Makeup.
People love the stuff.
It is a massive industry with endless
new products and trends.
But do you ever think about the makeup of times gone by?
(lively electronic music)
Welcome to Behind the Beauty.
Today we're exploring the glamorous world of 1920s makeup.
When I think 1920s, I think flapper haircuts
and those glasses that are like squashed champagne glasses.
But what exactly was the makeup look of the decade?
Here comes a cool animation.
The 1920s was all about being bold.
Before the 20s, it wasn't socially acceptable
for women to wear makeup at all.
Apparently visible makeup was associated with promiscuity.
(buzzer)
So along came the roaring 20s,
and the previous generation was shook.
World War I was over,
and women finally got the right to vote.
The war had given women a taste of what it was like to work
since a lot of the men went away to fight,
and it seemed they didn't want
to give up their newfound independence.
Before the 20s,
makeup was actually pretty difficult to put on.
The 20s saw a lot of development in new cosmetics
and ways to apply them.
Movies also became a thing.
Women were inspired by silent movie stars like Joan Crawford
and they wanted to imitate their glamorous Hollywood looks.
So let's take a look at exactly
what they put on their faces.
Alright, let's start with these weird looking eyebrows.
This brow look started with silent film stars
wearing their eyebrows super thin
because they thought it made them look more expressive.
Women then started following the trend.
Eyebrow pencils became very popular in the 20s.
For the eyes, coal eyeliner was common.
But to be fair, that's nothing new.
What was new was modern day mascara.
It had just been invented in 1913 by T.L. Williams.
Williams called his product Maybelline.
Have you heard of it?
And why'd he call it that?
It is a combo of Vaseline and his sister Mabel.
So Maybelline sold cake mascara,
which you mix with water before applying.
But mascara wands weren't around yet,
so women painted the mascara on with this thing
that kind of looks like a toothbrush?
Seems pretty messy to me.
Back in the 20s,
women wore blush in circles on their cheeks.
It was actually called rouge,
and the popular colors were red,
and believe it or not, orange.
Lipstick was a huge part of the 1920s look.
The lipstick tube that we know and love was invented
in 1915 and totally changed the game.
It made lipstick portable,
and it became so popular that even touching up
at the dinner table was acceptable.
How daring!
So women preferred the cupid's bow shape
when applying lipstick.
The upper and lower lip were overdrawn,
and the cupid's bow was dramatic.
One of the weirdest products of the decade
were lip stencils that women used
to get the perfect shape.
Let's talk to the owner and founder of Besame Cosmetics,
an L.A. based brand that makes
vintage inspired luxury makeup.
So what made you wanna start a vintage makeup company?
I found a lot of the antiques that
my grandmother had left me,
and I really admired how they did their makeup.
What do you sell in your store that is 1920s inspired?
The cake mascara is definitely inspired by that era.
Our rouge is also based in that era.
Where do you see the 1920s influence still around today?
The mouth shape, some people are actually doing.
- [Chloe] Overlining their lips?
- [Gabriella] The overlining the lips.
- [Chloe] I definitely do that (laughs).
Yeah.
Alright, I'm gonna stop with the history lesson,
I'm gonna get made up with a 1920s look,
and then we're gonna recreate three
iconic photos from the time.
I'm so excited!
This is one of my favorite looks,
it's very classic and accurate to the time period.
(1920s big band music)
(laughs)
I both love this look and think it looks crazy.
We are now gonna go and find out what my coworkers
think of this.
Are you Chloe?
- [Chloe] Yes!
What the fuck!
I didn't wanna say anything in case my voice gave it away.
Hello.
(laughs) I wouldn't have recognized you.
If I hadn't heard your voice,
I don't think I would have recognized you.
What's happening? - [Blonde] Your eyebrows!
Your eyebrows are gone!
I've always wondered why they loved the thin eyebrows.
I love my thick eyebrows. Me too.
They're authentic to that time,
like it feels like it works with the ensemble.
You also look maybe like 10 years older
than you actually are.
You look like you jumped out of like
a picture from the 1920s.
When you walked in I was literally like,
- [Black Hat] Who is that? "Is she okay?"
You just looked really pale.
I like the definition of the lip.
I do love how over the top everything was.
I love that there was always just a lot of accessories.
- [Man] Yeah.
- [Purple Shirt] Can you do the flapper dance?
- [Chloe] Everyone keeps asking me that!
I don't know what it is.
No, I don't know what I'm doing!
(flapper music)
We really wanna put this look to the test,
so we found three 1920s beauty icons,
and we're gonna try to recreate their photos.
(big brass band music)
Oh my god what a day.
This was so much fun.
Overall I think this look is actually really cool
and I think that you could bring different
parts of it into like modern day life,
especially the lips.
Things I do not like: the eyebrows.
I would never pluck my eyebrows off
and draw them on as thin little lines,
like I just can't handle it.
But what did you like about it?
Also, what decade do you want us to tackle next?
(flapper music)