5 beauty lessons I learnt from Bend it Like Beckham that I still stand by in my thirties

Like most millennial women, the news thata Bend It Like Beckham sequel might actually be happening has sent me into a nostalgia spiral. It’s been over 20 years since Jesminder and Jules first lit up our screens with football kits, forbidden friendships and just the right amount of lip gloss. And while the original was full of tear-jerking and laugh-out-loud moments (both on and off the pitch), I can’t help but think about the beauty lessons the 2002 movie taught me– the ones I still lean on in my thirties.

For a film about sport and family expectations, it also understood femininity in a way that was incredibly ahead of its time. It also inspired a whole generation of girls, like me, to get stuck into sport, but not to shy away from loving beauty. So, from a very important lip gloss lesson to learnings about headbands, here are the beauty rules I still follow after learning them from Kiera Knightley and Parminder Nagra.

Less is more when it comes to skin

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Jess (Parminder) barely wore make-up, and yet she glowed. Whether she was sprinting across the pitch or dealing with awkward family dinners, her skin looked real, fresh and calm. It was the first time I saw a leading character not transformed via mascara and foundation, and it was a revelation. I could picture her using a simple cleanser and a moisturiser, not a 12-step routine involving tons of actives, toners and treatments.

A simple skincare routine is something I stuck with all my twenties and now my thirties.

Shop my Jess-inspired skincare routine

• Boots DermaCare Ceramides Moisturising Cream, £4
• CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser with Hyaluronic Acid, now £10

‘Boy’ cuts are chic

And don't let men tell you otherwise. Jules (Keira) had a choppy, boyish cut that changed how I thought about 'feminine' beauty. It wasn’t long or flowing, but it framed her face perfectly and made her look interesting and angular. Model-like. Since then, I’ve flirted with the idea of every version of that bob that's trended over the years. I'm still attached to my long hair, but back then I really thought Jules was ahead of her game with her cut, and this turned out to be true, considering 'French bobs' and 'Italian bobs' are huge trends this year.

Copy Jules' haircut

A modern version of the Jules Bend it Like Beckham cut is the French Riviera bob, currently being worn by Sofia Richie Grainge. Sofia opted for a bob after suffering a lot of bleach and heat-related damage, but has ended up loving the cut. If you want to try it out, ask your hair stylist for a chin-length blunt bob with soft, natural movement. Request clean edges without too much layering, just enough subtle shaping to allow the ends to curve gently under and give the hair a swishy, weightless feel. Ask for it to sit just at or slightly below the chin so it can be tucked behind the ears, and mention you’d like a style that works both air-dried and blow-dried with minimal effort.

Style it to perfection with Ouai's Air Dry Foam, £26.

Sometimes, all you need is a slick of lip gloss

The clubbing scene in Germany lives rent-free in my brain: Jules in that slinky top and Jess with her hair down, her make-up still minimal, but with the addition of one tiny beauty detail: lip gloss. It was slightly metallic and incredibly juicy-looking, and made her whole face light up. It taught me that sometimes the smallest change makes the biggest impact.

To this day, I keep a gloss in every handbag. It’s the thing I swipe on when I’m too tired for anything else but still want to feel pulled together. It's a Jess-approved hack that never fails me.

Shop Jess' Y2K make-up

• Made by Mitchell Beam Lip Gloss, £12
• Charlotte Tilbury Charlotte's Palette Of Beautifying Eye Trends - Denim Dimension, £49

Older sisters know better

Pinky, Jess’s glamorous older sister, might have been a side character, but she brought the drama and the beauty inspo. With her bold eyeliner, layered mid-length hair and OTT accessories, she was the Y2K big sister icon we didn’t know we needed (or didn't want, back then).

And like most older sisters, she was full of unsolicited, but mostly correct, advice. Watching her and Jess' cousins strut around, I realised there’s something to be said for full glam and big opinions. My own sister told me to stop over-plucking my brows in 2008, and I should have listened. Pinky would agree.

Copy Pinky's kohl-heavy eyes

Huda Beauty Creamy Kohl Eye Pencil, now £15.20

L'Oréal Paris Paradise Big Deal Waterproof Mascara Black, now £10.39

Headbands are for function, not fashion

Jess and Jules both wore sporty headbands throughout the film, and they did not care if they looked Instagrammable (RIP the pre-Instagram days, eh?) These were purely practical, and somehow that made them feel cool. Now, when I scrape my hair back for skincare or tie it up for a gym class, I think of them.

Beauty can be low-key, it can be functional and it can still be iconic. I don't think even Kiera Knightley (or David Beckham himself, who also went through a phase of wearing them in the late 90s) did enough to convince me that a plastic zigzag toothed headband is an accessory that could be worn outside of the gym (or off the pitch), but they have earned a place in our bathroom shelves from a purely practical angle.

Shop Jules' headband

Superdrug Brushworks Zig Zag Headband, now £3.20 for two