To recreate this look, apply a foundation of your [...]]]>
For today’s vintage beauty breakdown, we’ll take a look at the lovely Lana Turner. With her smoldering eyes and luscious tresses, it’s no wonder Lana made the perfect femme fatale! Here she is on the cover of a 1945 Movie Life, in full vintage glamour!

To recreate this look, apply a foundation of your choosing, stippling on a thin, even layer. Set with a colorless or translucent powder, such as Ben Nye Neutral Set or Coty Airspun. Then, apply a warm rosy pink blush to the cheekbones—La Femme Pink Velvet or MAC Pink Swoon are good choices. Contour the cheekbones with a shade of powder or foundation slightly darker than your skin tone.

For the eyes, apply a sheer wash of soft white or cream shadow to the lid and brow bone—a shimmer shade, such as MAC Vapour or Joe Blasco Pearl, would work well for this very clean look. A slightly darker pinkish beige shade—La Femme Beige Pink, MAC Malt, or Joe Blasco Isis–can then be applied to lightly contour the crease. Using a soft brown or charcoal shade of liner (pencil or cream formula will work—try Revlon Colorstay liner in Black Brown, L’Oreal HIP Cream Liner in Brown, MAC Fluidline in Dipdown, or Joe Blasco Ultamatte in Medium Gray Brown or Dark Gray), work the color into the base of the lashes to create a lush fringe. Apply false lashes if desired,and top with 1-2 coats of mascara. For the brows, use a neutral brown pencil, such as Shu Uemura Hard Formula in Seal Brown or Maybelline Expert Eyes in Light Brown, to fill in and define your brows into thin, rounded arches.

For the mouth, line and fill the lips with a true red shade, such as Rimmel Red Diva or MAC Russian Red. Then fill in your mouth with a creamy lipstick to match—good choices include Revlon Love That Red or Certainly Red, Julie Hewett Femme Noir, and MAC Red or Russian Red.

And there you have it—the face of Lana Turner!

The  elegant compacts of yesteryear are still readily available today, and are a wonderful way to add [...]]]> Over the past few weeks I’ve discussed methods of applying period makeup, as well as some of my favorite brands.  This week, I’d like to talk about an easy way to beautify our makeup bag, if you will—vintage compacts.

The  elegant compacts of yesteryear are still readily available today, and are a wonderful way to add extra glamour to your day.  When it comes time for a powder touch-up, nothing makes you feel more like a movie star then taking out a filigreed, enameled, or rhinestone-encrusted compact! 

Vintage compacts are generally designed for the loose powders of the day, and can often be found with a mesh screen or metal door that contains the powder and keeps it separate from your powder puff.  The simplest way of using an antique compact is to fill it with a loose powder of your choosing, and, if the mesh screen is missing (or there is no “door”), use a tissue or cut a piece of mesh to fit.  If you don’t use loose powder or would prefer to carry pressed powder for touch ups), you have a couple of options; the first is to custom blend a pressed powder, and the second is to find a pressed pan that will fit into your vintage compact.  As old compacts can often be quite tiny, you may find the former to be the easier option.

The process of making your own pressed powder is quite simple actually, and you can easily press any loose powder of your choosing.  You can also create your very own custom shade (and ladies of all skin colors can relate to how difficult finding a perfect match can be) by blending two of more shades together.  You can even use regular baby powder, adding a tinted powder like Ben Nye’s Pretty Pink to create a soft white shade. 

To begin, mix your loose powder with alcohol in a small dish,  and form a soft paste.  Then, press this paste into the bottom of your compact, taking care to fill the pan as evenly as possible.  You can use a textured paper or mesh to press a design into the top, if you so desire.  Allow the powder to dry thoroughly, and that’s it—you have created your own pressed powder!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Greetings once again, my faithful Makeup Mondays readers!

Last week I talked about one of my favorite retro-inspired brands, and this week I’d like to talk about another of my favorites, Joe Blasco.  This particular brand is known as a “pro” brand, meaning that it is frequently used in the film and photography industries.  [...]]]>

Greetings once again, my faithful Makeup Mondays readers!

Last week I talked about one of my favorite retro-inspired brands, and this week I’d like to talk about another of my favorites, Joe Blasco.  This particular brand is known as a “pro” brand, meaning that it is frequently used in the film and photography industries.  Although pro products don’t come in glamorous packages, they tend to be top quality products that deliver superior colors and finishes—these should not be overlooked!  You’ll find that the higher pigment-to-filler ratio will allow you to apply a thin layer of color that looks and wears superior.

Joe Blasco is a professional makeup artist who started in the makeup business in 1964.  After graduating cosmetology school he went to work for the Max Factor Cosmetics Company as a travelling salesman.  As we know, Max Factor was the artist who refined the cosmetics manufacturing process for film, and his products were the first to be adapted for “home use” ( when the movie stars he worked with began taking his cosmetics home, he realized there was  an untapped market.)  Mr. Blasco  soon left that job, and with $50 in pocket, travelled to Hollywood to work as a makeup artist.  In 1967 he took a job as an instructor at a small makeup school in Westwood, and at that time realized there was a need for a course that taught motion picture and television makeup artistry.  During this same time, Mr. Blasco also apprenticed with major professional cosmetics manufacturing firms as a cosmetics chemist and compounder; he eventually introduced his own line of cosmetics in the 1980s.  As I was researching this artist, I found it interesting to note that he does not claim to use only his line of makeup though—you have to respect him for pointing out that artists always use a variety of products to suit their, and their clients’, needs!

The Joe Blasco line is filled with a number of wonderful products well-suited for period makeup use.  A personal favorite of mine are the Ultamattes; these dry creams are wonderful for shading and lining the eyes, and can be used on the brows as well.  The color Eddie Leonard, named after a Max Factor Pan-Cake  shade popular in the 1960s, is a warm, rich chocolate brown tone perfect for pale blondes and redheads who have trouble finding the right shade of eyeliner (this is a staple in my kit and I use it nearly every day.)  Both Grey Violet and Dark Grey make excellent shadow choices, and Taupe and Medium Grey Brown (this name is a bit of a misnomer, as there isn’t a hint of gray in it) are wonderful as well.  If you are interested in exploring this product, be sure to read my earlier articles that cover application.

Another favorite product of mine is the Dry Blush; these are smooth, wonderfully-pigmented shades that blend like a dream.  Many of the shades offered are fantastic choices for vintage looks; be sure to check out Flamingo, Orchid, Puff, and Dust.   

Joe Blasco also makes a high quality cream foundation called Ultrabase,  and although the very fair sadly won’t find a color match here, this product is still worth looking into.  Pro cream foundations are to be applied in very thin layers, and can look amazingly natural while providing full coverage.  And don’t forget the colorless loose or pressed powder; this is a must in any makeup bag as it will set your makeup without altering the colors (translucent powders do have enough of a tint and can change the color of your blush and shadows slightly.)

Check out the Joe Blasco line at www.joeblasco.com and www.megamakeupstore.com.

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Hello again, my wonderful readers! I hope you enjoyed last weeks article about brows and liner; this week we’ll be discussing the icing on the cake, if you will: Lipstick!

Lip color and shape are perhaps the easiest, most memorable ways to achieve a vintage look. Mouths were very defined, painted in luscious, eye-catching [...]]]>

Hello again, my wonderful readers! I hope you enjoyed last weeks article about brows and liner; this week we’ll be discussing the icing on the cake, if you will: Lipstick!

Lip color and shape are perhaps the easiest, most memorable ways to achieve a vintage look. Mouths were very defined, painted in luscious, eye-catching shades, and each era had its own distinct shape for the mouth. In the 1920s, bee-stung lips were all the rage, and came about due to the products available at the time. Slippery and with little staying power, the best way to ensure that your lipstick wasn’t a smeary mess in a very short time was to apply three thumb prints of color—a dot in the center of the lower lip, and two dots of color of the upper lip. The effect created was also known as the cupid’s bow, and the 20s mouth is very doll-like indeed. As the 30s rolled around, the desired shape became full and elongated, with the top lip exaggerated into the style known as the “cruller” or “Crawford Smear” . The overdrawing of the mouth stayed with us into the 40s, though during this time the lips were less exaggerated, with more of a natural fullness. And in the 1950s, women continued to exaggerate their top lips, moving away from the rounded look popular in earlier eras, and instead drawing the cupid’s bow into a pointed shape.

Now, when it comes to color, red is always a popular vintage choice across the decades. But don’t feel as if you are limited here—the red shade category is vast, with a color to suit everyone! Reds run the gamut from cool to warm and soft to bright; you may need to try several shades to find the one that best suits you, but this is a challenge worth undertaking. As a cool-toned, fair blonde, I favor bright blue or true red shades to add oomph and a pop of contrast. Warm-toned complexions will do well to try warmer, orange-based shades, or those with a brown base. If you have trouble with red lipsticks pulling a quick-change act and turning a less-than-desired fuchsia tone, you might try experimenting with a brown-based brick tone, as these may pull a truer red shade when paired with your chemistry.

Color trends by the era varied—orange tones, deep reds, deep brownish reds, and plums in the 1920s; light rose, raspberry, and Chinese red in the 30s, cherry red, crimson, vermillion in the 40s, along with raspberry, light red, and reddish orange shades for more natural looks; and in the 50s, everything from light pinks, bright pinks, various reds, and coral and pink-orange tones. As you can see, red is not the only shade to choose from—pinks and corals are always quite suitable for a vintage face, as are softer rosy shades, shocking pink, and bright corals are all good options to look for.

When wearing red, lip liner is a must to define the shape of your mouth and help prevent the lipstick from straying as well. Application with a lip brush also helps ensure a smooth, even application. To balance the face, one can carefully sculpt her mouth according to her face shape; makeup artist J. Del Russo advised women in Charm Magazine to carefully make up their lips, like so:

The Long Face—Outline the lips using a brush; beginning at the outer corner of the upper lip, draw a line toward the center. Then repeat the process from the opposite corner. Eliminate any point at the cupid’s bow, as this will only tend to elongate the face. Now, staying within the natural lip line, outline the bottom lip and fill in the outline. For a more generous and rounder looking mouth, it Is often advisable to build up the size of the upper lip slightly, and it is most important to accentuate the corners.

The Round Face—In the round face shape, correct application of lip rouge is all important. Follow the directions for outlining the lips as given above, but in the round face technique, accent the cupid’s bow. In drawing the lower lip, take care to “square” the outline and you achieve this by drawing a firm out curving line from the corners to the center of the lip in a sort of reverse cupid’s bow. This squaring does wonders for eliminating the roundness of the jawline.

The Oval Face—Brush as directed for the long face—but follow the natural lip line and draw the corners of the mouth clearly so that the full natural curves are enhanced.

Favorite reds of mine include MAC Ruby Woo, Russian Red, and Dubonnet; Besame Red, Cherry Red, and Red Velvet; Revlon Cherries in the Snow, Fire and Ice, Love That Red, and Really Red. For day-to-day wear (and for many of my shoots), I am also a fan of a liquid lip color made by Lip Ink; this indelible product looks like a traditional lipstick, but won’t smear, bleed, or transfer to your glass or beau. It’s the bees knees, for sure! Lip Ink Red is quite similar to MAC Ruby Woo; other colors of interest include the brick shade Lava Red (similar to MAC Dubonnet) and the orangey Fire Red (similar to Revlon Fire and Ice.)

And there you have it—a guide to making up your vintage face from start to finish! Stay tuned for another exciting makeup article next week!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Perhaps the single most defining feature of the period face (aside from the quintessential red mouth, of course) is the brows, and rightfully so, as the brows frame one’s face [...]]]>
Hello again, lovely readers! As you’ll recall, last week we covered eye shadow, so this week we’ll delve into brow and eye liner products and application.

Perhaps the single most defining feature of the period face (aside from the quintessential red mouth, of course) is the brows, and rightfully so, as the brows frame one’s face and add drama and interest! During each era a very specific brow shape was in vogue: Thin and downward sloping in the 20s; high, thin penciled arches in the 30s; neatly defined arches in the 40s; and thick, pointed arch brows in the 50s. Brows were very well-groomed in our favorite eras, so carefully shaping your brows and accentuating them with the right makeup gives your whole face a finished, polished look and takes it to a new vintage level.

There are a few different products you can use to fill in your brows—pencils, powders, or gel/cream types. Pencil was the product used in the past, and many (myself included) prefer this type of brow definer. The trick to using pencils is to apply in short, hair-like strokes, to keep your brows from looking too harsh. I’m fond of lightly penciling in my brows, and then going back over the lines with a stiff angled brush. Powder, including those marketed for brows and also eye shadow, can also be used; these are applied with a stiff angled brush (either dry or damp.) Finally, gel/cream products can be used; often these come in mascara type tubes. With the exception of Joe Blasco Ultamattes (I cannot tout these enough), I prefer pencils and powders for creating a period brow. Favorite products of mine include Maybelline’s Expert Eyes brow pencils (a twin pack is a steal at around $3-5); Ben Nye brow pencils; and La Femme, MAC, and Shu Uemura eye shadows. Blondes should select a soft taupe or beige; redheads can choose from auburn or taupe pencils (taupe was favored in the 40s, actually), and brunettes can select from brown or charcoal gray shades (the latter can surprisingly look more natural, depending on your coloring.)

Liner application style varies by era too, with the 20s favoring smoky looks, compared with the clean eye of the 30s and the natural eye of the 40s. The 50s eye was distinctly lined as well—exaggerated “cat” (the liner winger out and upward, adding drama and “lift” to the eyes) and “doe” eyes were all the rage. I prefer to use a cream cake or cake liner (that’s right, the ever useful Joe Blasco Ultamatte—my fave shade is Eddie Leonard), applied with a fine angle or small filbert brush (Cinema Secrets kolinsky sable #22 and #24 are my favorites.) Pencil was the product of choice in our favorite eras, with cake and liquid popular in the 1950s as well. Maybelline’s Expert Eyes brow pencils work as eye liner too; other good brands for pencils include Shu Uemura and Ben Nye. For liquid, you have many options depending on your preferred applicator choice—brush or felt tip, bottle or pen. Check out Wet n’ Wild, L’Oreal, Nars, and MAC for starters. Good cake liners include Ben Nye, Kryolan and La Femme (apply these with a brush slightly dampened with water or a product like La Femme’s eyeliner sealant); creams/gels worth checking out include MAC Fluidlines, Bobbi Brown’s Gel Liners, and Clinique’s Cream Liners. Black is generally a good choice, but brown works too, especially if you’re a blonde or redhead, and the same goes for mascara (Marilyn Monroe used brown liner, as did Betty Davis, who claimed lots of false lashes and brown mascara were the secrets behind her success!)

To reference that 1946 Beautify Your Figure article once more, here are some tips for brow and liner application by face shape:

The long face—“Trim brows in a definite, high arch, but remember to keep them natural. If you darken them, do not let the eyebrow pencil show through; this is accomplished by brushing over the line with a small brush to smudge and blend the pencil strokes. The outer line of the eyebrow should taper to a fine end pointing toward the lower tip of the ear so that if you were to draw an imaginary line it would form a complete circle. This seems easy to do, but so many women achieve the wrong effect at this point; I’d like to emphasize it. If you have a long face, do not let the line of the eyebrow seem to ascend to the temple. Using the eyebrow pencil, draws a soft line along the eyelid at the lashes, and then blend the line into the lashes until it is barely discernible. This little trick will not only bring out the full contour of the eye, but will also darken the lashes at the tips where they are so hard to reach with a mascara brush. Draw an extension of the upper lid about 1/8 inch long to coordinate the line of the brow.”

The round face—“The brows should follow a natural arch with the lower part of the eyebrow penciled in rather than the upper part, finishing with an outward extension toward the top tip of the ear. Brush the pencil lines well into the eyebrow and smudge the extension you have drawn so that it will appear to part of the eyebrow.”

The oval face—“The brows should follow the natural arch with the end slightly elongated and pointing to the center of the ear. Eye makeup is the same for the other face types with the exception that the pencil extension is horizontal. Smudge the pencil marks lightly to blend. ”

And while we’re on the subject of eyes, we might as well mention false lashes! False lashes are a wonderful way to add extra oomph to your eyes, and are great for special occasions or when you want a little extra glamour (nothing causes a stir like a seductive gaze, and false lashes do up the “seduction factor!”) I prefer full strip lashes myself, and I find that the inexpensive brand Ardell has some great options for period eye looks. To apply, squeeze a very thin line of lash glue along the base of the lashes; allow to dry for about 30 seconds, or until the glue becomes slightly tacky. Then apply as close to the base of your own lashes as possible, pressing the band down gently with the end of a thin-handled eye brush. Using a lash curler, curl the false lashes along with your own to blend them together; finish with a light coat of mascara.

Thanks for joining me this week! Next week we’ll explore the many lipstick options for the modern day vintage gal!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Popular shades of the day run the gamut from clean and neutral, to soft pastels, including blues, greens, and orchids. The look [...]]]> Hello again, lovely readers! Last week we covered blush and contouring, and this week we’ll move to the eyes. I’ll break up this topic into two parts: eye shadow, and liner/brows.

Popular shades of the day run the gamut from clean and neutral, to soft pastels, including blues, greens, and orchids. The look of the 20s was smoldering, and women used shades ranging from black to turquoise or green. Daytime eyes in the 1930s often entailed a light application of petroleum jelly to give the lids a soft sheen; for evening drama, a deeper shadow was used in the crease of the upper lid and blended. In the forties, shadows tended to fall in the muted gray and brown families—subtle enhancement for the eyes. The 1950s followed suit for daywear as well, but women were also fond of brighter shades, including sapphire, emerald, turquoise, light blue, gold and platinum.

For your vintage makeup kit, I suggest including several good neutrals—a good cream or pearl to highlight, beige or taupe for the lid, and a deeper brown or gray for the crease—and a few fun colors for good measure—soft green, orchid, blue, or lavender. A 1943 beauty magazine suggested violet shadow for blue eyes, green or brown shades for green eyes, and green shadow for grey eyes. Another good rule of the thumb is to select complementary shades to your eye color: Warm peach or copper/bronze shade to enhance blue eyes, reddish or purplish tones for green eyes, cooler violets and plums for brown eyes.

Favorite shadows of mine include Ben Nye Vanilla and Shell (these are good lid/highlight shades); La Femme Taupe, Plum, Golden Jade, Beige Pink, and Clove (Plum and Clove are wonderful complements for green eyes, and Beige Pink is an exquisite shimmery lid shade for all eye colors); MAC Vapour, Naked Lunch, Haux and Woodwinked (Vapour is a wonderful shimmery pinky-cream highlight, and Woodwinked is a fantastic crease shade for blue and green eyes); and Clinique Champagne and Rum Spice (Champagne is a great lid and highlight shade, and Rum Spice is a gorgeous crease shade.)

For cream shadows, Joe Blasco Ultamattes are wonderful (I’ll be discussing these again in the next article—Eddie Leonard, Gray Violet, and Taupe are wonderful crease shades, and Warm Light works as a highlight and blue neutralizer shade on fairer skins). Julie Hewett also makes a wonderful cream called Hue Colors; these are lovely for creating that glistening 1920s-30s eye. Ben Nye also makes a product, the Fireworks Wheel, which is well-suited for the same purpose.

Application should begin with a well-prepped eye—when applying your foundation, pat a bit over the lids and set with colorless powder. If you have any discolorations—blue or purple shadows or redness—that you wish to correct, you can also neutralize with a concealer or colored neutralizer cream. One with a green undertone will help cancel redness; peach will help neutralize blue shadows, and yellow with help correct yellow tones. You can apply a colored corrector before foundation, or mix the corrector with your foundation for a one-step process. Ben Nye, Graftobian, and Makeup Forever all make neutralizing palettes to streamline your cosmetics bag. Apply a neutral or flesh-toned shade to your lid, and your chosen highlight shade to the brow bone and inner corner of the eye. Then contour with a deeper shade in the crease.

Application of cream shadows is a bit more time-consuming than that of powders; the eye must be properly prepped (setting with a light dusting of colorless powder is a must) and then lightly blotted to remove all traces of moisture or oil on the lid. Apply the color in thin layers (to prevent creasing, less is definitely more) and once the desired look is achieved, set with colorless powder or a bit of matching powder shadow. When using a Joe Blasco Ultamatte as your shadow, start by applying a line in the crease or your eye, and then blend downward with a fluffy brush. Julie Hewett Hue Colors can be applied with a brush or your finger over your powder shadow to give them more staying power and depth.

Now your eyes are properly shaded and highlighted, and are ready for the next step—liner and brows!