What Was Makeup Made Of In The 1920s

Here's our guide to women's 1920s makeup. Wearing makeup really took off again after beingness in the wilderness for some time. Lots of new makeup products came onto the marketplace throughout the decade and items became more affordable. The stars of movie theater were highly influential on fashion and magazines offered makeup advice.

Influences on Women's 1920s Makeup

Society'southward Attitude

Makeup had been accounted inappropriate for many decades and just worn by a certain type of woman (tarts and floozies!) and phase performers. In contrast, skincare was birthday a different matter and it was acceptable to wait afterwards one'south complexion and hair. In fact, not doing so was deemed irresponsible.

While manyVictorian and Edwardian womendid utilise makeup, it was used very discreetly to remain socially appropriate. It wasn't until the 1920s that makeup came back with a vengeance.

At the get-go of the decade, makeup was still on the more cautious side, especially the wearing of lipstick. Nevertheless, past themid-1920s, makeup was openly worn and applied in public.

Past theend of the decade, not only was wearing makeup fashionable and respectable, it wasde rigeur.

Film Stars

Cinema and its leading ladies had a tremendous influence on women. Non only did actresses and their on-screen personas influence makeup and hair fashions, but they also demonstrated how mod women could at present behave.

Actresses were seen as glamorous stars and, consequently, the faces of women such asClara Bow,Gloria Swanson, Louise Brooks,Greta Garbo were much admired and copied.

Film fan magazines, similarPhotoplay and Motion Moving picture Magazine, followed the individual lives of the picture stars. They were also full of adverts for various corrective products.

Corrective manufacturers were quick to run into the lure of the silverish screen beauties. As a outcome, moving picture stars were used in adverts to promote the products. Magazine advertisement increasing dramatically throughout the decade.

The average woman may non have had such an adventurous lifestyle every bit portrayed by the leading ladies in films, but they could at least attempt to emulate how the stars looked.

Post War Boom

The economic system of many developed/Western nations quickly recovered afterwards Globe War I and started to bloom by the early 1920s. This prosperity leads to a massive increase in manufacturing.

The increase in manufacturing coincided with a fresh involvement in makeup. It resulted in a huge number of new brands and cosmetic products becoming bachelor equally the decade progressed. All the same, makeup colours were withal limited to basic shades.

The section storebesides influenced an increment in makeup sales. Concatenation stores, such as Woolworths, rapidly expanded across Britain and the Usa. They offered women the adventure to inspect and try cosmetic products in the flesh. Subsequently, women flocked to the stores to see what information technology was all near – and sales increased dramatically.

As sales increased, it encouraged manufacturers to ameliorate packaging and quality. The compact was a great fashion to accept portable makeup and a vanity case could contain all way of makeup items. Quality connected to improve as the decade progressed.

Experience & Makeup Advice

The initial look of women making up their faces in the 1920s was not cracking. First of all, colours were limited, and products could exist waxy or chalky. At that place was too no one to pass on experience in colourful and bold makeup application.

Home lighting was not as clear and vivid as today – and we all know the importance of good lighting when doing makeup.

Things improved, withal, every bit the decade progressed. Better quality makeup products and more colour options came to market.

There was likewise makeup advice galore to be found in little booklets that came with the products. These advised women on how to use the products and what shapes were acceptable.

Egyptian Art

Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922. This had a huge influence on fine art, architecture, fashion, films, and jewellery. Egyptian fine art featured dramatic kohl-rimmed optics making dark eyeliner seem exotic.

Film Studio Makeup Artists

Max Cistron, Cecil Holland, and theWestmore family were the main Hollywood makeup artists of the 24-hour interval. They were instrumental in creating the movie stars looks.

Max Factor, in particular, revolutionised screen makeup. Theatrical greasepaints did not work well for pic, so he ready about creating products that did work. He consistently developed new products, which later on became available to the public. He is likewise generally acknowledged every bit the creator of the cupid's bow lip shape , as seen on Clara Bow .

In 1920, Max Factor began referring to his products as makeup, taken from the phrase "to brand upwards ane'south confront". Until then, the broad term "cosmetics" had been used in polite society.

Classic 1920s Makeup Look

Theclassic 1920s makeup look has a smooth, natural complexion with a rosy cheek. Lipstick created a daintylip shape, and thin eyebrows were motion-picture show star stylish. The eyebrows were sometimes drawn curving beyond the natural brow line.

W omen wore obvious makeup during the day. Yet, bolder colours and a heavier application were saved for evening events. In particular, a nighttime smoky heart – often seen as essential 1920s makeup – would not have been worn by the average woman during the day.

A smoky eye and heavy makeup was also the "film star flapper" await. It is worth remembering that film makeup was exaggerated to create dramatic characters and features.

1920s Makeup Elements

Complexion

Thecomplexion was considered the most important aspect of beauty, every bit it had been in previous decades.

A huge diverseness of skincare products were on the marketplace, including those to remove wrinkles, build tissue, retain youth, whiten skin, remove blemishes, and vanquish freckles. Good old common cold cream was a best seller throughout the decade and its flossy texture helped create a smoothen base onto which pulverisation was applied.

Face Powder Base of operations

Face powder was the most important 1920s makeup particular for women after common cold cream.

It came in express colours – and the names were non much more audacious . The light pinkish shades were normally named "flesh" or "natural", whatever the brand. Similarly, a darker sandy-orangish was often known as "brunette".

Powders could be mixed to personalise color . Similarly, women might employ different shades around the face – an attempt at contouring, perhaps. A dab of pulverization would also conceal a blemish.

Face powder was applied with a powder puff or chamois and used liberally. It was all-time to rub it into the pare to create a base, rather than simply pat it on.

Eyebrows

Long and thin eyebrows were fashionable in the 1920s. Brows would be plucked and shaped to a smoothen curve or left fairly directly.I look was to draw the ends of the brows slopping downwards beyond the end of the natural brow.

Clara Bowhad this expect for some of her career. Her pencilled brows were also drawn on lower than her natural brow line, curving downwards towards her cheeks. This created a mournful doe-eyed look.

Nonetheless,the average woman may not have plucked their brows as thinly as seen on the film stars or in adverts. For example, portrait photographs show ordinary ladies with eyebrows that tend to be slightly thicker and more natural than the film star. Due westomen could use a dab of Vaseline to status and smooth their brows, rather than pencil them in.

Eyelashes

Eyelash products wereknown in the 1920s equally eyelash beautifier, eyelash darkener, masque, cosmetique, or something similar. These p roducts darkened the lashes and added shine.

Eyelash makeup came in liquid, paste and cake form. The solid cake blocks came with a small apartment application brush. Ladies would spit onto the block and rub information technology effectually with the brush earlier applying the resulting liquid to the lashes. These products could as well exist used on eyebrows.

Colour options were mainly black, dark brown and brown.

Kurlash produced the commencementeyelash curler in 1923. It was a large success, despite being expensive at the time. Nil much has changed since its invention – today's clamp curlers look very similar.

Eyeliner

Brow pencils were used equally eyeliner rather than having a separate type of pencil. Colour options were basic, mainly limited to browns and black.

A line could be drawn on just the upper lashes or around the whole centre. Either manner, the eyeliner was applied to but follow the natural lash line and heart shape.

It could besides be smudged out with a finger to create a smoky look and to add a sultry drama to the eyes. However, true cat eyes or long flicks were not fashionable at this time.

Eyeshadow

The smoky expect seen on film stars was to emphasise their eyes for the movies or add a little drama.

The wait was created by blending eyeshadow over the eyelids with a finger. A rounded shape was fashionable (rather than a winged look) and faded upward towards the brow.

An ordinary adult female would wearobvious eyeshadow for evening functions or formal parties but non during the mean solar day. Any east yeshadow worn during the day would be very muted. For example, a darker-coloured face powder could be used.

Eyeshadow in the 1920s came inbones color options, such equally grey, black, plum, and chocolate-brown.

Lipstick

Lipstick came in shadesof red, pink and coral orange. Products used colour descriptions similar poppy, rose, scarlet, cerise, raspberry, and ruby-red. Nonetheless, many brands also named their lipsticks but every bit light, medium and nighttime.

Dazzler books and magazine articles advised women to lucifer their lipstick and rouge colours – or at least to be from the same tonal family. For example, a coral cheek colour would piece of work all-time with coral lipstick.

Lip pomade came in lilliputian pots and could as well be used on the cheeks. Information technology was now possible to purchase lipstick in a push-upwards tube made from metal or Bakelite. It was invented by Maurice Levy in 1915.

Thelip shape virtually associated with 1920s makeup is the cupid'southward bow.This was created by drawing a curvy bow shape on the upper lip, fifty-fifty going exterior the natural lip line. Likewise, lipstick was applied to the middle part of the lower lip. This created a rounded, dolly-similar mouth.

Other lip shapes were also seen in the 1920s, all of which concentrated on the middle part of the lip. Lipstick was never applied to create a total mouth to the corners – this was considered to be vulgar.

Lip pencils were available for outlining the lips. They were also used to subtly colour the ear lobes and outline the nostrils.

Rouge

Rouge came in iii types of formulation – dry out pulverisation, liquid and foam. Liquid and cream rouge was practical before powdering, whereas the powder rouge was more for touch-ups.

Rouge was applied generously to the apples of the cheek – where colour would occur naturally later on exercise. As a result, women had a warm, glowing and flushed look to their cheeks. This was an essential part of the classic 1920s makeup await.

Rouge came predominantly inshades of pink, from the paler pastel pinks to dark rose.Coral orangeswere considered suitable for women with a gold skin tone or tan – once a tan became acceptable later in the decade.

Initially, brands named their colours very plainly, such as "calorie-free", "medium" and "dark". A darker rose colour was sometimes known as "brunette" only because it was considered the right shade for those with dark hair. Afterwards, names started to become a little more than audacious.

Rouge could as well be put under the optics. It was believed this created a youthful glow by covering up dark circles. It was also applied under the eyebrow or fifty-fifty to the tips of the ears!

Boom Smoothen

Nails had been coloured, buffed and shined for thousands of years using pastes, powders, liquids, and waxes. This method of tinting and creating polish would continue throughout the 1920s until a new product started to emerge – namely, liquid blast polishes.

Nitrocellulose-based liquid nail polish started to exist manufactured more than successfully in the 1920s. Information technology was the start of the modern nail polish industry, although the early solvent-based polishes didn't always adhere well and soon wore off.

The starting time smoothen products were made in soft translucent pinks or clear, creating a natural-looking colour reminiscent of the blast waxes used at the time. More than obvious colours would exist available by the end of the decade. Mother of pearl (made from fish scales) too started to exist used to create a sheen.

A little artistry could create more colour options. For instance, gold, silver or pearl pulverization was mixed with articulate polish to create metallic furnishings .

Some brands also used this concept. Cutex, for instance, had a clear smoothen that came with a separate tube of tint. The tint was used first to create varying strengths of colour and sealed with the clear topcoat.

The concept of matching nails to dress color came near in the tardily 1920s. It swept across Paris and London with manicurists offer their clients this blast-to-apron mix and friction match service.

Nails were filed to anoval tip – some even had quite a sharp point. One popular manicure was thehalf-moon manicure, where the moon and nail tips were left bare or whitened. Awhite nail tipwas created with products likeSmash White by Cutex.

The Starting time of the Suntan

For centuries, having a tan was non fashionable – and this trend connected into the 1920s. It was not stylish considering manual labourers working exterior would be tanned. Subsequently, the eye and upper classes did non desire to have the "mutual face of labour".

Whitening products (like bleach foam), diverse lotions, and stake powders wouldexist used to remove whatever sign of a tan.

The rise of the tan started in the 1920s. Coco Chanel is frequently credited with popularising a suntan among the wealthy. The story goes that she inadvertently burnt during a trip to the French Riviera. Withal, her skin had turned a golden brown colour by the time she got home, thereby gaining the admiration of her followers.

Josephine Bakery was adored in Paris and rapidly condign a major picture star in Europe. Her dark peel was idolised and further contributed to the tan's rise in popularity.

The cosmetic brands were quick to recognise this new trend. Mag manufactures were of a sudden devoted to the suntan and new tanning products became bachelor. Additionally, established m akeup products were updated to take into business relationship the suntan's rise in popularity and new colours became available. Imitation tan products were besides available.

Detect Out More

Vintage Makeup Color Charts & Brochures – guides and colours from the 1920s to perfect that authentic vintage expect.
Women's 1920s Hairstyles: An Overview.
Dazzler adverts from the 1920s.

Sources:

Cocks, D. (c.1927).The Etiquette of Beauty. New York, George H. Doran company.

Corson, R. (2004).Fashions in Makeup: From Ancient to Modern Times. Peter Owen.

Drowne, Thou & Huber,P. (2004). The 1920s (American Popular Culture Through History). Greenwood Press.

Loma, D. D. (2002). Advertizing to the American Adult female, 1900-1999 . Ohio State Academy Printing.

Peiss, K. (2011). Hope In A Jar: The Making of America'south Beauty Civilisation. Outset University of Pennsylvania.

Sherrow V. (2001). For Appearances' Sake: The Historical Encyclopedia of Good Looks, Beauty and Grooming. Greenwood.