How to Do '20s Makeup

Dark red lips were fashionable in the 1920s.

The cosmetic industry boomed in the 1920s, as wearing makeup became fashionable and acceptable. Women copied styles worn by their favorite movie stars in silent pictures, as these looks gave them a more dramatic appearances, according to the book "History of American Dress from the 15th and 16th Century Through 1965," by Frances Howell and Christopher Costilow. Helena Rubenstein, Elizabeth Arden and Max Factor all saw increases in sales, as women were reddening their lips, rouge their cheeks and redrawing their eyebrows into dramatic arches to fit the new aesthetic.

Things You'll Need

• Foundation (one shade lighter than complexion)
• Loose powder (one shade lighter than complexion)
• Foundation brush
• Large powder brush
• Eyebrow brush
• Soap
• Concealer
• Concealer brush
• Black eyeliner
• Dark gray eye shadow
• Small blending brush
• Cake mascara
• Burgundy lip liner
• Burgundy lipstick
• Lip brush

Instructions

1. Select a foundation, one shade lighter than the face's color. According to Suzanne Le Quesne's book "The Make-up Book: the Official Guide to Make-up at Levels 2 and 3," the foundation and powder used during the 1920s was lighter to help the face appear to have the luminous quality of the movie screens. Apply the foundation all over the face with a foundation brush.

2. "Soap" the eyebrows by rubbing an eyebrow brush against a damp bar of soap, and brush the eyebrows upward using a heavy hand. This will help the eyebrows to lie flat enough so that they can be covered with makeup. Once the brows are lying on the skin, paint over them with concealer. This is a temporary way to cover the eyebrows---something that is necessary for the 1920s look, which had a thinly drawn arched brow.

3. Draw in the new shape of the eyebrow with black eyeliner. The new arch-like shape starts where the natural eyebrow begins, followed by a low arch across the brow bone, and extending downward, pass where the eyelashes stop---almost toward the lower temple.

4. Apply a dark gray shadow across the eye lid, starting at the inner corner then outward to the outer corner of the eye. Use a small blending brush to extend the shadow from the inner corner, upward toward the brow, but leave the rest of the brow bone free of shadow. Then sweep the same color underneath the eye, using the same brush, until the eyes have almost an owl-like effect.

5. Brush the eyelashes with cake mascara. This solid form of mascara is comes on a palate with almost a toothbrush type of applicator. After, the black cake is moistened, rub the brush into the pigment and apply to lashes. If this type of mascara is not available, it can be substituted by adding two to three coats of regular mascara.

6. Create a perfect bow-shape on the lips with lip liner, but do not extend the line to the outer corners of the lip. The 1920's lip shape was a bee stung pout, that had a deep had a deep "V" in the center and made the lips appear to be narrower than they actually were. Fill in newly created lip line with matching lipstick using a lip brush.

7. Finish the look by going over the face with an ample dose of loose powder, using a large fluffy brush.

References

• "The Make-up book: the Official Guide to Make-up at Levels 2 and 3"; Suzanne Le Quesne; 2005
• "The 1920's" Kathleen Morgan Drowne, Patrick Huber; 2004
• "History of American Dress from the 15th and 16th Century Through 1965"; Frances S. Howell, Christopher T. Costilow; 2010
• "Make-Up Artistry"; Julia Conway; 2004