An Easy 1920s Makeup Look Tutorial For Flappers

An easy roaring 1920s makeup look for flappers to try. The cupid’s bow lips, thin, straight or arched brows and rouged cheeks. Tutorial by Irina @RetroFrog on YouTube.

1920s Makeup Look
An easy 1920s makeup look for the flapper in you. ©Retrofrog / Glamourdaze

How to Create the Perfect Roaring 20s Flapper Face

Cupids bow lips, shimmer eyeshadow, dramatic kohl eyeliner, and blush makeup.

Time needed: 30 minutes

How to do an Easy 1920s Makeup Look for Flappers

  1. Foundation

    A 1920s face is porcelain, smooth and very even-toned. Apply a dense layer of foundation and concealer in pale shades.
    foundation and concealer - 1920s flapper makeup

  2. Brows

    Women in the 1920s had arched eyebrows. Use a dark brown pencil to draw a thin arched line tending downward at the outer corner of the eye.Brows - 1920s makeup look

  3. Eyeliner

    Use the same dark brown pencil to draw a line on your top and bottom lash lines. Blend the eyeliner with a brush or finger for a soft smoky look.Eyeliner for flappers

  4. Eyeshadows

    Green shimmer eyeshadows all over the eyelid and gray-brown shadows in the crease of the eyelid blended almost to the eyebrows.Shimmer eyeshadow - 1920s makeup

  5. Mascara

    Apply two layers of black mascara on top and bottom lashes.Mascara

  6. Blush

    More blush! 2 or 3 layers of creamy rose-red blush on the center of cheeks.Rosy Blush - 1920s makeup

  7. Cupids Bow Lips

    Matte dark red lipstick and always heart shaped lips (the 1920s mouth was named the “cupid’s bow”).Cupids bow lips

  8. Final 1920s makeup Look

    A bobbed hairdo do finish the 1920s makeup look1920s makeup look for flappers

Cosmetics used for this 1920s makeup tutorial

  • Bodyography Pro Perfect Stick Foundation, Porcelain
  • Too Faced Multi-Use Sculpting Concealer, Cloud
  • NYX Eye Pencil, Dark Brown
  • Ciate London The Editor Palette, Aspen
  • Clarins My Black Mascara
  • Hourglass Vanish Blush stick, Revel
  • Nars Matte Lipstick, Immortal Red
Black and white portrait of a 1920s flapper look

Early 1920s Silent Film Vamp Makeup Look

Theda Bara, who first emerged in the silent movie “A Fool There Was” (1915), left an indelible mark on the later makeup look of the 1920s. Her iconic heavily emphasized eyes and lips set the tone for the roaring 20s. Dark, smoky eye makeup paired with intense, dramatic lips pretty much created the silent screen vamp. Theda epitomized the original archetype of Hollywood’s screen vamp.

Mid to Late 1920s Flapper Makeup Looks

Retrofrog as a 1920s flapper

The Jazz Age heralded a revolution in women’s fashion and style. The Flapper girl defied the old conventional Victorian standards. They wore skirts with new daring shorter hemlines, they cropped and bobbed their hair. Screen icons like Clara Bow and Louise Brooks truly embodied this new flapper aesthetic. Dark, precisely shaped eyebrows, heavily kohl lined eyes, and of course the iconic cupids bow shaped lips.

Hollywood Makeup Innovations in the 1920s

Maybelline advert - 1920s Makeup Look for flappers

During the 1920s, Hollywood makeup artists such as Max Factor established their beauty empires. These pioneers in women’s stage and film cosmetics, helped revolutionize cosmetic products and they were marketed directly for women. The overt makeup styles popularized by Hollywood vamps of the time have left an indelible stamp on beauty standards. 

That’s all ! © Glamourdaze

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