Back to the 50's - Hair and Make Up

50's HAIR STYLES

Straight hair was out. Short hair was in. Fifties hairstyles were soft and curly. Young women often tied their hair back in a ponytail and circled it with a pretty chiffon scarf (Sandra Dee did it in Grease). But this would have been for casual activities and rarely for evening.

The Fifties look usually meant an arduous process of pin curling and rolling. There was no blow dryers in the 50s! As demonstrated by super model Suzy Parker, one pinned the hair and sometimes sprayed it to keep the set.

Women actually slept in curlers and rollers. Thank goodness we have hair driers and curling tongs now. Even with all the curling sometimes a perm (permanent wave) was required. Then it's more rollers and heat setting. Because the natural, unfettered curl look of today would have seemed wild and unruly back then.

The poodle frenzy of the Fifties gave birth to the poodle cut. No better example can be found than the hair of Lucille Ball.

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50's MAKE UP

Color motion pictures is what led to an explosion of 1950’s makeup. After years of light glamour, stars on the big screen suddenly appeared with perfect faces. In addition, women everywhere wanted the same thing. (We still do the same, though thank god not attempting to be blue like the Avatars....)

For this season, Max Factor invented "Pan Cake", a foundation used to mimic what was being seen on the big screen, and new lines of brightly colored eye shadows and lipsticks. Similar to today’s products, Pan Cake was applied to skin to cover up any imperfections in a quest to achieve a movie star-like standard of beauty.

All of a sudden, women's magazines featured guides to makeup application and women everywhere started to experiment with cosmetics. Pan Cake would be applied to neutralize the face. Then, the mixing of colors would begin and a bold, colorful canvas would emerge in the form of cherry lips, rosy cheeks and neutral-toned eyelids. It was later in the decade when companies began adding titanium to their products to tone down the bright color of many products, resulting in a more natural look.



A peaches and cream complexion was the basis of any Fifties makeup look. Applied as either a liquid or as pressed powder, the foundation needed to reflect the soft femininity of the day.

This was the decade of the fashionable, glamorous homemaker. Women began baking apple pies and vacuuming the house in heels, dress and fully made up faces. Cosmetic companies capitalized on this emerging trend and targeted ads towards married women who had to look good for their husbands.

Eyebrows were usually narrowed. Blush and eye shadow were minimal and thus, natural looking. Today this makeup style would be refered to as a California look. Women could get away with a more dramatic look, particularly for evening.

Eyeliner was liquid, making a sharp, highly defined contour. It was used primarily on the upper lid.

Pastels were the favored colors for day, especially for a younger woman. Women could wear red by day and it was the most popular choice for evening. Lips were colored lush and full.

There were certain 1950's makeup products that defined the trends of the time. They included:

- Bright Red Lipstick and Nail Polish: Everywhere you went; 1950's women were donning scarlet lips and matching fingernails.

- Pan Cake Foundation: A much-thicker version of today's foundation, it covered blemishes and imperfections with a thick coating.

- Liquid Eyeliner: It was a stylish 1950's makeup trend to wear a thick, bold line across the top eyelid, accompanied by two coats of black mascara.

- Royal Blush: Two circles on the apples of the cheeks, the blush added back some of the color taken away with the foundation.

Let Us Show You How...
So, now you know the theory, how to really do it right? Check out the tutorial videos below.

And to do a QUICKIE... This is how.

The Famous 50's Pin Curl