Vintage Bride Makeup Tutorial

This tutorial brings together the best period-accurate makeup trends of the 1950's. This is perfect for the classic bride already wearing a vintage gown, veil, and ring-- why not match with vintage makeup?

Begin, as always, by prepping and priming-- cleansing your face with a moisturizing toner, applying moisturizer, and once that has absorbed, applying a primer. Skin was matte and velvety in the 1950's, so I'm using the Becca Ever-Matte Poreless Priming Perfector. Boot's No. 7's Beautifully Matte and Benefit's The Pore-fessional are other good options.

Then, apply a matte-finish liquid or cream foundation. You'll want heavy, full coverage, so I would recommend Kat Von D's Lock-It Liquid Tattoo Foundation or Make Up For Ever HD Liquid Foundation. Skin was creamy and pale, and at the time there were actually no yellow- or olive-based foundations, only pink! You can choose a foundation that is a shade lighter than your own and has a rosy undertone to be period-accurate. You can apply with a foundation brush for the thickest coverage, or use a brush like the Real Technique's Buffing Brush or Expert Face Brush (my personal fave), or even a makeup sponge.

There are several routes you can go with your powder to achieve that velvety matte finish. I'm using Coty Airspun powder, which is available in nearly any drugstore, costs only $2, and is period-accurate! Or you can use an HD powder, which is super-mattifying and is available from many different brands in many different price ranges. I also like RCMA No-Color Powder mixed with a touch of Ben Nye Banana Powder. Any translucent powder that you like will work, however.

Shake a little powder into a large powder puff, shake the powder puff back and forth to distribute the powder, and beat away! This will deposit a large amount of product without disturbing your foundation and provide even coverage. Make sure to powder your eyelids, the little creases around your nostrils, and your ears and neck-- they will appear shiny in photographs if you don't!

Apply a matte neutral shade from lashline to brow. I'm using my Naked Basics palette (though all of these colors are available across many brands and price points), so I chose WOS (a matte, pinky-neutral shade) for this step.

Softly contour your crease with a matte taupe shade (a mix of Faint and Naked 2 for those of you following along on your Naked Basics palette).

Apply a dash of champagne-hued satin shadow (Venus) in the inner corners of your eyes and below your browbone to highlight.

Brows of the era were dramatic, full, structured, and dark (think Audrey Hepburn or Elizabeth Taylor). Usually I use colors a shade or so lighter than the actual brow hairs, but for this look you can choose something the same shade as your eyebrows or even a tad darker. Blondes can use an ash or light taupe; redheads can use auburn or dark brown; brunettes and darker can use dark taupe, dark brown, and ebony shades. Using my Anastasia Brow Wiz pencil in Dark Brown, I drew and filled in a thick and defined structured arch. I set the pencil with a taupe shadow applied with an angled eyebrow brush so that they would stay throughout the day. You can alternately use a product like Anastasia Dipbrow Brow Pomade or wetted eyeshadow (though I would recommend sealing the latter with a clear brow gel).

Line and fill in lips with a bright tomato-red lipliner. Over that, using a lip brush, apply a matte-finish tomato red lipstick. I'm using Kat Von D's liquid lipstick in Outlaw. Other great choices are MAC's Russian Red, OCC's Lip Tar in Vintage, or Estee Lauder in Rich Red or Revlon in Love That Red-- the last two were bestsellers in the 1950's and are still available today!

Add a winged liner. A subtle wing is true to the period, which I achieve by drawing a straight line across my lashline ending in a slight flick. While gel liner and an angled or bent brush is the best way to apply eyeliner today, to be period-accurate I'm using liquid liner, which dries shiny instead of matte. There are loads of different great liquid liner formulas-- I'm using Kat Von D's Ink, which is in a felt-tip pen applicator; another one I love is Schwing! by The Balm. Marc Jacobs liquid liner pen is excellent as well-- the blackest black I've found and it's nearly impossible to remove once it's dried.

Strip lashes are very dated and are hardly used professionally today, and if they are, it's usually the ones with the clear band at the base. However, since we're going for a retro look today, I'm using Creme lashes in 747 Short, a very popular and universally flattering style that can be found across many brands. Measure the lashes to your eye first and trim them shorter if necessary; flex into a horseshoe shape and hold for a minute or so to shape the lashes to your eye better; apply a thin line of dark-toned eyelash glue to the lash band using a spatula; then let the glue get tacky and carefully apply to the lashline, beginning at the outer edges of the eye working your way in. Once the lash glue is completely dry, curl your lashes together with the false lashes and apply several layers of mascara to blend.

There was not a concept of highlighting and contouring the way we do it today back in the 1950's; any contouring was done subtly using blush. Blush was swept back from the apples of the cheeks towards the temples, in a blended triangle shape. Matte peaches and roses were the predominant colors of the day. I'm using a matte coral-ish shade, applied with a classic blush brush.

Voila! A beautiul vintage bride! Remember to have your maid of honor carry blotting papers, tissues, and lipstick with her for touchups throughout the day. You may want to use a setting spray as well. Congratulations on your special day!