Vintage Makeup How-To's

[katiemakeup]

There are always vintage hair how to's & instructions on here (thank you!) but what about the MAKE UP (my favorite!) I don't mean products, but actual guidelines. There have got to be more links, or anyone with scans (katie+scanning=bad) from books/magazines/videos to show here. (Or... maybe there is a thread buried here that I am too lazy to look for) The books I have don't go into to much detail and one cannot live on films and photos alone~ Thanks Ladies

The only decent link I know of:
http://www.return2style.de/amimakup.htm

 

[katiemakeup]

Okay, I found some info that I saved a few years ago while going through my files. Unfortunately they were off of the internet & were only for my records so I might be missing some of the credits:

"Beauty, The New Basics" by Rona Berg; "Decades of Beauty" by Kate Mulvey, and Melissa Richards; "Beauty - The Twentieth Century" by Nathalie Chahine, Catherine Jazdzewski, Marie-Pierre Lannelongue, Francoise Mohrt, Fabienne Rousso, Francine Vormese; "Vintage Face: Period Looks from the 20s, 30s, 40s, & 50s" by Daniela Turudich

ALSO, ReVamp has 1920's & 1930's makeup application guidlines on their site. I couldn't post a link, but it's under Chapter 6 in the contents column.
http://www.revampvintage.com



1910+
-Women must have known that mascara was on its way because they were already doing a little something to their lashes all on their own. It was a little unusual however... it involved adding hot beads of wax to the tips. T.L. Williams watches his sister Mabel apply petroleum jelly to her lashes and he formulates the first mascara that he went on to name after her. We know it today as Maybelline.

-The movie industry took notes when Vogue featured Turkish women using henna to outline their eyes. It made the eyes look much larger and the word "vamp" became associated with these women. Surprisingly, vamp was short for vampire.

-While "vamps" were appearing on the screen, another look was emerging which was very different. Flowing hair and angelic faces were soon being copied. Makeup was minimal, although the women did like their false lashes.

-By 1910, lipstick was not only being applied to the lips, it was being tattooed in place by George Burchett, known as the "Beauty Doctor." Unfortunately, it did not always work and as you can imagine, it is rather difficult to cover facial tattoos.


1920's
-Metal tubes for lipstick were introduced during this decade and the popular color... red of course and often scented with cherry. During these years, dark burgundies and maroons were added to the shade family. They were soap based and very drying.

-Major plucking took place to get rid of as much of their brows as was possible. All that was desired was a thin line that curved downward toward the temple. A grease pencil then was used to darken the bizarre line. The most unusual brow belonged to a young Asian actress named Anna May Wong. Her brows were little more than horizontal slashes above her eyes.

-Mascara in cake and cream form was a big hit with women. Finally, women could have the lashes they always wanted. Believe it or not, using mascara wasn't enough for the ladies of this decade. They wanted their lashes to really stand out so here is what they did. They applied drops of liquid wax, with the help of a toothpick, to the ends of each lash. It gave the impression of a tiny row of pearls.

-The first eye lash curler hit the market, and was extremely popular. The Kurlash however was very expensive and difficult to use.

-Every one wanted Clara Bow lips. In case you never heard of Clara Bow, she was a very famous young actress commonly known as the "It Girl". The "It" apparently referred to her sex appeal. Her trademark was her lips... cupid bow lips. If you type Clara Bow into a search engine, her lips will be the first thing you notice. I'm sure that Betty Boop was fashioned after this famous actress.

-Foundation colors during the 1920s, changed several times. In the early years of this decade, cream and ivory shades were popular, followed closely by peach shades. The middle years tended to go more toward natural shades. By the end of the decade, makeup colors still preferred the natural look but went just a smidgen lighter than the natural skin tone.

-In the early 1920s, color on the cheek was not referred to as blush, but as rouge. The most common shades were the rose family or berry shades. By 1925, orange rouge was the big favorite.

-Even in those days, rouge came in a variety of textures. The first layer would have been cream or liquid. That layer would be covered with a thin layer of powder, followed by a second layer of powdered rouge. This would be topped off by a second layer of powder to set.

-As for placement of the rouge, it was applied to the apples of the cheeks, much as it is today. But, the circles of color was never blended into the skin. The circles were perfectly visible to the naked eye.

-There was nothing subtle about eye liner in the twenties. Women simply weren't trying to make their lashes look thicker, they used black grease stick liners or khol pencils to thickly line every inch of their eyelid. Everything Egyptian was popular during that decade, thanks to the recent opening of the tomb of Tutankhamun. Exoticism was the flavor of that decade.


1950's
-Chic, pastel colors- soft, subtle eyes in pinks and yellows with a touch of teal or powder blue and sheer, shimmery lips in berry and rose. Muted shades of gray and brown were used for every day. Evening colors of blue shadow with silver layered over.

-Brows were well defined and dark.

-Lips were bright with colors ranging from deep reds to bright pinks. The middle of this decade showed paler colors being chosen. By the end of the decade, the darker colors were back in vogue.

-One of the most unusual practices was to layer green powder over the foundation to make your skin look whiter than white. This look was reserved for evening.

-Eye Liner was black of course with what was known as a wing at the outer corner of the eye.

-Mascara had popular colors during the 50's included black, brown and blue.




UPDATE
JUST saw the links Neecerie posted for beckysoup... how'd I miss that?

 

[Sunny]

Thanks, Katie! I agree, there's not enough technical guidelines out there. Thanks for starting this thread and posting that info.

-Every one wanted Clara Bow lips. In case you never heard of Clara Bow, she was a very famous young actress commonly known as the "It Girl". The "It" apparently referred to her sex appeal. Her trademark was her lips... cupid bow lips. If you type Clara Bow into a search engine, her lips will be the first thing you notice. I'm sure that Betty Boop was fashioned after this famous actress.

Actually, I understand that Betty Boop was originally a caricature of singer Helen Kane.

Clara Bow

Helen Kane

 

[Miss Lucy June]

This is really neat because I had been thinking the same thing, Katie! I loved your notes that you typed up, I'm just sad you didn't have any on the 40s! Love this!

 

[RetroModelSari]

-In the early 1920s, color on the cheek was not referred to as blush, but as rouge. The most common shades were the rose family or berry shades. By 1925, orange rouge was the big favorite.
UPDATE
JUST saw the links Neecerie posted for beckysoup... how'd I miss that? Sorry!!! If you want, please move/delete

We still call it Rouge over here

 

[KittyT]

Kevin Aucoin's book "Making Faces" has some great how-tos for achieving a pretty authentic looking vintage face.

 

[Sweet Polly Purebred]

Found these over the weekend ..

Shadow to match eye colour.
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Palates.
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Palates.

 

[katiemakeup]

Love it!! Thank you Thora!!

 

[ShrinkingViolet]

Thanks a lot for typing in and scanning all that great information. It's intriguing how theatrical makeup used to be! I've always wondered how they did that trick with the beaded eyelashes, it must be a lot of work to make it look good. I'm tempted to try it next time I have too much time on my hands. If anyone else attemps to do the beaded eyelashes, pleease post pics!

 

[C-dot]

Bump!

From Mary Quant's Classic Makeup and Beauty, Forties Glitz:

 

[cecil]

Thanks for bumping!

Y'know what, I think that out of all the tutorials and what have you that are out there that I still like this website best: http://www.doctormacro1.info/

All it is is really high-quality movie scans that you can blow up so big that you can see EVERYTHING. I pore over ever intricate detail of the studio portraits of my favourite ladies trying to figure out their makeup.

I've been trying to move away to something more authentic '40s than the same winged eyeliner that I've been wearing for years. Not that there's anything wrong with it, I just feel silly wearing 30s and 40s dresses with 50s makeup. I'm sure that I'm the only one out of my group of friends that would notice, but....I don't care. lol

So far I've noticed this:

Eyeshadow in pale neutral over eyelid up to brow

Darker eyeshadow in crease, I thought always in a neutral brown until I realised that alot of the photos were b&w. lol I've seen blue, green and purpley indigo...what else was popular?

Big-ass false eyelashes! I read the last interview Mae West ever gave the other day. It was in the 80s and she was still wearing her signature massive falsies. They were so big that the interviewer thought she could hear the fluttering wings of a pet bird or a moth or something...it took her 10 or so minutes for figure out that it was the sound of her eyelashes brushing her cheek! lol

Liquid eyeliner just where the falsies join the eyelid, to camouflage.

Lips that were even, ie top lip painted to be as pouty as the bottom, or on girls whose bottom lip was poutier, the bottom lip lined on the inside to look smaller.

Am I getting somewhere here?

And a question...this was movie star makeup. So did everyday women wear false eyelashes? For a wedding, ball etc? I don't recall seeing them advertised but then again I don't see them advertised much now despite alot of girls wearing them.

 

[Ruby Red]

thanks for the link, cecil!

Also, I know what you mean about the winged eyeliner paired with the 30s/40s fashions... although the wings themselves look good and most people don't even notice the inconsistency- it feels odd nonetheless.

My impression of the 40's look is this:

- a thick pancake foundation followed by powder for a matte finish

- a light cream colored base eyeshadow from lashes to brow, paired with a neutral taupe color in and above the crease

- very minimal (if any) eye liner, and only on the top lid

-luscious fake lashes or at least lots of mascara

- dramatic eyebrows with an arch about 2/3 out from the center

- a red colored blush blended in to define the cheek bone

- a bowed upper lip filled in with liner and sealed with a true red




as far as different colored eyeshadows, I am not totally sure but I believe some slightly neutralized colors such as greens and deep purples were popular...?

.

 

[I<3Tiki]

Thanks a lot for typing in and scanning all that great information. It's intriguing how theatrical makeup used to be! I've always wondered how they did that trick with the beaded eyelashes, it must be a lot of work to make it look good. I'm tempted to try it next time I have too much time on my hands. If anyone else attemps to do the beaded eyelashes, pleease post pics!

Although not wax, a few years ago, Revlon made a product called "Lash Jewels", which was kinda the same principle except that it was a clear gel that came in an applicator. Since it was a gel instead, it looked more like little crystals or water droplets. You could apply it by dripping drops out on top of your lashes or you could stick the ends of your lashes just barely into the applicator tip and pull it out and a little droplet would stick on the end. It was actually kinda weird because even if the drop looked messy at first, the gel would automatically just form itself into a ball (most of the time). I still have some of this stuff (I have probably only used it about 3 times) - I'll have to get it out sometime and try to take some pics.

 

[Toni]

Thanks for that link Cecil, it's fabulous, I'm hooked on looking at the beautiful photographs!