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A Brief History of 1930’s Makeup
A Brief History of 1930’s Makeup
Concise illustrated history and tutorials of 1930s Makeup styles and cosmetics from the 1930’s golden age of Hollywood glamour.
By the beginning of the decade the 1930s woman’s makeup look was becoming much more refined. To some extent much more Hollywood influenced. Eyebrows were pencil thin and lips had lost their cupids bow, and filled the mouth again.
Magazines like Photoplay featured regular beauty guides of the ‘stars’ and makeup gurus like Max Factor – who personally worked with some of the biggest stars of the period, became household names.
Just look at the early talkies of the 1930’s and the beautiful women who graced the screen like Myrna Loy, Greta Garbo, Mae West, Jean Harlow, Constance Bennett and of course the unforgettable Carole Lombard.
They all have a certain ‘look’ and one clear thing they all shared was the pencil thin eyebrow. The heavy kohl eye-shadows of the 1920’s vamp made way for newer and lighter shades. Cream eye-shadows began to appear from the big cosmetic names like Max Factor who also launched the decade with his Lip Gloss and later in 1937 – Pancake water soluble makeup. Helena Rubinstein launched the first commercial water-proof mascara in 1939.
Lipstick sales went through the roof and there wasn’t a magazine on a stall that didn’t have a pouting face staring back – advertising the lipsticks of names like Coty, Tangee, and Max Factor.
The British Daily Mail reported “in 1931 that 1,500 lipsticks were being sold to women for every 1 being sold in 1921!” Mascara was now in every girls makeup kit – a cake or bar with a brush to apply [liquid mascara did not appear until Helena Rubinstein brought out Mascaramatic in the 1950’s].
3 Step Skincare Routine
They used the tried and trusted 3 step skincare routine. Cleanse, tone, and moisturize.
The leading skincare brand of the 1930’s and 1940’s was Ponds Cream.
If you want to be authentic, we recommend using Ponds cleanser, witch hazel astringent to tone, and Ponds vanishing cream moisturizer. This was process was religiously followed by women, and was the first step in the 1930’s makeup process.
Pan Cake Foundation
Hollywood makeup artist Max Factor used his famous pan-cake makeup on many actresses. Though the product only finally became commercially available in 1937, it is the best foundation to use for a 1930’s face. Apply with a brush. It gives your skin a matte finish. This was essential for women appearing on film.
1930’s Eyebrows
Pluck away your eyebrows, as demonstrated. Then with an eyebrow pencil, you draw a long ‘pencil thin’ arch, beyond where your brow would normally end.
1930’s Eye-shadow
Whatever shadow you wish, but always apply with the tip of your finger. Finish with a rub of Vaseline. This was a trick used by many Hollywood stars like Marlene Dietrich. This leaves a lovely sheen.
1930’s Cake Mascara
This was applied from a pot, or tray, with a brush. Some women swear that this is a much more effective way to apply mascara, but it isn’t obligatory.
1930’s Rouge Tips
Hollywood’s favorite face contour in the 1930’s was a heart shaped face. So even if you had the perfect oval, you would use your rouge to add some width to it. The old trick was to add rouge to the ear. Cream rouge was better for the ear, or lip rouge that matched your normal face rouge.
1930’s Lipstick Tricks
Lips moved away from the cupids bow of the 1920’s, with a return to a more natural line.
For too wide lips, there were two tricks popular in the 1930’s.
Curve the lipstick below the lip line. Then use two shades. The heavier on the upper lips, the lighter on the lower.
For thin lips, you simply applied the opposite with the shades, as well as moving the lip line beyond your natural line.
1930’s Makeup Style Products
1930’s Makeup Style Products
A recommended brand is Besame Cosmetics. Their 1931 Carmine Red lipstick, perfectly evoke the era. Beautifully presented in their trademark gold lipstick tubes.
Love the reproduction cake mascara too from Besame Cosmetics. It comes in a collectible tin, with a brush and instructions.
Adopted from theatrical makeup sticks, the eyeliner pencil to some extent took over from the heavy kohl look of the 1920’s. Now women began to contour the eye, tracing a triangle effect from the tear duct out to and beyond the natural edge of the eye – thus widening an adding further feminine emphasis to the face.
The lips lost the rosebud effect of the previous decade and adopted a thinner line, but now with a host of color palettes to choose from. Popular lipstick colors included dark reds, maroons and raspberry tones.
1930s Makeup Look Summary
1930s Makeup Look Summary
Hollywood influenced a more refined and glamorous look, with pale ivory foundations. Eye-shadows now had expanded to a palette of colors – in particular, alluring pinks and shimmering greens.
- Eyes – blues, greens, pinks, purples applied lightly and in pear shapes beyond the natural eye.
- Eyebrows – plucked out of existence and redrawn in pencil thin lines – arched more attractively upwards.
- Lips – the cupids bow was replaced by thinner horizontal lines with upper lips enlarged and fuller. Popular colors are carmine, raspberry reds and maroon.
- Lashes – mascara moved to the lower lashes only which lifted eyes out.
- Rouge -The triangle was the new look and contouring faces was in vogue.
Notable cosmetic brands founded in the 1930s included Payot (1930), Alexandra de Markoff (1930), Almay (1930), Boots No7 (1935), Gala of London (1938).
Beauty Icons in the 30s
Beauty Icons in the 30s
- Jean Harlow
The very young Jean Harlow enters the picture. She creates quite a stir as the very first Hollywood star to emerge with platinum blond hair.
Her admirers are delighted and attempt to copy her look to the peril of their own hair.
Her eyebrows are shaved and redrawn in a very fine semi-circular line that drags down at the end.
The eyes are enhanced by heavy false lashes and the lips completely redrawn in the shape of a heart and coloured in a very dark red.
- Marlene Dietrich
Another very influential icon that emerges in this decade was Marlene Dietrich - her fans go as far as waxing their foreheads and pulling out their wisdom teeth to recreate the wide forehead and hollow cheeks of this beauty.
As you can see, this German beauty also had her eyebrows shaved and very thinly redrawn in the same semi-circular line. But what made Marlene Dietrich stand out, was the almost architectural facial bone structure that was unique to her.
These women were seductive, provocative, they became known as the FEMME FATALES.
- Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo was a Swedish-American film actress during the 1920s and 1930s. Garbo was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and received an Academy Honorary Award in 1954 for her luminous and unforgettable screen performances.
Modernized 30s Looks
Modernized 30s Looks
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