A Lesson in 1950s Foundation from 1,000 Hints Beauty Magazine

Make-up Foundation Techniques from the 1950s

It is interesting to me how beauty advice has changed so much. In this article from 1,000 Hints Beauty Magazine, the author tells women to buy a foundation that will change their skin to the color they want, not the foundation that matches their skin.

At the time, concealer was barely a thing. The author writes in the contouring article about Ayer Magic, a new “corrective makeup” that goes over your foundation. But these types of makeup were rare.

To make your skin pretty in the 1950s, you generally had cleanser, lotion, foundation and powder. You were to do what you could with those. Smart women got creative with different colors of powder to correct discoloration.

Full Article

Foundation for Beauty
You’ll never know how pretty your skin can be until you learn to use foundation.

Beauty begins with the shade of your skin–and you can have the kind of complexion you want merely by selecting the foundation that will give it to you. If that sounds like too much of a promise it is backed up by the squealing enthusiasm of many lovely ladies who traded in their sallow look for a creamy, dreamy skin. Putting the right foundation over a mottled skin doesn’t mean that you should neglect that skin, however, and make up for it by slathering something over your face to cover your sins of omission. Skin must be cared for from the inside out, as well, if your make-up is to look its prettiest.

Pamper yourself with the right cream for your complexion before you ever dream of putting on your make-up. You wouldn’t think of putting a crisp-as-lettuce dress over a soiled body–well, putting make-up on over an improperly cleansed face is just as obnoxious. Use a cleanser that routs dust, dirt and grime–use one that digs down deep and does its work top and bottom–use a cream that is not only an excellent cleanser but a skin softener and smoother besides…and use it when you need it and not at the specific times your friends cleanse their faces. The skin of each of us is different and while some may get by with morning and evening cleansing the majority of us require a mid-day cleanser and perhaps an after dinner one too. You can’t cleanse or wash your face too often. There is no chance the skin will come off and no matter how little you think the improvement is–every time you cleanse your skin you have to take a step forward in keeping it lovely–making it petal smooth.

Foundations come in many forms–creams, lotions, even sticks. Find the type that goes best with your complexion. Many of us make the mistake of matching our foundation to our skin–usually we shouldn’t. The purpose of a foundation is not only to help your powder and other make-up to cling but also to give a natural “beauty glow” under your cosmetics. If you put a sallow tan shade of foundation over a sallow tan skin the result is a sick-looking complexion. Liven up your face! No girl ever lost a beau because her face was too bright–too radiant…but many as possible admirer has looked away because he’d lost interest in a colorless complexion.

The fluffy lotion foundations are coming into greater popularity than ever because they go on so easily and almost disappear on your skin, leaving a natural, creamy blush note that seems to come right from the skin itself. In selecting your foundation try using a shade darker than your skin.

If your skin is Florid….
and you want to take some of the red out–try the tan tones to tone down the ruddy note.

If you skin is sallow….
try the rose beiges and rosy brunettes…and glow!

If you have freckles…
or are a white-skinned red-head, try some beautifying face cream under your foundation. This blots out the freckles into an over-all whiteness and the thin film of it allows for a color foundation to be applied over it. The creamy tan tones give a porcelain-like effect to this type of skin.

If your skin absorbs foundation…
(and some skins drink it in so that its effect disappears in seconds)– try using the pastier forms of foundation and in tones that are bolder than the tones of you skin.

If you dislike rouge…
use the rosy shades of foundation, and powder heavily over the areas where you would not normally place your rouge, and slide just a thin film of powder or none over the area that would have been rouged. This gives you the blush note you need without rouge application.

If your skin is so dry any foundation dries on your face…
leave a thin film of your cleansing cream on when you apply your foundation.

If you want your foundation to go on with the speed of a wink..
Use a rubber sponge to apply and blend your foundation–one of those tiny rubber sponges that help you spread to so evenly you can do your ears and neck in one minute flat. You must do your ears and neck or the line of demarcation will be obvious–and unsightly.

Read more from the 1950s vintage beauty guide 1,000 Hints Beauty Magazine:

• Introduction
• Lesson…Blush/Rouge
• Lesson…Eyebrows
• Lesson…Lipstick
• Lesson…Foundation
• Lesson…Eyeshadow, Eyeliner, Mascara
• Lesson…Contouring