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History of Makeup: 1960s

  • Writer: rebekah
    rebekah
  • Dec 25, 2021
  • 3 min read

Updated: Feb 16, 2022

Today’s post will be on two of my absolute favourite topics: makeup and the 1960s. I will be going over the makeup looks of the most adored decades of the 1900s!

Everyone loves the iconic ladies of the 60s and many still love to recreate those looks and I would love to guide you through a 1960s makeup history and tutorial.

*Disclaimer: I do not own any of the images used in this post*

Face: The early 60s was a time for mid to full converge foundation. Liquid foundations weren’t quite as popular as cream or powder, and especially lost popularity in the late 60s when the more natural, sheer look was in. Women would often use coloured powder according to their skin tone all over the face, but lighter shades under the eyes to add a brightening effect.
Contour was not used very much at all as a soft, natural look was the trend.
Blush was mostly light colours such as peach, pastel pinks, or very muted or soft rose.
Products like bronzer and highlighter were not trendy until the very late 60s to early 70s.


Eyes: Pastel colours remained consistent throughout the decade. Usually, eyeshadows were matte or lightly shimmery. Vivid and bright colours were popularised by the iconic English model Twiggy. More natural looks like China Machado's were trendy as well and were accomplished by light browns, greys, or blues that were applied on the lashline and blended upwards.


Eyeliner was the most iconic part of makeup looks from the 1960s. Everyone wore their eyeliners winged, but the thickness varied from person to person. From the Egyptian look brought on by Elizabeth Taylor and Donyale Luna to the baby-doll look, winged eyeliner like Jean Shrimpton's went with every lady of the 60s.


Lashes: False lashes were extremely popular in this decade. They brought drama to the eyes and usually made them look bigger. Cream mascara was introduced earlier in the 50s and carried on into the 60s. Some brands produced different colours ranging from black and brown to blue and green.


Lips: Usually throughout the 60s, lipsticks were fairly neutral. Matte colours were popular for older or married ladies, and shimmers or glosses were popular for younger ladies. Colours such as peach, nude, pastel pink, or nude-pink were used most. Dark liners were used to deepen the lip shape, and gloss could be added on top to bring the look together.


Eyebrows: Brows ranged from natural, lightly filled, and dramatically lined. The most iconic lady who popularised big, dark brows was of course Audrey Hepburn. Twiggy often sported very natural brows, and Marlo Thomas was a perfect in-between.



Brand History

Most of the biggest makeup brands that were popular in the 60s are still in use today! Unfortunately, cruelty-free or clean beauty wasn't really on the scene, but many of these brands have been PETA-certified cruelty-free. So, if you would like to recreate a makeup look, you could easily find products by these brands popular in the 60s.

Perhaps the most used and loved brand of the 60s was Max Factor. They offered a wide range of bold and vibrant colours for any part of the face and became especially popular when worn by Twiggy.
Covergirl was launched in 1961, and became a staple of affordable makeup, pledging to its users that they would be able to accomplish the perfect natural look.
Maybelline of course had been used for years and even launched many products that girls loved to use in that time period.
Elizabeth Arden was a popular brand as well, though not as easily accessible or affordable as the two above-mentioned brands.
Baby Doll Cosmetics was launched in 1967 and has remained a large retailer of false lashes! Their biggest competitors were Yardley Cosmetics with the launch of false lashes promising the perfect Twiggy look.
30-year-old company Revlon was coming to the scene for younger ladies as well in the 60s with their wide range of bright colourful lipsticks, eyeshadow, and nail varnishes.
Other recognisable brands such as Rimmel London and Avon.


Most of these brands still sell products very similar to what they did in the 60s, so it wouldn't be very difficult to recreate a look like Twiggy's or Jean Shrimpton's today.

This wraps up the history of makeup in the 1960s! If you have any suggestions, corrections, or questions, leave a comment!

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