How to Apply 1970s Makeup

20 minutes 20 minutes

Master the complete 1970s makeup routine with this step-by-step vintage beauty guide — from skincare prep and luminescent frosted eyeshadow to high-shine lip gloss and perfectly painted nails, recreate the decade’s most iconic look at your dressing table.

1. Prep Your Skin with Moisturiser

   The 1970s treated skincare as a daily ritual. Dot face cream onto your forehead, both cheeks, and chin. Now blend upward and outward using soft, sweeping fingertip motions. This lifted, nourished base was the essential starting point of every classic 70s complexion.

2. Gather Your Makeup Tools

   The 1970s dressing table was a beauty altar. Lay out everything you need before you begin. Foundation, pressed powder, lipstick, lip gloss — one of the decade’s most iconic beauty staples — nail varnish, highlighter, eyeshadows, mascara, and a hand mirror. Having your tools arranged and ready is the first step to an authentic 1970s finish.

3. Apply Liquid Foundation

   In the 70s, the goal was a smooth, natural-looking complexion — a move away from the heavier look of the 1960s. Shake your liquid foundation well. Now dot onto the forehead, cheeks, and chin. Then blend using upward and outward strokes from the centre of the face. The result is that effortlessly even, skin-like base the era was celebrated for.

4. Apply Eyeshadow

   The 1970s was the golden age of luminescent, frosted eyeshadow. Begin with a shimmery white cream shadow swept across the entire lid and eye socket — a signature 70s trick for wide, bright eyes. Layer contouring shades to define the socket. Now finish with white cream shadow beneath the brows to highlight and lift. .

5. Apply Eyeliner

   Bold, defined eyes were a 1970s staple. The influence of Twiggy’s graphic liner was still very much alive and evolving. Apply liquid eyeliner from the inner to the outer corner of the eye, working slowly for a clean, controlled line. Whether you prefer a subtle flick or a more dramatic sweep, eyeliner gave 70s eyes their unmistakable intensity.

6. Apply Mascara

   Long, feathery, separated lashes were the 1970s ideal — the natural-yet-glamorous look made famous by Farrah Fawcett and Jerry Hall. Apply at least two coats, brushing from base to tip while twirling the wand to lift and separate. Use long smooth strokes throughout, and don’t neglect the lower lashes — use the tip of the wand, wiped clean on a tissue, to define and lift.

7. Fill in Your Eyebrows

   The 1970s moved away from the over-plucked pencil-thin brows of the 1960s, embracing a fuller, softer, more natural shape. Use light feathery strokes with an eyebrow pencil to fill sparse areas and create a soft continuous line. Blending two complementary shades gives a more natural, dimensional finish true to the era.

8. Set with Pressed Powder

   Pressed powder was a handbag essential throughout the 1970s — no self-respecting woman left home without her compact. Press firmly across the forehead, nose, lips, and cheeks using a clean powder puff to lock in your foundation and create the smooth, naturally matte finish the decade favoured. Always keep your compact handy for touch-ups on the go.

9. Apply Blush

   Revlon introduced brush in blush and the 1970s marked the definitive shift from old-fashioned cream rouge. Applied with a wide soft brush, blush was used to sculpt and flatter — swept into the hollows of the cheeks for definition, along the sides of the nose to narrow it, or across the jawline to soften angular features. The goal was always that warm, sun-kissed glow.

10. Apply Lip Gloss / Lipstick

    Lip gloss truly had its cultural moment in the 1970s — glossy, pouty lips were everywhere from Studio 54 to the pages of Vogue. Whether you choose a classic lipstick or a pot of high-shine gloss, apply with a lip brush for precision. Outline both lips first, then fill in with vertical strokes. Draw inside your natural lip line for a smaller look, or just outside it for the fuller, gloss-slicked lips the 70s adored.

11. Paint Your Nails

    No 1970s look was complete without perfectly painted nails. Bold reds, earthy terracottas, warm corals, and frosted pinks were the defining shades of the decade. Clean and file the nails first, then apply a minimum of three coats, allowing each to dry fully before the next. Groomed, glossy nails were the finishing touch that pulled the entire vintage look together.