The road to beauty in the 1950's were not the most attractive, but admirable glances caused by it were worth it. The 50's were considered standard beauty in this pin up style beauty. Beauty should reflect what men would think is attractive of course and women knew this wasn't the same way women would judge beauty. With mass production of cosmetics, makeup became such a necessity to every woman during this decade. There was alot to choose from. This was the housewife era and they were expected to be GLAMOROUS from the time their eyes open in the morning to the time their heads hit the pillow. Women were expected to dress in beautiful dresses with a string of real pearls drapping their necks, and managing to clean in high heels. The total June Cleaver image.
The 1950's woman went to on a very often to the beauty salon for special facial treatments that were meant to bring a heathly, youthful look to the face.
Cosmetic companies did not shy away from using good, old fashion fear in advertising to help motivate the the purchase of their products. If you did not buy a Dorothy Gray Salon Facial Cream your husband would end up looking younger than you, thus leaving you for another woman and you will eventually end up alone. This certainly helped their sells. Divorce was highly frowned upon at this time so of course women would go out of their ways to buy a stock of this anti-wrinkle cream. Avon was another company who took ideas from Elizabeth Arden, They came out with 13 lipstick shades with matching nail polishes and even rouge. Hazel Bishop invented the first indelible lipstick during the 50's. Throw away lipstick cases were also on the rise. In 1955, Crest toothpaste with flouride was introduced, the first clinically proven to fight cavities. Max Factor introduced Erace, their first creamy concealor. The lipstick and eyeshadows soon followed. Titanium was soon added to the concealers to tone down the brightness of the shades, helping them seem more softer.
Eye makeup blew up the cosmetic market in this decade. They were a lot brighter than before. It was becoming quite natural to see women out at night with purple mascara and bright green or blue shadows on their eyes. Brigitte Bardot made a big name for herself simply because of her beauty regime. She had dark smouldering eyes paired with pale pink lips. Makeup in this couple of years was all about creating a soft, feminine, yet sophisticated look. Women had incredibly defined red matte lips, defined arched brows and rose kissed cheeks. Foundation and powders were in soft peach shades. It was made to help potray beauty and softness, while hiding flaws or uneven skin tone. Day makeup tended to be very natural. Eyeliner was only on the upper lid and mascara was kept light during the day. Lips were a light rosy red color. The whole look was very natural and airy helping to give off a down to earth womanly feel. But as nighttime approached the more sensual, sophisticated woman came through with makeup. Eyeliner was applied on the upper and lower lid. Eye shadows worn were smokey colors with heavy mascara. Eyebrows were thin and arched. Lips were lined and filled in with a darker, sexier matte red. And a luminous powder to finish the look was used to create a more appealing face.
Hair style's in the 50's ranged anywhere from updo's let down, or even tossed up in a quick do. But one of the most particular things that women would use the size of their nose to determine which hairstyle would look best. Women with larger noses had to watch what they did to their hair. Hair pulled severely back from the face emphasized their large sniffers. Hairstyles in this decade were all about glamour. Most aspired to look like a domesticated goddess. One who looked so effortlessly beautiful and could do house work. The ponytail was the most popular look it was casual yet chic. For evening looks in the early 50's women would wear their hair in a French pleat or chignon. Straight hair was completely unacceptable. Gorgeous hair was curly or wavy. As simple as that.
For my look I went with the a Marilyn Monroe/pin-up style neutral eye. I was very inspired by Marilyn Monroe and her role in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She wore very little yet looked stunning. So here is my basic pin up look.
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