Hollywood legends including Elizabeth Taylor, Kelly Grace, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn are listed among the history’s most beautiful women for their glowing skin, tumbling curls, perfect pouts. While their beauty is mystery to many, FashionLady has debunked their secret vanity to find out top 20 vintage makeup tricks inspired from Hollywood sirens.
The million dollar question has always been how did they manage to look so classically beautiful with the limited use of cosmetics and without any technology that is extensively used today on skin and hair? Let’s jump into the history and discover the top 20 vintage makeup tricks used by those old Hollywood legends.
Don’t you just love the raw elegance of the likes of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn? Don’t you ever try to recreate the retro glamour of Marilyn Monroe with beauties like Dita Von Teese leading the pack? Aren’t we still obsessed with the classic beauty of bygone eras?
There was inarguably something effortless and undeniably feminine about the Hollywood actresses from 50’s and 60’s. Those resplendent beauties were living in an age, where cosmetic technology and beauty gadgets were yet to be launched and they still looked charismatic with radiant skin, shinning locks and beautiful face.
[Also Read: Diy Makeup Setting Spray]
Taking some inspirations, let’s just try to create that beautiful vintage look in 2014 using a combination of 20 vintage makeup tricks from the past whilst following the traditional beauty routine. Continue reading!
Source: Pinterest
1. Cleanse – Cold Water
Obtaining flawless complexion is crucial while creating the Hollywood vintage look. Well this doesn’t suggest you’ll hide your flaw areas with foundation! Instead, taking care of the skin is of paramount importance. When it’s hard to obtain flawless complexion irrespective of all these modern day face creams and cleansers, how did those celebs manage to get it?
As simple as that – they used cold water!
[Also Read: Old Hollywood Makeup]
Joan Crawford famously used to splash her face with ice cold water over 20 times to tighten her pores and keep her skin taut! Now that’s an inexpensive trick we can all try out! Right?
Not to mention using cold water was another bygone trick to keep hair shiny.
2. Exfoliate – Lemon + Sugar
As we all know exfoliating rejuvenates the skin by removing dead cells and acne, so needless to say, it is a vital step of your beauty regime.
Katharine Hepburn made her own exfoliant using lemon juice, a little water and granulated sugar!
We can definitely try out this homemade version. If you’re not sure of DIY skincare products then St Ives’s Apricot Facial Scrub can be your ideal choice.
[Also Read: Makeup Tricks]
Source: Pinterest
4. Porcelain skin – Stay Indoors
Unlike today, tanned skin was actually undesirable in those days and was rather associated with the lower classes. As women from lower classes couldn’t afford porcelain skin as they had to work under sun mostly.
Porcelain skin was considered elegant and high class; so much so that women from this era always tried to remain indoors. This summer vacation, you can embrace your natural skin tone and put the sun lounger and tanning mitt away!
5. Keep Eyes Simple – Define Crease
Unlike the complex multi-toned smokey eyes which are see on a modern day runways, women in 50’s and 60’s simply applied a dark eyeliner such as a soft brown in the crease to define their eyes!
They then applied a neutral skin toned colour all the way up to the brow bone to give lift! A simple trick with fabulous results!
Source: Pinterest
6. Primer for Eyes – Petroleum Jelly
Every makeup guru will suggest you to use primer before makeup. Even I’m a primer fanatic!
Even the old Hollywood sirens used to prime their eyelids before applying eye-shadow and liner! They used petroleum jelly as primer. If you don’t like using it then go for Elizabeth Arden’s Eye Fix Primer that’s best available in the market.
7. Get that Extra Glow
For working ladies, who cannot afford to put in extra effort in to their skincare routine; they can take help of cosmetics to get that extra glow. Marilyn Monroe famously used to apply hormone cream, petroleum jelly and powder so as to glow before the camera.
While this vintage procedure seems bit tough, you can rather try mixing a primer like Lancôme’s Éclat Miracle in with your foundation to really make your skin glow.
8. Contour a la Kelly – Dark + Light Blush
Contouring is the latest new makeup trick used by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian. However, contouring was actually used way back in the day by Grace Kelly – the original queen of contouring!
Grace used two different shades of blush to create her beautiful high cheekbones; a darker blush just underneath her cheekbone and a lighter blush on the apples of her cheeks!
Source: Pinterest
9. Blush – Rose Petals + Beetroot
The Hollywood sirens used to crush rose petals and beetroot to get those beautiful rosy cheeks. Either try it out for yourself or just use Benefit’s Benetint – your choice!
10. Prevent Puffiness – Vaseline + Cucumber
Did you know old Hollywood actresses used Petroleum Jelly (or Vaseline) religiously under the eyes to prevent puffiness and dark circles? Yes, this is another important element used among the top 20 vintage makeup tricks.
The vintage sirens from the likes of Elizabeth Taylor to Grace Kelly used to combine Vaseline with good old-fashioned cucumber slices. And the mixture really worked to keep puffiness at bay!
If you’re still baiting upon the modern day creams then Simple Soothing Eye Balm can be your best choice. It contains Vitamin B-5, Shea butter and Bisabolol that help reduce puffiness and dark circles.
[sc:mediad]
11. Fake Eye Lashes
Audrey Hepburn famously used to spend a ridiculous amount of time separating her lashes with a pin to create the full lashed effect!
This is one vintage trick I won’t suggest and you don’t have to resort to such painstaking measures. Good news is we now have access to lengthening and volumizing mascaras!
Plus, false lashes can be found everywhere!
Source: Pinterest
12. Embrace Red Lipstick
When in doubt wear red!
However, wearing red lipstick can be a risk business. If still you insist to get the retro glamour look then ditch the fear! Go for shades like raspberry, cherry or wine. There’s a red lipstick to suit every skintone. Pick the right shade and simply blot it to make it velvety matte!
Click here to know more on how to wear matte red lipstick.
Source: Pinterest
13. Create Full Lips
To create a beautiful full pout like those of 1940’s actresses, Claudette Colbert and Mae West, you can use a lip liner to define your lips. Now accentuate your cupid’s bow with a highlighter like Benefit’s High Beam!
14. Coordinate – match lips with nails
Did you know that matching your nails with your lipstick screams vintage?
Revlon had actually started this vintage fashion and began promoting lipstick and matching nail polish sets in the 40s; some of the colours which you can buy even today.
15. Half Moon Manicure
The unpainted half moon nail trend is quite hot this season, especially after being showcased in spring 2014 runway. The half moon manicure was first seen back in the 1930s!
Marlene Dietrich used to leave the half moon of her nails bare. The nail re-growth wasn’t that fast and the manicure lasted longer! Practical and stylish!
16. Dark and defined vintage brows
Be it 1920 or 2014, eyebrows are a big deal! The 1920s and 1930s brows were thin and straight, while the 40s saw the birth of the fashionable thick and gently arched brow! So tweeze, comb and treat your eyebrow pencil as your best friend to get dark and defined vintage brows!
I definitely suggest going over your brows with a damp angle brush to soften them up at the end though!
Source: Pinterest
17. Create Tumbling Curls
Nothing is more vintage than pairing tumbling curls with red lipstick!
No electric gadgets are needed to get this hairstyle. Instead, use good old-fashioned rollers to achieve optimum bounce instead!
18. Hand cream
Vintage beauties had ensured to maintain head-to-toe flawless skin. This is the reason; hand cream was also an integral part of the daily beauty routine!
You can use Helping Hands from Lush to indulge your hands in your beauty regime.
19. Vintage accessories – Gatsby headband
Nothing says timeless beauty and femininity more than a good ol’ vintage accessory, so accessorize your look with an elegant vintage headband or a simple string of lustrous pearls to instantly brighten your complexion!
Source: Pinterest
20. Personal fragrance
Perfume is a mark of female identity and the final touch of her style ~Christian Dior
It’s time you dumped your deo and picked a particular scent that smells exactly like you. And even if you are not a perfume girl then it’s better to find any aromatic body oil or lotion that’s perfectly you.
Choose a vintage fragrance like Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds or the classic Chanel Mademoiselle to feel truly glamorous!
So, these were the top 20 vintage makeup tricks to help you recreate the vintage Hollywood glamour, while glowing like Audrey Hepburn and smelling like Marilyn Monroe.
