Today I have a guest post to share with you all, and it is by none other than my very own sister, Sarah, who also blogs over at Just a Little Prayer. I have mentioned on the blog before, how she is a marvel at makeup, so we thought that it would be fun to create a vintage inspired makeup tutorial for you. This is a modern 1920’s makeup look that we have done before, and I love this look because it is so sparkly and dramatic in the style of the 1920’s, without giving the “racoon eye” look of the era, which usually only looks best in vintage photographs. (Although some people can definitely do that look successfully, it is not one that looks good on me!) So, without further ado, here is Sarah.

Hi Everyone! My name is Sarah, and I am Nicole’s sister. I have loved makeup for as long as I can remember, and have been experimenting with different looks for years. Today I am going to show you how simple it is to achieve a modern 1920’s makeup look with products that are probably in your makeup drawer already. I hope you enjoy it!

I have done this look on Nicole a few times, most recently in “Ready for Poiret’s ‘One Thousand and a Second Night’”, and for a 1920’s look in a recent guest post.  It’s a super easy look that with practice could be done relatively quickly. (I’m naturally slow at such things, so I took a lot longer than the average person would. Maybe that was because we were having too much fun to concentrate on the task at hand.)

Left: Foundation and concealer applied. Right: The eyeshadow palette.

First I applied foundation and set it with powder, giving her skin a nice matte finish. I didn’t use blush for this look, but it’s up to you whether you want to. I next applied concealer where needed and also used it as an eye primer on the eyelids. This is a trick Pure Anada shared in one of their makeup tutorials: using concealer in place of a primer if you don’t have one.

Apply a light peachy eyeshadow to the entire lid.

After priming her eyelids I used a soft peachy eyeshadow with a fluffy blending brush to set the primer and to create a good base for building colour on. I applied the eyeshadow to the entire lid, but not to the browbone. You can use any neutral sort of colour for this.

Apply a soft, shimmery, beige shadow across the inner half of the lid up to the crease.

Next I applied a soft shimmer beige to the inner half of her eyelid up to the crease. I used a smaller brush for this so I could get better precision. The best part about this look is that it doesn’t have to be too perfect. Don’t worry if the colour goes a bit too dark or high, just take a clean brush and blend it out.

Apply a dark, shimmery brown in the crease and to the outer edge. (In a “c” shape.)

I then put a dark shimmery brown in the crease and outer edge of the eye. After blending the colour into the crease, I used a large eyeshadow brush to soften the edge of the brown.

The next step is to stop and have a tea break. Tea is an important part of any makeup look 🙂

Pot o’ Gold

Left: Use a tissue to catch any powder fall out. Right: The left eye does not have the gold glitter yet, and the right eye has the gold glitter applied. (And a strange brown mark?)

Having finished the base layer of colour, and adding some depth to the eye, it was time to add the gold. I used a loose powder eyeshadow for this part. Make sure you place a tissue across the bottom of your eye to catch any fallout from the shadow. I find it best to dip the brush in the loose shadow and then pat, not blend, the colour onto the eyelid. I patted the gold all across the lid, up to the crease of the eye, softly blending the edge with the brown eyeshadow. You can also add some gold eyeshadow along the bottom of your eye, if you would like. I didn’t do that with Nicole, but it could add a little more drama. If you don’t have gold glitter eyeshadow, use any other dramatic or sultry coloured eyeshadow colour you have. The 1920’s was all about drama, so pick anything that will give you the same moody effect.

This time we used the Master Kajal liner, but in the past have used a gel liner for the same results. This technique works well with both kinds of liner.

Left: Apply a messy line. Right: Smudge and blend the liner with a brush to get a smoky look.

Next, I used a pencil eyeliner to line the upper lids; don’t worry about making it perfect, I lined it rather messily. After lining her eyes I used a small flat brush to smudge it out. I made sure to blend it well, softening the colour into the gold eyeshadow. At this point you can also smudge some eyeliner along the bottom of your eye, concentrating most of the colour at the outer edge. This would help achieve the dramatic eye of the 1920’s.

Left: Note the quintessential mascara applying facial expression. Right: Eye makeup done!

Almost done! After I was done the bulk of the eye makeup, Nicole applied mascara. (I didn’t trust her to not poke me in the eye, in other words.)

Left: Choose a darker colour of lipstick for the 1920’s. Right: The finished makeup look!

To complete the 1920’s inspired look, I chose a dark lip colour. First I lined the lips, following the natural shape of her mouth. You can also draw the classic bow shape, if you prefer, and then apply lipstick.

The Modern 1920’s Makeup Look

And you are done! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial (my first ever!) and that you can have some fun with this look.

Products Used:

Physician’s Formula CC Cream

Pure Anada concealer for primer

All Eyeshadows are Pure Anada, (I love their eyeshadows!): Nectar (peach-matte), Mirage (soft beige-shimmer), Espresso (dark brown-shimmer), Ornate (gold-shimmer/glitter)

Maybelline Master Kajal Black pencil eyeliner (gel would also work, as long as you blend it before it sets)

Pure Anada Black mascara (Ps. Honestly I was not happy with this mascara, and have since moved onto another Maybelline product I found that, happily, doesn’t contain any toxic chemicals!)