Not very often does one come across color imagery of womens fashion and dress looks from the 1920's, but the National Geographic Stock Online have some stunning color photographs for sale of late 1920s women from different parts of the world - all taken around the same time period. Feast your eyes on these examples.
1920's woman in Oxford - 1928 - Clifford R Adams - National Geographic
Two young 1920s women - Belfast - 1928 - National Geographic - Clifford R Adams
1920s Flapper - National geographic- Neal P Davis
Two Flappers - Arizona - 1929 - National Geographic - Clifford r adams
Mexican woman - Brownsville Texas - National Geographic
Two 1920s women buying ice cream - Cornwall 1928 - National Geographic
Two german women - 1929 - Cologne - Wilhelm Tobien - National Geographic
1920s woman - Glouchester, mass - National Geographic
Women Archers - Austin Texas - 1928 - National Geographic
Woman - Isle of Wight - 1928 - National Geographic
Two 1920s women - Laredo Texas - Cliffors R Adams - National Geographic
The last one is my favourtite - it's like a French master. And there's so much more over at National Geographic. Enjoy.
Louise Brooks and Clara Bow, possibly the two greatest female screen icons of style in the 1920's.Their individual beauty helped define the flapper look and the jazz age of the roaring twenties.This film celebrates them both. If you should ever need a definitive tutorial or just some tips on 1920's, fashion, dress, bob hairstyles, clothing and the makeup look of the flapper, these two glamourous women and beauty icons epitomise it all . Sit back and be mesmerised.
MAKEUP TIMELINE - The Makeup Look from 1910's to 1950's
Further to the last big post on the history of Glamour Makeup, here is a visual representation or Makeup Timeline from the film The Powder and the Glory. It serves as a great vintage makeup guide.
The Powder & the Glory, a 90-minute documentary narrated by Jane Alexander, tells the story of two of the first highly successful women entrepreneurs.Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein. One hundred years ago these women immigrated to America and, starting with next to nothing, created what is today the $150 billion global health and beauty industry.
During the early years of the 20th century, make-up became fashionable in the United States of America and Europe due to the huge influence of Ballet, Theatre and the Movie stars of Hollywood. Chief amongst the makeup wizards who helped develop cosmetics into a global mass market were Max Factor Sr, Elizabeth Arden, and Helena Rubinstein.
Post World War One , the Flapper look came into fashion and with it came cosmetics: Dark kohl eyes,Red lipstick, Red nail polish and it was fashionable for women to use bleach to keep their skin a pale milky white - in otherwards a good palette for cosmetics !
Of course Coco Chanel helped make the suntan popular and heralded the introduction of fake tan products helping both men and women to achieve that sun-kissed look ! In Asia, skin whitening continued to represent the ideal of beauty.
Truelly the inventor of Glamour ! He invented the term "makeup," based on the verb, "to make up" (one's face). To millions of women all over the world today, the name Max Factor goes hand in hand with beauty,fashion and above all glamour! I started collating a timeline of makeup and glamour only to realise that it almost goes hand in hand [ with just a few exceptions] with the inventions of Max Factor Snr.
In 1914 he created the first cosmetic made specifically for motion pictures! It was a form of thin greasepaint.
In 1920 he developed the "Color Harmony" principles of makeup, which held that "certain combinations of a woman's complexion, hair and eye coloring were most effectively complemented by specific makeup shades."
This principle established for the first time that certain combinations of a woman's complexion, hair and eye coloring were most effectively complemented by specific makeup shades prescribed in "Color Harmony"
He created lip gloss in 1930.
Carole Lombard,Joan Blondell, Jean Harlow, Claudette Colbert and Bette Davis amongst others became regular visitors to his Hollywood Boulevard beauty salon. With stars like these as clients Max Factor's name began to appear in the movie credits.
In 1934 he introduced Liquid Nail Enamel, forerunner of today's nail enamels.
In 1935 he created Pan-Cake, the forerunner of modern cake makeup originally developed for color films. The name is derived from "pan" because of its small, flat, pan-like container, and "cake" because of the form in which it was made!
Pan Cake later developed into the Pan Stick. Though today women still puff away with loose powder and liquid foundations, the all in one panstick is present in every makeup bag to this day.
Max Factor's name appeared on many movie credits, and Factor himself appeared in some cameos. He created many appearances for these actresses, such as Clara Bow's heart-shaped/pierrot lips. Years later, he exaggerated Joan Crawford's naturally full lips to distinguish her from the many would-be stars copying the Clara Bow look he created.
A few final amusing notes on Max Factors genius . He was always researching the science of beauty.
Below is the infamous Max factor Beauty Micrometer !
Max Factors Facial Ice Pack
He developed a special bonnet for the benefit of actresses who wished to refresh their faces on hot studio sets without spoiling their makeup, the facial ice pack [ pictured below ] was quickly diverted to another purpose by festive Hollywoodians. The headpiece, adorned with water-filled plastic cubes, is kept in the refrigerator while the water freezes.
Those girls really suffered for the art of glamour ! Photo courtesy of Modernmechanix
She invented the concept of the "makeover" in her salons. Arden collaborated with A. Fabian Swanson, a chemist, to create a "fluffy" face cream. The success of the cream, Venetian Cream Amoretta, and corresponding lotion, Arden Skin Tonic, led to a long-lasting business relationship. This revolutionized cosmetics, bringing a scientific approach to formulations.
Other innovations included creating foundations that matched a person's skin tone; creating the idea of the "Total Look" in which lip, cheek, and fingernail colors matched or coordinated; and the first to make a cosmetics commercial shown in movie houses. During World War II, Arden recognized the changing needs of the American woman entering the work force. She showed women how to apply makeup and dress appropriately for careers outside the home. Arden also introduced modern eye makeup to North America after her formal training in Paris in 1912.
"There are no ugly women, only lazy ones." Rubinstein formed one of the world’s first cosmetic companies and is recognised chiefly for her ability in marketing ! She was especially popular in the glam days of the 1950's.
A vicious rivalry with the other great lady of the cosmetics industry Elizabeth Arden also marked her life. Both Rubinstein and Arden, who died within 18 months of each other, were social climbers. And they were both keenly aware of effective marketing and luxurious packaging, the attraction of beauticians in neat uniforms, the value of celebrity endorsements, the perceived value of overpricing and the promotion of the pseudo-science of skincare.
The Powder and the Glory (2009) by Ann Carol Grossman and Arnie Reisman, details the rivalry between Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden.
So that's the three big names in the development of makeup in the golden age of glamour. I think you'll agree that Max Factor was the real genius. I'll leave you with some images depicting the makeup looks of the 1920's,1930's,and 1940's
The 1920's Makeup Look
The 1930's Makeup Look
The 1940's Makeup Look
Finally, a brilliant Vintage Makeup Guide Film from the 1940's
Find and apply a foundation in your skin tone that will give your complexion a creamy, perfect look. You may have to use an older variety, such as pancake, or a cream meant more for theater than for everyday use. To allow your skin to breathe, thin down cream foundation by moistening your sponge before dipping in the base. If your skin is naturally porcelain or alabaster-toned, play it up.
2. Step 2
Darken and turn your eyebrows slightly downwards with an eyebrow pencil or even eyeliner that is darker than your actual brow color. Thin eyebrows were fashionable in the 20s, so this step works most accurately if your brows are already on the thin side. If not, you don't have to start tweezing away--you can cover your brows with a 1920s-style hat or with bangs chopped straight across as part of a bob cut. 3. Step 3
Smooth on your usual eye makeup primer before applying a dark eyeshadow from lash line to crease. Pick a gray-based shadow to keep your eyes on the sooty side, which is what you're aiming for. Use a black kohl eyeliner on both top and bottom lash lines. Don't scrimp--you want all the dark tones to meld together. Color top and bottom lashes with blackest black mascara. You want them dark so as to appear like you used paint to blacken them. You may want to use a waterproof formulation for all of your eye makeup to avoid unwanted smudging as much as possible. 4. Step 4
Find a cheek stain or cream blush with touches of red in it. You are going for a rouged look; if red is too strong for your coloring, raspberry or rose are alternatives. Rub blush into apples of cheeks. Blend away hard edges, but make sure the color is still evident, as though you just walked in from the cold.
5.
Step 5
Apply pale pancake foundation over clean and exfoliated lips. With a waxy dark red lip liner, create a 1920s mouth by exaggerating the cupid's bow on your top lip. Draw your lower lip as slightly plumper than it really is by extending slightly on the bottom. Draw both upper and bottom lips as shorter on the sides. Fill new lip shape in with pencil before layering matching lipstick over it. Copyright Lea WhiteFeather A great resource for learning the looks of the 1920's is Daniela Turudichs excellent book Vintage Face.
The heavily made-up look of the 1920s was a reaction to the demure, feminine style of the pre-war period.In the 1920s, an international beauty culture was forged, and society increasingly focused on novelty and change.Fashion trends influenced theater, films, literature, and art. Women also found a new need to wear more make-up. A skewed postwar sex ratio created a new emphasis on sexual beauty.Additionally, as women began to enter the professional world, publications such as the French Beauty Industry encouraged women to wear makeup so as to look their best while competing with men for employment. WikiPedia
