1920s: The Great Gatsby

The 1920s Gatsby Era is probably my favourite era in terms of makeup and hair. 

In the 20's, makeup was just starting to be more widely worn by the average woman. However, the orange-toned tans of today were not well liked back then; pale skin was seen as a sign of beauty and wealth.
Complexions were matte, there was no glitter, sparkle or shimmer present. The only acceptable colour for lips was matte red - no shimmery or glossy textures or any other colours were worn. Eye make-up was often dark and dramatic. Nowadays we would see this as an almost gothic take on makeup. This is why I like this period so much.









The bob was the most fashionable hairstyle of the 20's! However, women who had long hair simply rolled their hair into a knot at the bottom of their neck. Hair was not voluminous - it was very flat to the head. This is an aspect of 1920's style that I don't really like - big long hair is more my thing!
The most popular hairstyle of the 20s by far was the pin curl. Pin curls basically look like sideways S-shaped waves going across the head. This looked especially good on short, cropped hair.




Another aspect of the 1920s that I loved was their unique Gatsby manicure, in which the lunula (half-moon shape) at the base of the nail is either painted white or left bare and the rest of the nail is painted from there on. It looks very edgy but elegant at the same time!

Fantasy Makeup

For fantasy makeup looks I would like to recreate, I have chosen characters from my favourite horror films.

The Nurses/"Silent Hill"

I think this look would be quite challenging and time-consuming to create! I'd begin by creating one severely bruised eye and then I would use layers of kitchen roll and latex to create the texture required for this look. I would do this all over the face including over the mouth but leaving a gap in front of the nose so that the model could breathe properly and the eye I haven't used any makeup on. I would add bandages to add to the "nurse" look and then colour the face and latex layers with grey, light green and blood splatters to add more authenticity.

 Captain Spaulding/"House Of 1000 Corpses"

I think it would be relatively easy to recreate this look. I would start by using white face paint all over the face and then thickly outlining the eyes in black, taking the black right over the eyebrows and around the eye socket. Next, I would fill in the lips  with black face paint and use yellow and black tooth enamel to create the illusion of rotten teeth. I would dot bright red blusher on the cheeks and  paint pale blue face paint in an oval shape above the brows. Finally, I would draw the thin eyebrow shape above the blue with black liquid liner.

Freddy Krueger/"Nightmare On Elm Street" 

I think this look would also be easy to recreate. I would attatch a prosthetic hooked nose and then simply cover the face with burns.