The 1930s
The History
With the close of the 1920s came the crash of the stock market (October 1929) and with that came an expedited change in attitude about hair and makeup. Gone were the days of the rebellious flapper, replaced instead by a softer more feminine look. A softer, more feminine style replaced the boyish, flapper look of the twenties. The Great Depression ushered in a philosophy of thrift and admonished the reckless spending associated with the roaring 20s.
Makeup was less severe and hairstyles were too. Soft feminine curls replaced the sharp boyish flapper look. The stress of the depression was often alleviated, if not temporarily, by escape into a dark movie theatre where the glamorous Hollywood movie star worked her magic on defining fashion even further. The stylish ’30s was the decade of Art Deco and Hollywood celebrities, with actresses such as Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo starring on the silver screens. Just look at the images of Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Myrna Loy, Ginger Rogers and Mae West to get an understanding of what women found fashionable during this era.
The makeup
The feminine makeup look changed rapidly in the late 1920’s and in to the 1930’s. Gone was the coquettish girl of the late victorian era, to a more independent woman. The pale face look remained however, despite Coco Chanels new tan! The makeup look of the early 1930’s was of an aesthetic female, somewhat aloof. The makeup reflected this with paler than pale skin (bleach creams achieved this).
Face powders
Foundation was applied with a thick coverage compared to today’s trends, but generally matching your natural complexion or remaining relatively pale.
Eyebrows
Eyebrows were plucked to a virtually non-existent thinness and high-arched with a fine taper line in its place,falling at the end. A dark eyebrow pencil can be used today to replicate this eyebrow feature.
Eyes
A curious black line traced from the tear duct to the end of the eye, including a little upturned triangle effect! Upper Eyelashes were heavy with mascara or ‘ Mascaro’ as it used to be called then ! Lower Eyelashes had little if no mascara.
Eyeshadow went from lash line to crease,blending upwards and outwards. Eye shades varied over blues, greens or bright violets for blondes, or purples and browns for brunettes –applied from the eye lash all the way up to eyebrow. In the evening, he crease of the eye would have a darker hue, to create a more deep set eye effect.
Blush
Powder rouge became more prevalent and was blended over a wider area of the cheek. Popular colors were more pink and light red or even brown and were far more discreet than in previous years.
Lip makeup
The upper lip might be made to look a little longer in the evenings,to create the ‘Rosebud look’. Lipstick was applied across the lips with a thinner, wider coverage than the ’20s, and popular colors included dark -chinese red, browns, maroons and rasberry tones.
Nails
Popular Nail Polish included pale rose, light pink and cream shades,applied only in the centre of nails with the half-moon and tips left bare.
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Things You’ll Need
- Base with thick coverage
- Brow pencil or powder darker than your own natural brows
- Baby oil
- Eye makeup primer
- Smoky dark eyeshadow with a metallic texture
- Darker version of first eyeshadow to define crease
- Petroleum jelly
- Fluffy eyeshadow brush
- Eyelash curler
- Waterproof black mascara
- False strip eyelashes
- Waterproof black eyeliner
- Pastel pink blush
- Makeup sponge
- Highly pigmented deep red lip liner
- Matching matte lipstick
step 1: Apply a foundation in your skin tone using considerable coverage. You may get away with a lighter formulation for a 1930s look if you have good skin with barely any unevenness in skin tone and nary a blemish.
step 2: Tweeze eyebrows very thinly, with the arches pronounced. Do this only if you are a die-hard 1930s makeup fan and are certain you don’t mind that your brows may never grow all the way back. If not, and you are simply attending a costume party, you can either wear a 1930s-style hat that covers your brows or look into using eyebrow sealer and other cosmetics to prosthetically cover existing hairs. If you take the latter step, you can draw on your desired brow shape. If your brows are already on the thin side, you can still use them as part of your 1930s look. Simply define them, exaggerating the arches, with a brow pencil or powder slightly but noticeably darker than your brow color. Set brows very lightly with a minute amount of baby oil to make them shine.
step 3: Put some eye makeup primer on lids for longer eyeshadow wear. If you prefer no color, you can fore go primer and rub some petroleum jelly on your upper eyelids instead of eyeshadow. Otherwise, pick a highly pigmented eyeshadow that is on the smoky side, with a metallic gleam to it. Texture-wise, shiny eyelids were very popular in the 1930s. Apply shadow from lash line to crease. On the crease, smudge on a considerably darker version of the same color to create depth. Blend upwards and outwards to help with the illusion that your eye sockets are deeper in your head than they really are. Fade away any hard edges in your eye makeup with a fluffy eyeshadow brush.
step 4: Curl eyelashes and darken both upper and bottom ones with waterproof blackest black mascara. On the top lids, glue on false strip eyelashes that blend nicely with yours but obviously enhance the appearance of length and thickness. Run a highly pigmented waterproof black eyeliner over the top and bottom lash lines.step 5:Go over the apples of your cheeks with a pastel pink blush. Use a makeup sponge to blend cleanly so that the blush appears to be your own rosy coloring.step 6: Define the contours of your made up lip with a highly pigmented deep red lip liner. Alter your lip shape slightly by enhancing the Cupid’s bow on your top lip and by drawing your lips a little smaller than they are to give them a slightly puckered, rounded appearance. Fill in lips with the liner. Apply matte red lipstick over outlined lips.
Tips & Warnings
- If using a waterproof mascara and eyeliner is not enough to prevent smudges later in the day, use cotton swabs lightly moistened with clean water to remove messes. Powder underneath eyes with translucent powder afterwards to absorb oils which lead to smudging.
- Matte lipstick and dry lips do not mix. Smooth on lip balm over exfoliated lips before your lipstick application if you are plagued by chapped lips. A very tiny, barely noticeable dab of clear lip gloss over your made up lips should help ward off dryness.
- Fully look the part by wearing the hair and clothing of the period to go with the face.
Read more:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2341753_apply-1930s-makeup.html#ixzz1fhFWcU2Z
Dazzlin' Gal 
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