Makeup by the Eras: Pinup girl

1950s-inspired makeup look features fuller brows and lips

click to enlarge Makeup by the Eras: Pinup girl
August Frank/Inland 360
Miranda Wilburn models ’50s-era makeup by Jacey Johnson in front of a blooming dogwood tree in Lewiston.
click to enlarge Makeup by the Eras: Pinup girl
Jacey Johnson
A model displays her pinup girl makeup look, applied by Johnson, at last year’s Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend in Las Vegas.

The 1950s hold a special place in my heart. When I first began playing with makeup, winged eyeliner was one of the first looks I wanted to perfect. At that time, I was more comparing myself to Kat Von D,  but when I showed my dad the new eye look I was trying out he looked it over and said, “You look like one of those 1950s pinup girls.”

Later, I did some research about 1950s makeup and pinup girls: I had fallen in love with everything about it. One of my favorite accomplishments as a makeup artist was getting to do ’50s-inspired makeup at the largest rockabilly event in the world, Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend, around this time last year.

It was the decade of glamor. When people talk to me about a “classic makeup look” I instantly think of the 1950s cat-eye liner and red lips along with iconic women of the time like Grace Kelly, Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn.
click to enlarge Makeup by the Eras: Pinup girl
Jacey Johnson
A model displays her pinup girl makeup look, applied by Johnson, at last year’s Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend in Las Vegas.

New cosmetic products were scarce in the 1940s because of World War II restrictions, but the market exploded when those restrictions were lifted, and soon 80%-90% of American women were wearing lipstick. Big companies like Avon and Revlon capitalized on this boom and began targeting younger age groups. This time period also was when Avon began selling products by doing demonstrations in people’s homes.

When it comes to colors of the decade, pastels were in, and beauty books advised women on what makeup to wear, for what times of the day with which outfit. This art was known as “color keying.” Should we bring this back?

The traditional ’50s face typically had fuller eyebrows with a prominent arch, a natural base, fuller lips and blush applied high on the cheeks, no lower than the tip of the nose. An easy way to achieve this look at home would be to:

click to enlarge Makeup by the Eras: Pinup girl
August Frank/Inland 360
Johnson applies Wilburn's 1950s look.
  • Fill your eyebrows  with a shadow color that is the same as, if not a little lighter than, your natural hair color.

  • Find a blush suitable to your skin tone in a pink, purple-red or orange-red.

  • Line your lips a little outside your natural lip line and fill in with a red, pink or orange lipstick. We want those lips to pop.

  • Add mascara. Back then, it needed activation with a little warm water, in cake form, or it came in tubes that contained a creamy paste that could be applied with a brush. The eyelash curler design with a cushion on crimps came along in the ’50s as well.
My model for this month is Miranda Wilburn, of Lewiston. You might recognize her from the Gemini column in last year’s “Makeup by the Stars” zodiac-inspired series.

My sources for this column, and more 1950s makeup history, are at: thedailyvogue.com/the-history-of-1950s-makeup and glamourdaze.com/history-o f-makeup/1950s.

If you’re interested in being a model for one of the decades we cover this year, please reach out to me on instagram @blackmagic._beauty or email Mary Stone at mstone@inland360.com.
Makeup by the Eras: Pinup girl
Johnson

Johnson, of Lewiston, creates makeup looks inspired by different decades in U.S. history, using you, our readers, as her models. She can be found on Etsy at BlackMagicBeautyShop and Instagram @blackmagic._beauty.
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