Make-up through the years

Phoebe Simcock, 20th Jun 2021
Tags: Life Blog Beauty Body image Identity

One of my favourite things to do on a lazy day is to try some new and creative make-up looks. It’s a great way to express myself, and I can use my social media to showcase my designs. I like to explore styles from different eras but keep them modern and fresh.

Make-up originated from the First Dynasty of Egypt, and through the years has pushed boundaries and explored new levels of colour and design.

Some make-up styles like the Georgian’s mouse skin eyebrows have died out, luckily. However, others have solidified themselves as timeless techniques for any make-up lover.

Below I’ve recreated five of my favourite decade looks for you to try with hints and tips on how to try them for yourself. Let’s travel back in style!

1950’s

For the perfect 50’s make-up look, picture the iconic Marilyn Monroe.

To create this look, I’ve filled my eyebrows in with brow pomade and combed them to create a big arch.

I’ve chosen a statement red lip and lined slightly over the lips to make my lips look full.

My eye makeup is very stripped back, I’ve done a nude eyeshadow, a small eyeliner wing and white pencil on my waterline to give the illusion of larger eyes. This is a tip Marilyn’s make-up artist also used.

1960’s

The 60’s is all about the eyes.

60’s models such as Twiggy neutralised the lipstick with a very pale skin tone to draw attention to amazing big eyes.

In this look, I bought the white eyeliner on the waterline down to the bottom of the lid and the eyeliner wing was emphasised.

60’s make-up artists used small eyeliner dots or lines under the eyes to make the eyes pop, and they usually opted for a very light eyeshadow in white or pastel colours.

The eyebrows are a lot more natural than the 1950’s eyebrows. I’ve achieved this by combing them out to create a bushier effect.

1970’s

The 70’s glow is a perfect summer staple. The beachy vibe in this decade did not stop at the hair.

For the perfect glow, I’ve tossed aside the cool eyeshadows for brown and gold shades mixed with lots of highlighter and dewy skin.

The black winged eyeliner was also replaced with a brown pencil wing, which was a bit more subtle and blended nicely with the eyeshadow.

For my lips, I’ve used a peachy gloss and I’ve used a brow gel to define the natural hairs of my eyebrow whilst keeping the natural element.

1980’s

If brighter make-up is more your style, the 80’s is definitely for you. The 80’s pushed all of the boundaries of colour and mixed bright hues and neon tones for the ultimate eye pop.

For this look I’ve mixed blue, pink and yellow eyeshadows with a simple wing. With a blusher brush, I swept the pink eyeshadow over the apples of my cheeks and up towards my eyebrow. I went for a coral pink lipstick, but lip gloss also looks fab with this style.