Vintage Makeup Favorites

[LaMedicine]

I was actually just thinking that about Shiseido... I know in Japan, they like dressing up in unusual costume, whatever you call it! I always see photos of these gals in really pale makeup.

You mean like my avatar?

 

[swinggal]

Wasn't talking about Geisha - no. They use pure white facial makeup - like grease makeup. I was talking about when I was in Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore. Even Indian women use the lightening creams. It actually lightens your skin 'chemically' which cant be good. Bleaching!

 

[LaMedicine]

This is a bridal photo, not a geisha. To the untrained eye, she may look like a geisha (so I did think someone would come up with it), but the hair style is actually different, and it's the style　used exclusively for brides. Since in Japan, brides often change from western wedding dresses to Japanese bridal kimonos, or vice versa, the makeup has to be versatile enough to be changed easily from one style to another with a few strokes of the brush. So, the foundation used here is not grease make up as in stage make up, but the regular daily kind, so it also won't be much of a bother when taking it off. (Wouldn't want to have to bother with cleaning off grease make up on your wedding night, would you? ) The make up artists usually give the bride a coating of control color then put on the palest shade, though I'm not sure if these colors are on the regular market, or if they have a special route.

 

[Angelicious]

Orange-based reds were popular for day and evening wear in the 1940s, and look especially nice on those with red or warm blonde hair and warm toned skin.

Well, that's funny, 'cause I keep having troubles with lipsticks that look too orange! I end up with day-glo lips... Same problem with some pinks (I look 80s), but many other colours just look too dark - okay for 'a 20s or vampy look, but too gothic for everyday.

I'm currently using Dr. Hauschka Lipstick #6 "Fortissimo" with Dior lipliner 833 "Mahogany" underneath to tone it down.

The lipstick is looks much more orange on me than it does in the pic linked below:
http://www.drhauschka.com/products/decorative/lipsticks_fr.html

 

[Angelicious]

I'm in the process of switching/weeding out/running out of makeup at the moment, but currently I'm wearing the following (and have no idea how authentic it may look!):

Foundation:
Teint Diorlight (sticker fell off; no idea which shade - 2nd palest?)
- this is wonderfully light; feels like I'm not wearing anything. I detest greasy foundation...

Powder:
- Diorlight pressed powder C01 "Transparent/Light"
This stuff is so fine I often wear it on it's own. C01 is very pale though. Almost gothic on many people.

Eyebrows:
Dior Sourcils Poudre - 593 "Brown"
- This is a powder in pencil form; gives a really natural but very defined arch. Can be a bit messy or heavy though! Especially if you put it on damp skin or don't wait for foundation to set.

Eyeshadow - Day:
Dr. Hauschka Eyeshadow Duos - 05 "Extravaganza"
- This is a lovely "smoky gray/brown and shimmering ivory". Dr. H stuff is very fine, and always smells lovely (to me).

Eyeshadow - Night:
Dior 5-colour Eyeshadow - 780 "Mauve Chic"
- I use a light taupe sort of highlight, a hard-to-describe grey/taupe/mauve midtone, and a dark violet shade. I think they may be too shimmery to be authentic? (But one does with what one has...)

Mascara:
Dior Maximeyes - 093 "Maxi-black"
- This gives wonderful lashes, almost like false eyelashes. The super-fat bristle-packed wand gives great curl.

Blush:
Dior Blush Final - 849 "Contour"
- A nice pale rose; mostly because I have it on hand.

Elizabeth Arden Cheekcolour Naturals - 06 "Tearose"
- Another one I have on hand. I just don't pay much attention to blush; often don't even wear it.

Lipliner:
Dior Crayon Contour Lévres - 833 "Acajou/Mahogany"
- A bit lighter than the name would suggest. Somehow serves to lighten dark lipstick, and darken day-glo curses. I generally colour my lips in, not just line them.

Lipstick:
Dr. Hauschka 06 "Fortissimo"
- This looks dark in the tube, but manages to go quite orangey on me. I have to "undercoat" with lipliner to wear it. It's a lovely authentic matte though.

Dior Rouge Addict 787
- A dark velvety red, but again too shimmery I think.


I am having such problems finding good shades of lipstick! And so much makeup currently on sale is all pearlised and shimmery. Can anyone tell me about the shimmer-or-lack-thereof in early 40s eyeshadow? I recall pics of Billie Holliday with almost metallic pale blue eyeshadow - was that common, or stage makeup?

For the record, I have dark red hair (coppery auburnish), and fairly pale skin with rosy-peachy tones. Thankfully my eyebrows and lashes are dark, so that black mascara isn't a problem. I just have problems with lipstick, and not ending up with either gothic wine red or dayglo orange or cerise. Help!

 

[MissTayva]

You should check out Besame Cosmetics' line (http://www.besamecosmetics.com). All of their formulas and colors are modeled after those of the 1940s. The eyeshadows, although shimmery, aren't over-the-top. I think you will like them! They have a few different shades of red, as well, so you'll probably find one suitable for you

 

[Doe Peterson]

Oh thank you ladies for all these wonderful tips! I have opposite problem, I have a hard time finding foundations/powders that are dark enough. But not too dark. I'm between shades as well. I love Besame, but they don't have a powder or foundation dark enough yet. When I was younger, I used to make my own pressed powders too, I guess I'll have to go back to that. But I'm gonna check out all this great info. today.

 

[Angelicious]

Thanks Miss Tayva! That site is fantastic! Worth looking at for the graphics alone... I'll see what I can find.

 

[Angelicious]

Even better, the site directed me to Glamourpuss, an Australian store that stocks Bésame - that will save on postage!

 

[MissTayva]

Paul & Joe!

Ladies!
I have no idea how good this stuff is... but take a look at the packaging... So cute!

Paul & Joe - Amazon

 

[fifi]

You can also buy Paul & Joe at Sephora. I have yet to try it, but I love the packaging. Heck, you could probably shove swamp mud into a cute wrapper and I'd buy it. I'm a sucker for good packaging!

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I'm with you fifi--I'm such a sucker for good vintage packaging that it is not even funny! Heck, I’ve been know to keep an item that I hated just because I could bear to toss the cute package out…

Too bad all of the companies with old fashioned packaging have such expensive products!

 

[MissTayva]

You can also buy Paul & Joe at Sephora. I have yet to try it, but I love the packaging. Heck, you could probably shove swamp mud into a cute wrapper and I'd buy it. I'm a sucker for good packaging!

I put it on my "wish list". All of it. Their nail polish remover is pretty pricey... but what the hell, I'd rather have THAT bottle sitting on my vanity or in the bathroom than the ugly ones you get at the drug store.
Truth be told, I think a majority of BeneFit's products are rubbish... but it's that cutesy packaging that gets me every time!

 

[BelowyourBeauty]

Ladies!
I have no idea how good this stuff is... but take a look at the packaging... So cute!

Paul & Joe - Amazon

It soo cute, it reminds me of my aunts perfume bottles and her powder compacts that she would leave out on her vantiy...thanks for sharing.

 

[fifi]

Truth be told, I think a majority of BeneFit's products are rubbish... but it's that cutesy packaging that gets me every time!

It's funny you should say that about BeneFit...I feel the same way. I've been suckered in many times by their packaging, but I just don't love any of the products I've tried.

 

[CherryRed]

Hello everyone! This is my very first post here. I just found this forum a few days ago and I must say you ladies are a treasure trove of information! I have so many pages bookmarked now it's not funny.
I was planning on having DH buy me some of the Besame cosmetics for my birthday. I am glad I read this thread. You have all been a great help in my selections!!

 

[Lauren]

Bienvenue, CherryRed!

 

[MissQueenie]

Welcome CherryRed!

Okay, ladies -- you've made me sad.

I've always longed -- really LONGED -- to posses that delicate china doll coloring. I envy those of you who were graced with such lucky genes. I have exactly one native Hawaiian great-grandparent on my mother's side. Her mother was Irish-American, and my own father was an Irishman himself (flaming red hair and green eyes to boot). I ended up with the most unfortunate aspects of everything. I've got this weird, honey colored hue to my skin -- it's not a tan, since I don't "do" tans (thanks Dad), but it's not "pale". It is also not a color I can find in a bottle or a powder tin. When I lived abroad, most people just assumed I was from Spain or Italy, since my coloring is generally considered "mediterranean" looking. My Irish family think I look positively "sallow" in the winter.

I'm pretty much at a loss, as far as colors go, and really don't bother with makeup because it's just an exercise in frustration. I normally just curl my eyelashes and swipe on some mascara, fill my brows in with powder, and slap on some indifferent shade of sheer lipstick. I'm sick of being told that pink and brown eyeshadow are the only colors I ought to wear with my brown eyes, and lipstick is just a horror-fest (pretty much all reds with ANY blue in them at all turn into a screaming magenta when I get them on; orange-reds look marginally better, but tend to increase the "sallowness" of my complexion).

I love the vintage face, but am despairing ever being able to pull it off with my coloring. I know it's a shot in the dark, but do you girls have any suggestions? Makeup counters are universally unhelpful, they either try to use something too pale or too dark, usually too pale. Maybe some images of some not-so-porcelain stars would provide inspiration?

 

[jitterbugdoll]

MissQueenie--I would suggest blue or violet eye shadow, as those would be complementary colors to your eyes. In fact, smoky violet was recommend to brown-eyed gals in the 1920s-30s, to add a 'mysterious air' to the wearer.

As for lipstick, your body chemistry might be causing the colors to turn on you. Have you tried a brick red or a true red? If you can find it (it was a limited edition product) Mary Kay Lip Polish in Sweet Maple might do the trick (this is a rich, brownish red.) MAC Viva Glam, the shade used on Cate Blanchett in The Aviator, might also be a good pick. Try different formulas too; I find that creamy/shiny lipsticks tend to be less stable then true matte formulations.

I do love my pale skin, but I have a terrible time finding a color of foundation to match it! And my body chemistry turns most foundations a lovely shade of orange, so I feel your pain when it comes to morphing colors.

 

[Angelicious]

I've always longed -- really LONGED -- to posses that delicate china doll coloring. I envy those of you who were graced with such lucky genes.

I feel your pain... Somewhere in my family's Scots-Irish past, a great-something grandfather married a lady he claimed was "Spanish" (probably a local Maori, but you didn't admit that in those days), and that hit the black-Irish genes to leave my mother's generation with riotous black curls and EZ-Tan Skin in BerryBrown(tm), and my generation with reddish gold-brown curls and Euro-Blotch Anti-Tan(tm).

(pretty much all reds with ANY blue in them at all turn into a screaming magenta when I get them on; orange-reds look marginally better, but tend to increase the "sallowness" of my complexion).

I have the opposite problem; Orange-reds turn into a screaming apricot and blue-reds make me look gothic (not a problem unless I'm trying to look like Girl Next Door 1943). If I find any clues I'll let you know - maybe the solution for me can be inverted to suit you.

Maybe some images of some not-so-porcelain stars would provide inspiration?

Ummm... Well, Billie Holliday wasn't too dark, and she looked nice in a pale metallic blue eyeshadow..? It's hard to find colour pics. I'll post some if I find them.