50's Beauty Part II

The general rule for makeup during the 50's was to use just enough makeup to look natural.  How do you know how much makeup to apply?  Well, this is determined by the color of your cheeks.  Carson, the author of the book, believes that if you have enough coloring to your face, you really don't need very much makeup.

Powder: The purpose of powder is "to protect the skin as well as to make it look soft and smooth." (pg. 24)  The way in which this look would be achieved would be as follows: put a makeup cape around your shoulders, use a powder puff to apply lots of powder on your face, brush off the excess powder, and brush your eyebrows and eyelashes so they do not have powder on them.

Rouge (Blush): If you have enough color in your cheeks, you really don't need rouge.  But if you do go for rouge, the lighter skin tones require lighter colors, and the darker skin tones require darker colors.  To determine your rouge color, she says to try pinching your cheeks.  Again, the point of rouge, as with the powder, is to make you appear as natural as possible.  This is why the rouge should be faded out and look seamless with the rest of your skin.

Lipstick: Lipstick follows suit--going for the natural look.  You want to try and find a color that BLENDS with the natural color of your lips.  Also, you want to try and match your lipstick color to your rouge color.  I once saw Michelle Phan use her lipstick as her blush, and I think this might be a good technique for color coordination.  Below is a page out of the book, which shows you in detail how to apply lipstick. (pg. 27)  I hope you can read the instructions!

Eye Shadow: There is nothing about eye shadow in this book, so my guess would have to be that during the 50's women did not really make their eyes the focus.  The natural look they were going for was one of freshness and cleanliness, and this would require that they kept their eyes clear of makeup.

I hope this helps!  I know the makeup during this time was rather simple, but I think that because it was so minimal, it was also classic and beautiful.  The point is to accentuate what you already have.  I believe we could all learn from this era today, by appreciating more what was naturally bestowed upon us, how our natural beauty is unique to each person.  

Love,

Geneys  :o)

Carson, Byrta.  How You Look and Dress, 3rd Edition.  St. Louis: Webster Division, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1955.