Makeup and cosmetics have been an important part of history for centuries, especially for special occasions. For this bridal season we are giving you the rundown of looks from the 1920’s to now. During the 20’s, makeup played a vital role in the women who were recovering from World War I. To escape the horrors and experiences they faced, the women utilized makeup to assert a new sense of feminine power. In this Gatsby Era, freedom reigned, and flappers were born with elegance and glamour. The 1920’s saw bright red lipsticks with dark doe eyes and ivory pale skin achieved through creams, rouge papers, and liquid foundations. Women of this decade also used kohl eyeshadow for dark sultry looks and had their eyebrows plucked for the first time and drawn downward. Hollywood star Clara Bow even made the cupid’s bow lip a staple for every woman of the ‘20s with metal lip tracers being released to obtain the perfect pouty lip. This lip look was actually smaller than the natural outline of the original lips. Along with these makeup looks came the marcel waved hair that gave all the women a sleek and chic updo for every occasion of Art Deco.
Furthermore, the 1930’s golden age of Hollywood glamour also served us some becoming and refined looks. Eyebrows became pencil thin and lips lost their cupid’s bow as cinematic talkies became popular. These newly released films encouraged women to fully apply their lipsticks as more attention was being brought to the lips and mouth. The 30’s also witnessed a decline in heavy kohl eyeshadows with an increase in light cream shadows. With these cream shadows, Helena Rubinstein launched the first waterproof mascara and ladies became obsessed with doing their lashes. Additionally, with these lighter and brighter makeup looks, women started to opt for longer shoulder length hair with finger waves rather than the sleek bob of the ‘20s.
As the 30’s ended and in came the ‘40s, makeup had become a massive industry. Lips were redder than ever before, and eyebrows were prominently arched. Women wanted to sport deep luscious full lips and did so by utilizing a pencil to overline their lips. To add glossiness and luster they would use a touch of Vaseline. Paired with these makeup looks were short tight ring-curls and some waves but this quickly went out of style and was taken over by a short, curly and practical hairstyle from 1945 to the end of the decade. Another popular hair style was called the Queue Curl with a flat top and the sides and back curled.
Moreover, Post-World War II America saw the rise of the pin-up look as women continued to assert their feminine power through makeup and cosmetology. The 1950’s became even more glamourous than the ‘20s. Cream foundations and eyeshadows were a staple product to have during this time and they allowed for the era of the “mask effect.” Women would apply thick creamy foundation with nude colored powders to set and pink hues on their eye lids. The eyebrows were no longer pencil thin but were actually more natural with a tapered look. Eyeliner also added glamour because now the women would apply a cat eyeline with a winged tip to emphasize real glamour and draw attention to a woman’s eyes. Paired with these fabulous facial looks were pin curls that were rolled flat against the head and held with pins. With the hair ends tucked underneath the curl before it’s pinned down, women were able to achieve an extremely classy and prestigious look.
Although the ‘50s brought class, the ‘60s brought bold eye looks. Women of the ‘60s proceeded to experiment and created deep-set eyes, prominent eyes, and close-set eyes. For the deep-set eye look they highlighted the whole eyelid with white eyeshadow then blended an iridescent shadow on the outer part of the lid. After, they would line the top and bottom lids very finely and add mascara. For the prominent look women would put eyeshadow on the whole lid with natural brown, grey, soft blue, or green to match with the eye color. They created an emphasis on the eyes by using a brown shadow or eye pencil in the socket arch and eyeliner drawn strongly close to the top lashes. For the close-set eye look the ladies of the ‘60s would highlight the whole eyelid with white and blend a pale iridescent shadow on the outer part of the eyelid and wing it up towards the brow bone. Then they would finely outline three-quarters of the top and bottom eyelids with curving lines slightly beyond the outer corner of the eye. With these new experimental makeup looks the beehive hairstyle also became popular. This look was achieved by piling one’s hair on top of the head in a conical shape and setting it with extreme amounts of hairspray. The beehive hair look became a staple of the ‘60s and was worn by celebrities including the musical group The Ronettes and Aretha Franklin.
In with the new and out with the old, the 70’s put lipsticks and mascaras in the backseat and ran with lip glosses and creams. They wanted to embrace a more natural look in the era of folk festivals and oil shortages. Shimmer eyeshadows were applied on the eyelids and the eyebrows were kept natural and tamed with clear mascara. For the face, light liquid formulas and opalescent powders were applied for a healthy glowing look. Matched with these glowing dewy looks were the feathered hairstyles. This style works with mid-length to long hair brushed back and outward at the sides to give the appearance of feathers. Both celebrities and non-celebrities of the ‘70s wore this popular hairstyle.
The girls of the ‘80s just wanted to have fun and brought technicolor looks to the table. Blues, purples, and pinks dominated the eyelids of this decade as well as bold and bushy eyebrows. Along with these disco tech looks were extremely heavily lined eye similar to raccoon eyes. Women would trace the tops and bottoms of each eyelid with eyeliner and then smudge it all together for the rocker look. With these two different makeup styles, many women still opted for the crimped or curly hairstyle. Everyone wanted long and curly big hair during the ‘80s.
The 90’s saw a few different make up trends such as blue eyeshadow and skinny thin eyebrows. For the eyebrows, women would overpluck a draw a thin line over their eyebrows and for the blue eyeshadow they used a darker blue on the outer corner and worked a lighter hue into the inner corner and lower lash line. This became a common look for celebrities to sport on the red carpet and for daily wear. With this bright blue bold eye look, many girls chose pinned up hair with small details such as butterfly clips. The hair was pulled back and curled and then pinned and expressed extreme volume.
Now into the 21st century, the early 2000’s saw chunky highlights with loose up-dos and sleek layers side swept with bangs. To pair with these hair looks, ladies wore smoky eyeshadow with pencil-thin arches for eyebrows and glossy nude lips. Into the 2010’s, eyebrows became bolder with lush lashes and heavy matte foundations. Women also introduced heavy contouring and highlighting for the facial structure. With this style of makeup came tousled beach curls for an effortlessly cool vibe. This beach wave look has carried into the 2020’s proving to be timeless and is paired with a beautiful glowing face look. To accomplish this, women are hydrating and moisturizing to create a glowing complexion. They are also doing a no makeup makeup look in which you wear minimal amounts of foundation and blush with natural tamed eyebrows and nude shadowed eyelids. To pair with this natural look, statement lips are back and bolder than ever.