Twentieth-Century Makeup Looks

Throughout the twentieth century, a decade was rarely defined by only one makeup look.  Linda Mason,well known makeup artist and  the authour of  the book: "The art of beauty",  gives us a good  insight  on the make up artistry of the past  in her book.

In the 20s
The makeup style was rounded, childish and innocent. Eyebrows were penciled or painted on in rather unusual shapes.Eyeshadows were  strong and dark, and so were the lip colors, painted in heart shaped forms. Rouge was applied to give the  cheeks  a rounded, doll-like look. I was also a common practice to divide the upper into two painted halves separated by a vertical line of natural skin.

In the 30s
Eyes were still strong, but not as shadowed as in the 20s,  and lined with very heavy false eye lashes.
The crease of the eye was accentuated. Brows were plugged thinner  and higher and women began wearing
custom made foundations and powders, that matched their skin tones.  Lips were outlined by following the
natural lip line more closely, using a sable brush and very concentrated cream colour.
The make up colours were more natural and were chosen to complement the wearer's natural colouring.

In the 40s
there was the trend towards a softer, sweeter and  more girlish look; make up emphasized the lips
rather than the eyes.  Eyes were  soft and subtle, often no shadow or liner was worn.  Brows were more
natural looking  and rather full and arched. Rouge was worn rounded and unstructured. Warm pink was the
most common colour choice. Lips were lined, enlarged, and rounded, with a popular cherry red lipstick shade.

 


















In the 50s
New trend was born in Paris: the doe-eyed look. Foundations were pale, with no trace of pink. Lip colors were darker and rouge was not worn as much.  Cake-powder  compacts were back. Eyes were lined with black as well as coloured pencils, upper lids were shadowed, eyebrows were penciled, and lashes were darkened with mascara.

In the 60s
the doe-eyed look was out.  Faces became contoured and highlighted with shine.
Makeup again emphasized the eyes, making them very large, and no longer gave so much
focus to the mouth. Eyeliner, now brown or gray rather than black, was applied so that it thickened a bit in the center of the lashline and stopped at the end of the eye.  Lip colours became very pale. Mascaras were mad in large variety of colours and formulas to lengthen the lashes. Eyebrows were plucked and thin. False eyelashes were at first thick and short, but were replaced by much longer lashes spaced  farther apart.

In the 70s
The program Charlie's Angels sparked a trend that was a mix of styles of the 60s and 70s and that trend continued into the 80s.
The look combined the tanned, shiny face of the 60s with a more elongated eye makeup, a pale, pearlized lip color, and blue
pencil-liner in the inner rim of the lower eyelid and under the eyes.
Towards the middle of the 70's the style changed again. The extreme was very made up, pale matte faces, with strong, very visible
blush applied on a diagonal under the cheekbones. Strong elongated eyes were shadowed with harsh, very metallic shades of violet,orange and pink. Lips were colored  with strong fuchsia and very glossy reds.

In the 80s
At the beginning of the 80s, all the designer had different make up styles.  However , a strong trend throughout the decade was the pale, matte face with stong, grey taupe shadows on the eyes and a strong, red glossy lip. Red lipsticks became more and more matte. Base and foundations became more nude and lips were more brown and matte. Eyes, too, became browner and smokier. The eyebrows were for the most part unplucked and made to look thick.

In the 90s
the glamour was back. No one wanted colour, and everything was very matte and brown. Liner was kept fairly to the eye, and lids were fairly light, especially under the brow and the brow bone.  Lips were well defined, enlarged,and heavily lined with pencil;lipsticks were either beige, brown or burgundy. Brows were waxed into perfectly  tailored  shapes. In the mid 90s , lids became more lightly coloured with soft pearl shades, and they were only lightly lined or not at all. Lips became moredeep, matte ruby shades and more more brown. Heavy matte lipcolors became more shine and glittery in the late 90s.  Glitter was used on eyes, lips and cheeks.

 I have to say, I am in  love the 40s, 50s and the 60s makeup looks, so sexy and feminine.... So what is  your favourite Make up decade girlies?

xxx Marina