Make Up Trends Over The Years

Today, it seems that with your eye make-up, almost anything goes.

You can go for the natural look like Jennifer Anniston,  enhance your eyes and lashes with just a flick of mascara – the whole effect being that you are just working on your natural beauty rather than creating a whole new look for yourself.

At the other end of the scale we have the Goth make-up look. Think heavy black eyeliner, pale white skin, dramatic lashes and dark, dark lips.

How Flappers Changed Make-Up In The Roaring 1920s

In the 19th Century, make-up was frowned upon and women strived for a natural look. Then in the roaring 1920s the flapper girl ,with her new sense of emancipation and fashionably short shingled hair, started to wear heavy eyeliner to enhance the eyes.

In the 1930s the film star Marlene Dietrich made heavily plucked eyebrows fashionable and the whole aim was to have eyebrows that were just a thin line – overplucked eyebrows sometimes never recover however as some women found to their costs.

Black Eye Liner Was A Must In The 1950s

Bold eyemake up became less popular in the 1940s, with lipstick becoming a favourite cosmetic but with the rise of rock and roll in the 1950’s and the beehive hairdo, black eyeliner again became right on trend, flicked up along the outer corners of the eye to achieve a cat’s eye effect, along with heavy black eyelashes.
In the 1960’s false eyelashes and big, big eyes were the look to have, populised by famous models such as Twiggy. A long heavy fringe accentuated the eyes too, as did shimmery eye shadows.

The 1970s lessened the look of eyeliner and eyelashes but instead coloured eyeshadows, particularly in shades of blue, was a key look. Watch the original episodes of the TV series Charlie’s Angels and you’ll see what was right on trend.

Men In Eye Make Up

The 1980s saw New Romantic music take centre stage and along with this came the popularity of eye make up for men, who started to sport kohl –rimmed eyes – think Duran Duran, Adam and The Ants. Women also weren’t considered properly made up without thick kohl eyeliner and despite the best attempts of beauty editors, many women would rather not go out than be seen without eyeliner and mascara, as it enhances features and gives confidence to many.   Coloured mascaras in blues and purples was also popular – the Princess of Wales was a keen user of blue mascara who used it to enhance her bright blue eyes and give them extra depth.

Come the 1990s and the Millenia, the focus on the eyes seems to settle a bit. However cosmetic procedures on the eyes, for example removing under eye bags and tightening lines, also using Botox to tighten up the facial skin became increasingly popular and more affordable.

Charlotte blogs about fashion and beauty for leading provider of glasses online Direct Sight.