1930AD – 1939AD
Due to The Great Depression, women didn’t have much money to spend on make-up and luxuries. However, it was important for women to have a “smart face”.
Skincare:
‘Pond’s’ Cream was the most popular skincare, with a three step routine: cleanser, witch hazel astringent toner and Ponds ‘vanishing cream’ moisturiser.
Make-up:
1930’s make-up was based on the Hollywood film stars at the time. Women wanted to look like the glamorous actresses that they saw on the big screen, a much more refined look than the 1920’s.
Pale skin was still highly fashionable, even though Coco Channel had bought in the tan. A pale complexion was achieved by applying vanishing cream moisturiser then an ivory or white powder, or a rice powder, on top, making it a matte finish. Later, in 1937, Max Factor released the sort after ‘pan stick’ foundation, that was used on actresses and became very popular.
Rouge wasn’t used much in the 1930’s, though when it was, it was used sparingly and to contour the face into a heart shape, usually high up on the cheekbones in a triangle shape and sometimes on the ear lobes to widen the face. It was popular to use a crème rouge, apricot for daytime and rose or raspberry for night.
Eyebrows were plucked into a one strand thin line, or sometimes shaven off then drawn back on into a rounded high arch with the outer edges winged out.
Eye shadows were expanding in colours, such as shimmery pinks, purples, blues and greens; they were applied with fingertips in a pear shape with the outer corners being the widest part. For a glossy effect, they added a dab of Vaseline, or olive oil.
Mascara was still a wax based cake or bar, applied with a little brush; it didn’t dry out or clump up, although it was quite hard to master. It was used only on the top lashes to lift the eyes. The first water proof mascara was launched in 1939! Lips were almost always red; however there were other shades available such as dark reds, maroons, raspberry and ‘carmine red’. The upper lip was exaggerated with a wide cupids bow and full coloured lips. Lipstick was applied with a brush, and then blotted and reapplied again as the formula was heavy.
Hair:
As fashion in the 1930’s was a lot more feminine than the 1920’s, hair was grown a little longer, but still quite short. The women who still had long hair would wear theirs pinned up into styles such as the ‘faux bob’ or Marcel waved and tightly curled ends pinned up to look like short hair.
As the decade moved on, longer hair was needed to make styles such as the ‘Pageboy’, which was a shoulder length style with a smooth flat top, then the ends curled under all around the face.
The long bob was popular in the late 1930’s, it was parted to the side and would be pin curled, then brushed out to make big fluffy curls from the eyes down to the shoulders. This could be done on long hair too for a longer look. It was popular to have a ‘peek-a-boo’ waved bang over one eye.
Eventually, ladies began to roll their hair into long tubes instead of using a Marcel waver.
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