When the war started in the 40's, people had no money for fake lashes, beautiful dresses or expensive accessories; they preferred to focus more on looking healthy but not too glamorous, in order to not look dirispectful.
The 40's makeup is very natural and essential, used just to enhance the natural beauty.
Max factor and Revlon were out and for the face women used liquid foundations plus pressed powder, slightly lighter than the base. For the lips the most popular colour was TRUE RED or SCARLET RED, going to orangy red in the late 40's ( MAC "ruby woo" is the classic 40's colour). For the cheeks they used well blended pink blushes, always trying to match the colour of blush and lips, while for the eyebrows, they just followed their natural shape, making it incredibly neat and a bit thicker.
To recreate this look you will need:
- a fair foundation slightly lighter than your natural shade plus a pressed powder to make the look matt
- a brown or grey eyeshadow to use in the evening, as in the daylight they didn't use any eyeshadow at all. The colour has to be very natural and warm, applied in a 20's way (a bit rounded) but well blended, especially on the edges
- a very thin line of eyeliner, as close as possible to the eyelashes line; it follows the eye and goes up a tiny bit in the outside corner
- very natural and neat lipshape, just follow your natural shape
Remember that nothing is shiny, all the colours are matt.
And that's all! Very easy but beautiful look to recreate, even if for me it was quite a challenge as when I makeup someone I tend to be very theatrical :) Anyway...I love period makeup!
Hope you like it and thanks for reading.
Please follow me on instagram @ makeup_hidden_treasures or on facebook @ the page makeup hidden treasures.