Scarlett O' Hara's Lipstick

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Well, wait...wouldn't these have been colorized later? Who knows if they even existed or looked like that. Sorry to not be helpful at all! lol

 

[cherry lips]

Haha! I wish someone would colorize me later! You're absolutely right Miss_Bella_Hell, but that doesn't mean I've given up hope on shade suggestions. rubyredlocks once said she does her daily make-up like Dorothy! And ohairas seems like the kind of gal who might know a thing or two about Miss O'Hara's make-up. Not to mention all of the other ladies who must have wondered about this same thing, right?

 

[Aurora]

Not wanting to sound stupid, but have you tried applying a really thin layer of a pinky/red lipstick with your fingers, then using a dusting powder to finish? That makes in look a lot more "natural"

 

[pigeon toe]

My mom wears lipstick like that (not matte though), so I know it must exist somewhere!

I was looking at the Benefit site and maybe their lipstick in Skinny Dip or Rocket Pop might work? Their lipsticks are more of a cream or satin finish, but with a little powder you could make it matte.

 

[ShrinkingViolet]

NARS Casablanca is a very good matte peachy coral, it looks a lot like the one in the pics you posted. I think I've recommended it here before, I really like this lipstick!

 

[Decobelle]

Colorized later? No… both of these films were actually filmed in color in 1939 using a new technology, Technicolor. New screen makeup had to be developed, since what they had been using for black and white filmed badly under Technicolor – that is when Max Factor came up with his Pan-Cake foundation. Monty Westmore did the makeup for Gone With the Wind. It had to be put on under special fluorescent lights. The lipstick probably looked a lot different in person than it does on the screen. One of the books I have on the making of GWTW, called The Art of Gone With the Wind, has a long section on the makeup but no specific details about the colors used. Since the women were not supposed to look like they were wearing makeup, colors were chosen that were supposed to look ‘natural.’ David Selznick didn’t think this effort was always successful - there is an excerpt in The Art of GWTW from one of his famous memos about Miss Leigh’s lipstick! Written to Westmore, it says:

“If you don’t think Miss Leigh’s mouth is being made up in such a way as for it to be obvious that it is made up, which of course is bad for the picture, I suggest you look at the color stills, which clearly show the fantastic amount of lipstick we are using and the inexpert way in which we are using it, in that its use is obvious.”

Gee, and I always thought it looked great! I'm going to try that NARS Casablanca finally. Thanks, ShinkingViolet.

 

[AmateisGal]

What a fascinating bit of history on the making of this film, Decobelle. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Blondie]

Its a shame the Max Factor museum closed down or you could have called them and asked,
I would try MAC, take pics with you,
also Bobbi Brown makes great "nude" colours,
then try Sephora as well,
may take a few weeks of doing the rounds but am sure you will find
what you are looking for.

 

[MK]

.

Colorized later? No… both of these films were actually filmed in color in 1939 using a new technology, Technicolor. New screen makeup had to be developed, since what they had been using for black and white filmed badly under Technicolor – that is when Max Factor came up with his Pan-Cake foundation. Monty Westmore did the makeup for Gone With the Wind. It had to be put on under special fluorescent lights. The lipstick probably looked a lot different in person than it does on the screen. One of the books I have on the making of GWTW, called The Art of Gone With the Wind, has a long section on the makeup but no specific details about the colors used. Since the women were not supposed to look like they were wearing makeup, colors were chosen that were supposed to look ‘natural.’ David Selznick didn’t think this effort was always successful - there is an excerpt in The Art of GWTW from one of his famous memos about Miss Leigh’s lipstick! Written to Westmore, it says:

“If you don’t think Miss Leigh’s mouth is being made up in such a way as for it to be obvious that it is made up, which of course is bad for the picture, I suggest you look at the color stills, which clearly show the fantastic amount of lipstick we are using and the inexpert way in which we are using it, in that its use is obvious.”

Gee, and I always thought it looked great! I'm going to try that NARS Casablanca finally. Thanks, ShinkingViolet.

Well done!!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

You are correct....though I question the part about fluorescent lights. Almost all films of that time were shot with 32k incandescent lights made by the Mole Richardson company.

1939 was a landmark year for motion pictures and these are some of the best examples. I would include The Hunchback of Notre Dame.....but you ladies wouldn't be very interested in that make-up.

The important part for you gals to know is that the film stock of that era was far from true when it comes to color. That is why several make-up tests were done on camera to determine what the make-up should look like. What you saw on screen was very different to the eye.

For example these ladies might look pale to you but they actually were wearing a peachy tan color foundation. They look pale in comparison to the men who wore two to three shades darker. This was done because the lights had to be very bright due to the very slow film stock (which was probably only 25 ASA). With the lights that bright every inch of skin had to be covered in make-up of the skin would look too pale. In the case of the ladies it would have looked absolutely like a glass of milk.

So much for the history lesson. I never meet Monty Westmore. He died right after making Gone With The Wind, but I have worked with his three sons for the past twenty years. In fact his youngest son, Michael is an Oscar winning make-up artist and is a columnist for my magazine. I will ask him if he knows which Max Factor lipstick his father used, but in reality it is not what you are looking for. You want your lips to look like the way theirs did on the screen.

 

[lyburnum]

That's the closest I have in Mac, which is pink plaid, however the one they're wearing looks more peachy pink than just pink.

I also have No7 'Waterlily' No. 90 in Moisture Drench, which is very very close to the one she's wearing, but it has a bit of a glitter to it which you may not want.

I have also discovered recently MaxFactors Lipfinity Colour & Gloss. It comes in two parts, but I found that if I just used the one end that it gave me fantastic matte lipstick that wore all day long and didn't budge. It's almost identical in shade to the one they're wearing as well. It's shade 570 'gleaming coral'. MaxFactor seem to have a lot of shades that would be suitable, so it may be worth checking them out.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

I have a color called "Catfight" by Nars that's a really good semi-matte neutral shade with a hint of pink.

 

[MK]

.

Your color lacks the yellow which makes the above lip colors look more of an orangey-red.

BTW: That is the closest thing to a smile I have seen from you. I really love the photos you post of your outfits and I think you have loads of style.....but I have wondered why you never smile in photos. Of course i am not paying that close attantion you might have posted many smiling shots and I have just missed them.

Or it could be a youth thing....or you might not like the way you look when you smile. I think Veronica Lake didn't like......

....hey.....I am off topic. I will start another thread about this. I think it will make for interesting conversation.

 

[KittyT]

BTW: That is the closest thing to a smile I have seen from you. I really love the photos you post of your outfits and I think you have loads of style.....but I have wondered why you never smile in photos. Of course i am not paying that close attantion you might have posted many smiling shots and I have just missed them.

MK, there are a lot of gals here who don't smile in photos, myself and Fleur also pop to mind. It may be because a lot of gals don't like their teeth or don't like the bags and wrinkles that seem to pop up around their eyes when they smile! These are much more apparent in photos than in real life, and I know I am always unhappy with the way I look when I'm smiling in photos. I always scratch them for the ones where I'm not smiling. Just my take on things.

Anyway, back to the regularly scheduled programming.

 

[Decobelle]

That is very interesting MK. I got the information about fluorescent lighting from The Art of Gone With the Wind book. It is referring to the lighting for the makeup department, not the shooting lights, and says that Selznick employee Ray Klume installed “the new fluorescent lighting required for Technicolor" in the makeup department." I haven't run across that detail anywhere else though.

 

[MK]

.

I am going to look into that.


Here is my new thread about smiling....and Veronica Lake:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=30149

 

[playbelle]

I have also discovered recently MaxFactors Lipfinity Colour & Gloss. It comes in two parts, but I found that if I just used the one end that it gave me fantastic matte lipstick that wore all day long and didn't budge.

I'm a Lipfinity devotee, for its amazing staying power. I use both parts, then dab a little powder on to make it stand out a bit less. If it gets too dry during the day, I put some clear lip balm over it to freshen it up a little.

 

[Snookie]

For Judy Garland, they went through several makeup/hair variations on The Wizard of Oz, and they settled on this version because it looked more "natural", which goes with the idea that GWTW was supposed to be a natural look. They actually started filming with Judy in a blond curly wig and really heavy makeup.

 

[Real Swell Gal]

And Thank God they changed it. I don't think I could stand Judy in a blonde curly wig and heavy makeup.

I was also about to say Oz was filmed in Technicolor but someone beat me to it.

I will say I LOVE LOVE LOVE Max Factor Pan.





Have I mentioned how much I love it?



I love it.

 

[KittyT]

I will say I LOVE LOVE LOVE Max Factor Pan.

I love it too. I've always said, if it's good enough for drag queens, it's good enough for me lol

 

[retrogirl1941]

What about from Besame', the color carmine? I tried it years ago and thought it had a slight orange tinge.

samantha