Fall into Winter Makeup Trend for post war 1940s – Jewel Tones

1940s modern beauty shop magazine fall hair and makeup trends

Beauty magazines love to talk about beauty trends for the season. It’s been the same for many decades. Just look at this 1940s Modern Beauty Shop. Today I am sharing this post WWII beauty magazine with the article titled Jewels of the Orient laying out the makeup color trends for the Fall and Winter of 1946…

These special beauty sections from 1940s Modern Beauty Shop Magazine, were small, but significant. Unfortunately, because they were so small, many haven’t survived, so I felt so privileged to get this one in such great shape.

1940s Makeup Case

If you took a peek into an everyday woman’s makeup case in the 1940s, you would see more non-color cosmetics products like face creams, nail care tools and rarely a makeup brush. Everyday women often used puffs and their fingers to apply cosmetics.

The color makeup you’d find in her case would have been a face powder (loose at home and a compact for her purse), 2 or 3 eyeshadow colors, 2 blushes, maybe a pencil for your eyebrows, and 2-4 lipstick colors (if not rationed for WWII materials).

Rita Hayworth with Max Factor makeup kit, 1940s

Jewels of the Orient Makeup Colors

The magazine reads, “Radiant jewel tones sparkle among the leading costume colors for Fall and Winter, reflecting the growing trend toward elegance in the new clothes for the coming weather season.

These rich, glowing gem colors in your dresses, hats and accessories will require special shades of harmonizing makeup.”

vintage modern beauty shop magazine cover 1946

You might also like: Your Vintage Fall Hair and Make-up Guide

Makeup Chart

The 1940s makeup chart below describes the jewel tone your outfit might be that season and what color your makeup should be to go with that outfit depending on your hair, eye, and skin color.

This is how beauty experts generally told women how to do makeup in the early and mid-20th Century. Do you have blue eyes? This is the eyeshadow you should wear. Are you wearing a ruby colored outfit? This is the blush color you should wear. Right click the image for a closer look!

1940 makeup color chart Fall jewels of the orient theme

Their hairstyles may have been more high-maintenance, but their makeup was child’s play compared to what women put themselves through today. It is interesting how that has flipped between the women of the 1940s and the women of today. A woman today will spend hundreds of dollars on expensive makeup, sit for hours for lash extensions, and 45 minutes contouring, but will just run a straightener through her hair for 10 minutes and call it good.

You might also like: Moisturize your suffering dry hands the old-fashioned way



Vintage Bow Updo for the Holidays

Here are some more pages from this beautiful vintage hair magazine featuring an updo perfect for the holidays. The article describes that this cute hairstyle with a bow shape was inspired to be a new version of a vintage hairstyle from Gody’s Lady’s Book of 1868.

Victorian hairstyle Modern Beauty Shop Magazine 1946 article
vintage bow updo hairstyle 1946 Modern Beauty Shop Magazine article 1940s hair

Related posts

1 Comment

  1. I love this! A vintage magazine from the 1940s referencing a then-vintage style manual from the 1860s! Double-down vintage! Thanks for finding this and sharing with us 🙂

    Anyone know when eye shadow recommendations started to suggest contrasting, rather than matching, eye color? In my lifetime, at least, blue shadow on blue eyes has been about the biggest faux pas in the book! (And I love blue, so sad). My go-tos are a bronze-gold by Urban Decay or a sort of purple-puce from Smashbox, which always get compliments!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome to the Bobby Pin Blog! I am Lauren Rennells and as a hairstylist, makeup artist, writer, and generally artistic over-achiever, the Bobby Pin Blog is my outlet for thoughts and research about vintage hair and makeup trends and how to recreate them today. Thank you for stopping by!

As an Etsy and Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As an independent blogger, I link these items because of my own opinions and not because of the commission I may receive.

Archives

Categories

Subscribe and
Get More!

Exclusive content...

We won’t blow up your inbox every other day and we never share your email with 3rd parties.

Sign Up and Get More!

Exclusive tips and tutorials...

We won’t blow up your inbox every other day and we never share your email with 3rd parties.