1930's makeup

I just wanted to share with you one of the makeup looks I learned from one of my classes at MDA. Like any subject, makeup also has its own history and I was very fascinated by what I learned. The Egyptians were probably the first pioneers of makeup. Waaaay back in 4,000 BC, the Egyptians used eye makeup to protect themselves from eye diseases and shield their eyes from the harsh sunlight. But the makeup they used did not come in the pretty packages they are packed in today. You will be shocked to find out some of the ingredients they used! some used boiled animal fats, some used ashes to exfoliate their faces (not human ashes, I suppose :| hahaha), and to soften the skin, Roman noble women slept with fresh meat on their faces. Perhaps Lady GaGa knew of this fresh meat thing :p 

Fast-forward to the 1900's where makeup companies started to boom in the United States. Did you know that Maybelline has been around since 1915? A chemist named T.L Williams was the founder of Maybelline, which he named after his younger sister, Maybel. They were the first company to produce Cake Mascara. No wonder Maybelline has AMAZING mascara's. I absolutely LOVE their Volume Express: The Colossal  mascara. I recommend it to anyone out there looking for a great mascara :) I also recommend their Volume Express: The Falsies. I recently tried it when my mum bought it from the U.S and I've really liked it. :) 

Anyway, back to the topic! hahaha So during the 1930's, WWII had a dramatic effect on womens role in society. Makeup was an instant morale booster for women and was used to defy the hardships they were going through at that time. Some icons from this decade were:

Jean Harlow (the original blonde bombshell) 

Joan Crawford

and Bette Davis

As you can see from the pictures, they barely had any eyebrows. The trend was to pluck the eyebrows very thinly or to take them all out completely and draw in a new pair. Popular shades of eyeshadow that were used are green, bright violet, plum, and brown. Perfect ivory skin was preferred by the women. The foundation they used was ivory with a touch of pink, to give them that natural glow. The lips were accentuated with light rose, red, orange, and raspberry tones.

In class, we were taught how to conceal eyebrows since we cant just shave off our models eyebrows. haha! it was a very interesting process. Here are some photos of my work using my sister once again as my canvas :p 

Here's a photo before the transformation :p

Tada! and here's the after shot. The look is a bit shocking, I must say :p

My work still needs a bit of perfecting though. I think I placed the pseudo eyebrows a little too high and the lips aren't perfectly lined. Oh well, practice makes perfect! This was my second time attempting this look and maybe it would be better the third time around :p any volunteers? :D HAHA

If you would like me to do a tutorial on this look, let me know! :) 

Thanks for dropping by! Have a good one :)