You will almost certainly have been struck by the way Hollywood actresses are made up, and with good reason, because it certainly makes them glow.
It all began when makeup artists first entered the scene many years ago. Initially, cosmetics were scarce, and actors would spend hours and hours before they were finally made up. If you’d like to know what the first makeup brands were, and the top makeup artists of the day, or Greta Garbo’s makeup tricks, among others, read this article carefully as we retrace the history of Hollywood makeup.
The makeup artist’s craft began to be increasingly recognised in the 1930s. It’s important to note that makeup artists were not highly considered from the outset, because most of them were out-of-work actors who took makeup as a second option. This becomes easier to understand if we bear in mind that actors (be they theatre, or early-movie actors) had to be able to make themselves up.
Nevertheless, by the end of the silent era, studios were beginning to hire people to be specifically responsible for makeup, and this was the birth of the makeup artist. And characterisation was all the more important in classic Hollywood where little was known about makeup (makeup artists were hired for movies only from the ‘30s) and where products were scarce. But the early days of this new profession were no bed of roses, far from it –and neither was it so for those unfortunate actors who had to bear the agony of spending four hours sat in a barber’s seat -.
This is how ever more makeup artists began to appear, in the steps of the Westmores and Max Factor. The pioneers were: Cecil Holland, Lon Chaney and George Westmore.
Cecil Holland, whose name until quite recently was utterly unknown, was not only known in his day as “The father of the makeup profession”, but also was credited with being the first “Man of a Thousand faces”, and with having handed this title over to Chaney. Two of his most outstanding creations were the ones he produced for Bull Montana in THE LOST WORLD (1925) and for Boris Karloff in THE MASK OF FU MANCHU (1932).
The Westmore dynasty were pioneers and among the most important in Hollywood’s makeup scene during the silent era, when George Westmore, a Jewish Cockney, set up the first makeup department in the history of cinema, at the Selig Studios. Probably some eighty percent of all movies made in Hollywood in between 1930 and 1950, had Westmore’s name among the credits.
Jack Dawn, for example, managed MGM’s makeup department for four years. His team had good facilities, adjustable barber seats, many mirrors and adequate illumination, and demanded that it’s employees be treated as artists, not technicians, despite their craft being an extremely tough one.
William Tuttle started out as a Fox apprentice, working under Dawn. Thus, he started out sweeping and scrubbing floors, as Dawn was a cleanliness freak. He typed, wrote reports, ran errands and answered the telephone. “I would prepare all his makeup, all the colours, and that’s how I got familiar with what makeup the actors wore. There was no established system for young people to learn the trade. You’d enter it bit by bit. No apprenticeship period was agreed on; you just began when they thought you were competent”, Tuttle remembers. One day Dawn looked at the sketches that Tuttle had made for Fox, and that was when he thought he would make a good makeup artist. He began by letting him help out on tests. One day, the person in charge of makeup on THE MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (1935) didn’t show up, and they sent Tuttle on as a substitute until they could hire someone else. He himself ended up taking charge of work n that picture. When Jack Dawn moved to Metro in 1934, he took Tuttle with him.
Jack Pierce and Maurice Seiderman were two famous makeup artists who worked during the ‘30s, and thanks to whom the movie market was revolutionised. Both sttudied human anatomy in an effort to make their characterisations more realistic. Pierce was behind Boris Karloff’s transformation in Frankenstein and Bela Lugosi’s in Drácula. Pierce continued to work on characterisation in all the films made around the Frankenstein story that followed the first version, such as: THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935), SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939), THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942); FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1943); HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1945), etc. But he also had the chance to show his creativity by creating other monsters that have appeared in the history of the terror-movie genre. From the title character in THE MUMMY (1932), to the one in WEREWOLF OF LONDON, etc. Seiderman, for his part, was able to perfect the human ageing process to such an extent that he created 37 different “faces” for Orson Welles in Citizen Kane. The actress Jane Wyatt was frankly overwhelmed upon entering Universal’s makeup dept. for the first time.
Now let’s go over actresses’ makeup, decade by decade; what was being worn, and the new products...
30s-50s
During the 1930s, a radical change took place in feminine aesthetics. A shift occurred between a feminine and very fragile woman, full of sweetness, which had been the female prototype that marked out the 10s and 20s, to a serious, not too feminine woman of cold aesthetics, who was both hard and masculine. The change came with the circumstances of the time; the First World War, during which women had taken over the roles of the men who had gone off to war. The only trend that remained was the pale face. The most characteristic aspect of 1930s makeup was that unlike the decades to follow, this one was never copied.
The most representative visual icon of the decade, who exemplifies this makeup, is Greta Garbo as she was in the ‘30s. During the ‘20s, she had a totally different aesthetic. The makeup was hardly cheerful at all, very serious, skin was very pale and the skin tone very unified. Harmonising was still done with very white rice powder. The most curious thing about this makeup was that a black line was traced over the upper line of the eye, from the tear duct to the end of the eye, which had a sort of little mountain in the middle. On the side opposite the tear duct, in the corner of the eye, an upturned triangle was traced in black pencil, which wasn’t filled in. A “banana” shape, covering the upper eyelid’s crease in brown, lengthened the eye socket downwards. This shape was blurred and gone-over with a brown form. The mobile eyelid typically bore an ivory, beige or cream colour. The same colour as on the mobile eyelid went in the arc of the eyebrow. The entire upper lashes were very strongly marked out with mascara, while lower lashes were only marked in the middle, a quarter either way. The eyebrow which led the fashion of the day was a rounded, very fine eyebrow, with a tendency to fall. Lips were very fine and stretched, horizontally. Colours were dark; reds, maroons, or browns. The top of the lips were round, sometimes the upper lip was made up to look longer. And blusher was very discreet, almost always in a brown tone.
30s-50s
During the 1930s, a radical change took place in feminine aesthetics. A shift occurred between a feminine and very fragile woman, full of sweetness, which had been the female prototype that marked out the 10s and 20s, to a serious, not too feminine woman of cold aesthetics, who was both hard and masculine. The change came with the circumstances of the time; the First World War, during which women had taken over the roles of the men who had gone off to war. The only trend that remained was the pale face. The most characteristic aspect of 1930s makeup was that unlike the decades to follow, this one was never copied.
The most representative visual icon of the decade, who exemplifies this makeup, is Greta Garbo as she was in the ‘30s. During the ‘20s, she had a totally different aesthetic. The makeup was hardly cheerful at all, very serious, skin was very pale and the skin tone very unified. Harmonising was still done with very white rice powder. The most curious thing about this makeup was that a black line was traced over the upper line of the eye, from the tear duct to the end of the eye, which had a sort of little mountain in the middle. On the side opposite the tear duct, in the corner of the eye, an upturned triangle was traced in black pencil, which wasn’t filled in. A “banana” shape, covering the upper eyelid’s crease in brown, lengthened the eye socket downwards. This shape was blurred and gone-over with a brown form. The mobile eyelid typically bore an ivory, beige or cream colour. The same colour as on the mobile eyelid went in the arc of the eyebrow. The entire upper lashes were very strongly marked out with mascara, while lower lashes were only marked in the middle, a quarter either way. The eyebrow which led the fashion of the day was a rounded, very fine eyebrow, with a tendency to fall. Lips were very fine and stretched, horizontally. Colours were dark; reds, maroons, or browns. The top of the lips were round, sometimes the upper lip was made up to look longer. And blusher was very discreet, almost always in a brown tone.
In the 1940s, the most characteristic thing was the mouth. The centre of the upper lip was thinned, and then widened towards the corners of the mouth, creating something akin to a disgusted expression. The aesthetic continued to be very cold, with little colour. Skin was still pale, eyes were still very much as they had been in the 1930s, shading was done in half-moon shape, with the eyelid crease area marked out in brown, downwardly, and the upper line of the eye in black, in a fine line. Mascara above, brown or cream on the eyelid. Eyebrows were still fine. And rouge brown, discreet and lengthened. A woman who defines this decade very well is Katharine Hepburn.
In the 1950s, makeup took a radical turn; women became more feminine, the skin’s whiteness didn’t look so sickly any more; a healthier skin tone, going towards tan began to be seen. Colour came into eyeshadow, the eye was traced in open fashion, with eyeliner. A blue or brown banana shape was drawn over the eyelid crease, which was blended in well, and the eye’s upper line was marked in eyeliner, closing in the shape of a seven. The mouth was heart-shaped, the lips were that shape; neither thick nor thin, and always in dark tones. A rouge underlined the cheekbone. 1950s makeup is among the prettiest and most feminine. The way eyeliner was traced is something which is still done today, at once very discreet, subtle, and sophisticated. It always gives a touch of elegance. You’re sure to pick out this style if you examine a photo of Marilyn Monroe.
The ‘70s
A cosmetics revolution took place. Makeup began to be more easily available and there was more of it. The decade’s most characteristic shadow was a fusion of the banana-shape over the eyelid crease with the upper outline, one of the most trend-setting innovations was doing this kind of shading in black and white. Cream shadows also made their first appearance. The look was always “very dirty”. Blacks were not perfectly blended, and mixed in with whites.
Skin was no longer so porcelain, nor so nuanced. It had a slightly greasy look, and a dark-skinned look. Rouges began to be worn in “L” shapes. The fake lashes that appeared in the ‘60s had their heyday in the ‘70s. Light brown lips, not overly made up, sometimes even the same colour as the foundation –were made up using the very same foundation -. This is the decade in which Susan Sarandon burst onto the scene.
The ‘90s-2000
This decade saw a total makeup explosion, bearing in mind that makeup was accessible. There were different types of brands. And everyone could afford it.
Maroon and purplish were the most widespread colours in the ‘90s. At least, women were able to wear any kind of colour at all.
Women have less time to dedicate to their image, but their image is nevertheless more looked-after, as makeup is more practical and easy to apply. The most typical ‘90s shading, which is still being used, is a horizontal, U-shaped gradient effect, which only very slightly marks out the eye socket. Only a third part of the eye’s inner line was marked out , and all colours were worn. Black, brown, transparent, and even blue and green mascaras.
Skin is very tanned, two tones above the skin’s natural colour, this was the tan explosion, of UV rays, and long sunbathing sessions. Skin with glitter, brilliant powders, on cleavages, a lot more daring. Lips tended to get bigger. A liner was used two tones above the lips’ colour. This is a trend which has practically disappeared today, although it is still liked. The same colour lip liner as lipstick was used. Lip gloss appeared... Eyebrows were worn normally: they didn’t tend downwards, a little pointy. The eye tended to be lifted and lengthened in shading. Rouges were marked in 3 colours.
In the ’90 we meet actresses of the stature of Jennifer Aniston, Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie or Alicia Silverstone.
You must have already noted what was worn in the various decades of last century, the tricks of yesteryear, etc. Now you’ve got no excuse not to wear the makeup of your favourite actresses.
