Makeup's Journey From Natural Beauty To Dazzling Dame

A vintage black and white photo of a woman applying lipstick inspired me to take a journey through makeup history and pay homage to makeup's evolution throughout the 40s and 50s. Starting with the 40s (during WWll), these years were known by many women as the "makeup mirror  do and mend" years due to shortages. Makeup was considered frivolous and made to go a long way (I can just envision women scrapping the very bottom of the lipstick tube to use up every last bit). Not surprisingly, many things served double duty purpose (e.g. lipstick being used for both lip color and rouge). As far as the look, this decade was all about the natural beauty. But, while women had to make do with what they had, they were still able to pull off simple, elegant glamour (think Veronica Lake).

Now, enter the 50s when makeup takes a radical, dramatic turn. Times were prosperous and cosmetics were all the rage as women wanted to emulate their favorite Hollywood starlets (Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, to name just a few of this era's Tinseltown icons). The hair and makeup was, in a word, captivating. The 50s style could definitely be summed up as bewitching, alluring, and dazzling. It was a time of supreme femininity. Envision dramatic eyebrows, vivid eye shadow (greens and blues), striking eyeliner, and bold red lips.

Hollywood movies were now regularly being made in color and the bold cosmetics worn by the sirens on film was show-stopping. Women began falling in love with the dramatic makeup colors on the big screen and could easily don the look off screen due to a Hollywood makeup artist, Max Factor, inventing a makeup line that included foundations, eye shadows, and lipsticks. While makeup has been around for ages, Max Factor was responsible for putting it on the map. He has been referred to as 'the father of makeup' and, to boot, coined the word 'makeup' (on behalf of all women, I thank you profusely, Mr. Max Factor, for paving the way for beauty makers everywhere). Now the everyday woman was able to hit her local drug store and easily attain that dramatic, starlet look.

So, while a lot has changed in terms of the makeup mirror beauty products themselves, nothing has changed at all in terms of women and their love affair with makeup. Whether 5 or 75, women will always have a fascination with the latest cosmetics. Do you remember when your love affair started? Mine was when I was 8 years old and discovered my mother's radiant pink lipstick. After sloppily applying it I was in awe of the girl starring back at me in the mirror. I was positively giddy.