The Rockabilly Make Up Thread

[melanie]

Ok you rockabilly girls, how do you do your make up? I love the look, but I also want to experiment with colour on the eyes, do you think this will be ok for the 40s and 50s look? How do you do yours?

 

[melanie]

eyes

I love make up, I always have done, ever since I was a little girl and I stole my mothers make up, lol.

I love the vintage/rockabilly look, again, I always have done, ever since I saw those old Sunday afternoon films, where the glamourous ladies always looked impeccable.

I love colour, i think a nice splash of bright colour, on your face, in your hair, your clothes and in your home, can make you so so happy.

I am wanting to combine all these things together, on my eyes, make up-vintage/rockabilly and colour, and I really dont know where to start!
Can you please try to think of some actress or model from the 40s or 50s, or even a model of today who wears this look, who experimented or experiments with colour in their look.

Also, do you experiment with colour in your vintage make up?

 

[TillyMilly]

I only experiment with pastels or smokey eyes. I only use MAc shaows as i have several of those 15 shadow palletes and i like to fir them all in. The shades I use are;

Neutral palette: Creams & whites e.g. Blanc type, bisque, malt , orb, Gesso
Taupe palette : e.g. coquette, concrete, omega, copperplate
Grey palette: e.g. print, typographic, carbon
Brown palette: Bugundy browns for my colouring e.g Sketch, signed sealed

For colours I like plums, pinks and reds e.g. fig, passionate

For a coloured smokey eye I wear blues and teals e.g. Stormwatch, Plummage, Perussain

I have soem pastel which I like e.g. pen pink and a watermelon green that i can't remember.

I prefer matte textures

 

[Amy Jeanne]

I wear colour eyeshadow -- at least three different colours from my lashes to my brows. Usually a bold colour on the lid (whatever matches my outfit) and white shimmer on the brow bone. Depending on what I am wearing I also like to put a dash of colour in my inner corners OR in my crease.

I don't follow makeup decade rules. I dress mostly 30s and 40s and I wear thin eyebrows, but I also wear winged eyeliner and cupid's bow lips.

 

[melanie]

Hiya Tishkaminx

I like the colours that you wear, I bet they look very pretty indeed.

Hiya Amy Jeanne

I am pleased to find someone else who loves the vintage look but who likes to experiment with colour, perhaps you could put some piccies up of your colourful make up?

 

[KittyT]

Can you explain how, in your opinion, "rockabilly makeup" is different from the basic vintage makeup outlined already in many of the threads here?

 

[melanie]

In my opinion, Rockabilly make up is more heavy, edgey, colourful and has more of a modern twist to it than a lot of vintage make up styles, why do you want to know?

 

[melanie]

This is a very edgey Rockabilly style...

And this is vintage style..

I love the rockabilly look and the vintage look, and I will wear both, depending on my mood.

 

[KittyT]

This is a very edgey Rockabilly style...

I've been in the rockabilly scene for a long time and I've never seen anyone wear anything this outrageous. I see stuff like this all the time in the goth and psychobilly scenes though.

Maybe it's just where I'm from, but most people I've met in the rockabilly scene tend to go pretty classic vintage with their makeup, unless they do the psychobilly thing too, which is why I was asking.

 

[Babydoll]

I agree with KittyT. I've been in the rockabilly "scene" for 10+ years, and I don't see make up like that anywhere. It looks psychobilly to me... especially with the two-tone hair. The eye make up is rather over the top for anything but going to shows, IMHO.

For me when I think of "rockabilly makeup" (which I don't really call it that - ever), I think dark lashes, cat-eye liner, rosy cheeks (not overly done), and red lips. Classic. Not overly made up. Exactly what you posted as your example of vintage style make up.

 

[Kitty_Sheridan]

I think Melanie is quite new to this and here in England the distinction is not quite so clear cut perhaps?

Melanie, loads of good threads in the Powder Room section but suffice to say that a lot of the make up is 'vintage inspired' and not 'authentic'

It's great when you get into it, so much to research and explore! Replied to your email!

K

 

[TillyMilly]

I vote psychobilly too- which is a very fun look.

I am cutrently sitting here in my PJ's sporting cobalt blue shadow (just got MAC Atlantic blue and I'm experimenting) I bet this shade would make for a fantastic psychobilly look. I also like red shadow (MAC passionate and poste haste) which I've worn in a few ways most particurly in a pseudo Geisha style when I wore a latex black and red Geisha outfit for a Halloween club night.

I love the elegance of 'usual' style vintage inspired make-up but sometimes my Goth side demands DRAMA!

 

[DigThatBeat]

avintagerevival on youtube has some great psychobilly makeup tutorials.

 

[melanie]

sorry, getting mixed up with my looks, so this is physcobilly, ok, I like the look, but it is not one I would wear every day, but I definititely would for nights out and special occasions, for every day wear, I love the vintage look.

Can I just ask, what is the difference between vintage and rockabilly? If they both look the same, then why give them 2 different names?

 

[Puzzicato]

As far as I can tell, rockabilly is a subculture of music etc as well as fashion, whereas vintage may have a similar look but different music and historical basis. All the WW2 re-enactors etc are not rockabilly (although they may be!).

I love that psychobilly makeup you posted. I'd never wear it, but it is beautiful!

 

[MissHannah]

Rockabilly is a specific music-based subculture and, although the styles are based on some vintage styles (a mixture of 40s and 50s), it also has developed its own specific styles too.

Vintage is a general term we use to cover styles from the past - so the style would be whichever era you have picked.

 

[melanie]

Right, so its mainly just about the music? I love rockabilly music, and what you would call vintage music, like Glenn Miller ect, so I suppose I'm a bit of both?

 

[MissHannah]

Originally it was a term for a style of music in the 50s (anybody more expert than me feel free to jump in!) but it has been adopted by a subculture that grew up from the post-punk scene in the early 80s. It now encompasses a style too, which is mostly 50s Americana but with touches of the 40s - victory rolls for example. The style is very vintage-influenced but it is less concerned with historical accuracy than someone who is purely a vintage fan I guess, although plenty of vintage gals and guys are also into the rockabilly scene.

 

[melanie]

thank you for explaining.

 

[TillyMilly]

This is how I see it:

Rockabilly was/is a style with originated with the youth scene in the 50's- so you can't just lable it 50's as not everyone in the 50's was wearing that style. It tends to be more kitsch than say 40's and the colours are brighter. It is definatly a style in it's own right, as say Flapper style is not represenative of all woemns fashionin the 1920's (Sure by the end of the era the influences spread into more 'regular' fashions just like today- my Mum at 60 years of age gets a pair of Ugg boots just as today's teen agers are getting into Doc martens -again!)

Now- phsychobilly is another more recent phenomemon altogether! It draws on Rockabilly influences and also B-Movie type horror. The look is totally more flamboyant and mega kitsch with motifs such as skulls, zobies, zombie pin-ups, hot rods etc. As with most 'scenes' there is a loyal subculture built around it and music too- which is also like a cross between your regular Rockabilly and Gothier stuff with darker themes e.g. 'Daddy's making monsters' etc. Bands such as Blue Deamon, Zombina and the Skeletones, Horror Pops, Dementaed are Go, Rob Zombie (to some extent) and the Meteors (which are the only ones I can think of off-hand)

-It's not my subculture but I do think it looks like fun and I've been to some gigs before.