, had Ross not showed you quite how bad day-glow dental work could really look? Would you have wrapped that spa towel around yourself so tightly in the steam room were Chandler not to have weirded you out with that close encounter with his father in law's lap? We think not.
The cast of friends have made all these beauty blunders so we don't have to, and for that, we are eternally grateful. As far as we're concerned, over-plucking our eyebrows in our teens and cutting our own fringe caused enough trauma without adding slip-ups like those into the mix. With that in mind, it's time to dive into a nostalgic whirl of game-changing baths and botched brow jobs and learn a few serious beauty lessons along the way...
10 Beauty Lessons We Learned From Friends
10 Beauty Lessons We Learned From Friends
1 of 10Never Let A Non Make-up Wearer Do Your Make-up
In 'The One With the Chick and the Duck' Ross tries his hand at make-up artistry in the wake of Rachel's broken rib. Cue an onslaught of 80s worthy eyeshadow and exclamations from the MUA maestro of 'you know you don't wear enough of this!' (watch out Bobbi Brown). Needless to say, the final look did not meet with approval. Note to self: If your usual make-up application methods aren't an option, make your way to those kind souls doling out free make-up trials at your nearest department store, or rock the real no make-up look. The alternative is only viable for Halloween.
2 of 10Never Wax Next Door To A Breakup
At-home waxing is always a point of contention when it comes to the de-fuzzing debate. Monica and Phoebe both proved useful guinea pigs in The One the Morning After, demonstrating that a) you should steer clear unless you boast a gargantuan pain threshold and b) the whole process is not advisable when a heart-wrenching breakup is in the offing next door. Your screams merely add to the tension, you can't casually pop out for some ice to soothe the inflammation, the whole situation becomes a melting pot of angst. Conclusion? Head to the salon and dodge all forms of hairy situations in one.
3 of 10Brow Trauma? Ask For Help
The phrase 'brows are sisters not twins' was coined to comfort the perfectionists among us and persuade us that no two brows ever have to look exactly the same. We're betting it was of little comfort to Joey, however, when a botched brow wax left him with a 'baby caterpillar chasin' it's mama' across his face. That said, all it took was the gentle hand of Chandler, and skills acquired from years of primping and preening his drag queen dad and pals, to even things out a little. Moral of the story: never be afraid to ask for brow grooming help. Your friends will be there, tweezers in hand, come what may.
4 of 10Swerve Self-Service Fake Tanning Booths
Our sun-kissed golden rules of faux tanning? Stick to a bottle and a sturdy mitt or book in with a pro. A person. An actual human holding a mister and proffering paper panties, that sort of professional. Automated booths? Dodge. Ross may be a ditz at times, but when Mississippi-less counting messed up his turn-and-spray sequence, we all felt for the uber-bronzed paleontologist.
5 of 10Combatting Frizz: It's All In The Preparation
It's all very well racing around screaming 'It's the humidity!' but Monica's whole Barbadian frizz farce COULD have been avoided had she preempted the weather and her hair's natural curl. Pack a serum guys! Anything lightweight and hardworking would have tamed that fuzz-ball in no time.
6 of 10Baths Are Next Level
Just like Chandler, you questioned this. You doubted the power of bathtime, but one luxed-up bath in and you've joined the ranks of converts. Welcome. For Pre-Season-8-Episode-13-Chandler, a bath's primary attraction was the 'wet naked lady' that was in it - Monica - but when his wife shows him how a solo bath is done (we're talking candles, effervescing bath salts, the lot), there's no going back. Post-Season-8-Episode-13-Chandler is a changed man.
7 of 10Teeth Can Be TOO White
Yes, the cast of the TOWIE have reiterated this lesson in the last decade, but it was Ross Gellar who initially put a stop to over exuberance in the teeth-whitening world. His day-glow dental work might have lit his path home at night, but it won him zero advantage in the dating game. Heed the word of your dentist and don't get carried away, Ross sacrificed his hard-earned bank of dignity to grant you this lesson. Use it wisely.
8 of 10Mask Mapping Is A Thing
Ross, Joey and Chandler were working that mask mapping know-how long before L'Oréal got their hands on the phrase. A good clay number spread evenly across your T-zone is your highway to a clear, matte complexion, it even leaves room for a hydrating mask across your cheeks. What knowledge. What beauty prowess. Ross, Joey and Chandler, we salute you.
9 of 10Provide Your Hairdresser With Visual References. Always.
If anything provoked a spike in magazine-cutouts being shoved in the faces of hairstylists worldwide, it was this chilling episode of Friends. In The One With Ross' New Girlfriend, Monica enlists Phoebe's hair cutting 'skills', unwittingly ending up with a Dudley Moore barnet, when she had requested a more on-trend Demi Moore style. We gasped, we shuddered, we vowed it would never happen to us. Never before have we been so in debt to Pinterest.
10 of 10Beware The Steam Of The Sauna
We apologise wholeheartedly for revisiting the cringe-fest that was Chandler's encounter with Monica and Ross' dad in the steam room, but what a lesson we learned. De-steam your glasses, keep your wits about you, and most importantly of all, keep your towel ON. Unintentional lap dances stay with you. Apparently.
READ MORE: Paul Rudd Explains Why Filming The Last Episode Of Friends Was So Awkward