1950s hair and makeup

The 1950s

For the second part of my gothic horror topic, I have been required to created two characters for a chosen horror series, I have chosen to recreate Quentin, an imaginary boyfriend to Claudia and Mrs Laderman, Claudia's neighbour who are going to be two characters for the American horror story season four the freak show. After some thorough research on the programme, the American horror story is set back in the 1950s in Louisiana, therefore I have decided to research into the 1950s fashion, hair and makeup in order to give my elements which I can use in my character styling in order to relate them to the correct time period.

The 1950s had so many iconic women throughout the era, from Audrey Hepburn , Sophia Loren , Doris day and Marilyn Monroe , these women were well known for their hairstyles as well as iconic looks. When recreating my characters for the American horror story in terms of the hair for my Mrs Laderman character I will take into consideration Marilyn Monroe's curls and Audrey Hepburn's classic up do in order to relate the correct period of time to my characters styling.

1950's hair-women

The 1950s was known for its iconic hairstyles, such as Marilyn Monroe's platinum curls, Sydney  Guilaroff was the first hairdresser to be credited for his talent in styling hair for Hollywood actresses and movies.

Women preferred their hair to look natural in the 1950s, even if it had to be achieved by using products and perming hair in order to create curls. A women's hair in the 1950s was either long or short, the length varied. Perming the hair was usually achieved by wetting the hair and then applying pin curls to the hair in different directions in order to apply volume to the hair. Roller work was another technique used to curl the hair.

The Italian cut supported by Sophia Loren was a popular hairstyle incorporated into Hollywood movies of the 1950s, the hair was styled very short with soft curls framing the face.

Another popular style of the 1950s was curled or waves in the hair, many women seemed to curl or wave the longer sections of their hair but however keep the crown area quite straight.  The Bubble cut and poodle cut were two famous hairstyles which explored the used of incorporating tight curls into shorter hair. 

Younger women of the 1950s were seen supporting a ponytail with a light fringe incorporated into the style. The brushed under bob which was known as the ' pageboy cut' was another popular hairstyle for women f the 1950s, the hair was overall quite flat and sleek and the ends of the hair was curled and brush under , falling just below the jawline.

Towards the end of the era, the hairstyles started to incorporate volume into the hair. The bouffant which became popular during the end of the 1950s, was a style which explored the use of volume with the use of roller work and hairspray. The bouffant hairstyle was usually seen accompanied by jewels or a bower rather than a style of hat which would disguise the volume of the hair and make it appear rather flat.

 Anonymous. (unknown). hair on pinterest. Available: https://www.pinterest.com/hummydum/hair/. Last accessed 19/04/15.

The natural look also became popular with black women at the beginning of the 1950s, they would turn to straightening their hair and applying chemicals relaxers into their hair in order to make their appear ' natural' . Some women during the era also supported wigs rather than ruining and applying product to their hair. Towards the end of the era, black women started to avoid straightening and applying chemical to their hair as the natural look was coming to an end.

Anonymous. (03/08/11). Get the iconic Audrey Hepbun breakfast at Tiffany's look. Available: http://www.ladyblitz.com/beauty/video-get-the-iconic-audrey-hepburn-breakfast-at-tiffanys-look-1142/. Last accessed 19/04/15

In the 1950s women started to apply colorant to their hair, from henna which gave the hair an auburn tone to bleach in order to achieve Marilyn Monroe's platinum locks. Some women also turned to applying metallic powders to their hair in order to achieve streaks of gold and silver.

Many of the popular hairstyles of the 1950s could not have been completed without the use of hats, such as the lampshade and flower pot, extra pieces of hair and wigs, as well as headbands made from a variety of materials . 

After researching into women's 1950's hairstyles I am considering incorporating the natural looks, of  volumecurls into my character styling for Mrs Laderman, her overall look is going to include the 1950s, femme Fetale and burlesque.
Anonymous. (unknown). Marilyn Monroe. Available: http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/marilyn+monroe/all. Last accessed 19/04/15.

H&mua team. (23/07/13). women's 1950s hairstyles an overview. Available: http://hair-and-makeup-artist.com/womens-1950s-hairstyles/. Last accessed 19/04/15.

1950s hairstyles -men

During the 1950s men were known for applying oil based products to their hair in order to achieve their sleek side parting hairstyles, the royal crown and black and white are just a couple of well known named products which men would use on their hair in the 1950s, these products kept a mans hairstyle styled as a sleek wave and usually required a special shampoo or washing liquid to remove the greasy product.

Many iconic males of the 1950s used the sleek side parting  hairstyle incorporated with a wave or curl , from Elvis Presley to James Dean. Many celebrities today are seen supporting the 1950s hairstyle.

After researching into 1950s male hairstyles, I think I may incorporate the sleek hairstyle into my character styling for Quentin, I feel it would work well with the makeup as well as relating to the correct time period.

Anonymous. (10/07/14). 1950s hairstyles for men. Available: http://www.menshairstyletrends.com/1950s-hairstyles-for-men/. Last accessed 19/04/15. 

Anonymous. (unknown). west side story. Available: https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS4LZilZtbqPW_6bSG03W82m6yjJg7zlcV48X4tmhR5SNL2pbH4. Last accessed 19/04/15

1950s makeup

The 1950s was a well known era for glamour, and iconic fashion. The makeup of the era, which women wore was usually pastel colours complete with a piercing red lipstick. A pale complexion was a popular element of a women's makeup and had been also popular with women many from many other decades such  the Victorians.

After researching into 1950s makeup, he makeup appeared quite minimal in comparison to modern times, the pale complexion was accompanied by a light blush and pastel coloured eye shadow, a small mount of mascara was known to ha been brushed over the lashes and a small amount colour was brushed through the brows in order to make them appear thinner , the eye application was finally completed with  a fine liner applied over the arch of the eyelid.

Anonymous. (unknown). 1950s makeup. Available: http://vintagemakeupguide.com/1950s-look/. Last accessed 19/04/15.

After researching into 1950s makeup I will take into consideration the style of makeup in the 1950s, however due to my chosen horror series being the American horror story season four the freaks show I want to incorporate the circus theme into my style of makeup therefore I am going to research into 1950s burlesque makeup.

 

 

I created a mood board of images gathered together to convey the different styles of hair and makeup ideas . By presenting the different ideas as a mood board this allowed me to look at the different styles and develop my ideas for my two final characters for my chosen TV series. I researched into the 1950s due to my chosen TV series being set in 1952 in Jupitar Florida.

Here is a sketch of my interpretation of a 1950s male hairstyle although it is unclear due to it being sketched in pencil, my interpretation shows a sleek side parting hairstyle.

Here is another sketch of a female 1950s hairstyle the sketch shows the hair being styled into a side parting and side into curls framing the face.

Here is another sketch of a female 1950s hairstyle the sketch shows the hair being styled in to a side parting, the top section of hair being styled and rolled into two pin tail styled curls and the remainder of the hair being styled into curls . Majority of the hair is also pulled back of the face.

Here is a face chart which I created conveying my understanding of the 1950s style of makeup, in order to create this look I firstly applied caraway a light brown from my eye shadow pallet by kryolan to highlight the convex areas of the face, then I applied a light pink from my kryolan eye shadow pallet to the cheekbones to add colour , then I used bush mauve m my glamour glow pallet to act as a highlighter. Next I applied a light brown from my eye shadow pallet to the eye sockets and a white to the eyelids and underneath the brows which I created using my rounded blending brush and brown eye shadow. Finally to complete the eye application I applied a black supracolour using my fine liner brush to act as an eyeliner and mascara. Finally to complete my look I applied a red from my lip pallet to the lips.

I was generally quite happy with the outcome of my face chart I felt it conveyed the 1950s style of makeup well the makeup was also subtle and the makeup was blended together well.

Here is my attempt at a 1950s hair design, I was unhappy with the outcome due to the curls being different lengths and also the hairstyle looking quit messy. In order to create this look I sectioned the hair into a side parting and curled each section using my curler then I took he top two sections of hair and create to rolled pieces of hair which I secured in place using several hair pins.

Here is my attempt at creating a 1950s style makeup, I took into consideration the pale complexion and therefore applied an olive foundation base which I mixed together with illamasqua skin base, then once the product looked even due to using my buffer brush I then applied my illmasqua loose powder to secure the makeup. Next I applied minimal amount of colour to the convex areas of the face in order for the makeup to appear natural then I applied a pink from my blusher powder duo by illmasqua to the top of my cheekbones. I then took into consideration 1950s eye application is usually a pastel colour therefore I applied a light purple from my eye shadow pallet by kryolan to my eye sockets and a white form the same pallet to my eyelids and under my brows Finally to complete my eye application I applied a eye liner flick using a fine liner brush ad my black form my supracolour pallet. Finally to complete the look I applied a light red from my lip pallet by kryolan to my lips.

I was Generally quite happy with the outcome of my 1950s style makeup I felt I captured the 1950s look well by using pale colours in order to make the makeup appear natural.

 

Here is a side shot of my 1950s style of makeup I feel this image highlights the makeup applied to the cheekbones.