1940s Hair and Makeup Tutorial

 Today I have both a hair and a makeup tutorial for you. A whole look if you will. The hair was brought up from a question and while I was making up the hair style, I decided to do a basic 40s make up look as well. Because why not. . . The makeup look will follow after the hair tutorial. 

What inspired this look was actually a photograph sent in by one of you asking about how to achieve a specific look. What made the look tricky was that only part of the hair style could be seen and the other side was partially obscured by the angle of the camera. Thankfully we could see the top of her hair do to help determine the end result. When I first saw the image, I was convinced that the section in question was twisted and secured with a comb but after trying to recreate the image myself I was wrong. I had to break my recreation down into three parts to get the same end result. The image in question is here just below: 

To get this look myself, I broke my hair into three sections after brushing out my pin curl set. Her hair is curled at the ends but is smooth on the top of the head so that is why I curled my hair beforehand.  It can be clearly seen that she is using a comb to contain the one half of the side parted hair, but the other half is a mystery. I am guessing she used either combs or bobby pins and for this look I chose to use both. 

To get started, I chose to pin curl my hair. I have already pulled out the pins and have side parted my hair.  

Now to get the look, start with the smaller section of hair, section 1, Take the hair and twist it upwards once and secure with a comb. 

Next, section two. This is where I make that twist or curl at the top of the head. The reason why I chose to do a roll here is because when I did the twist, mine was not like hers. Hers has what looks like a nice, small, roll. To get that, I took a front section of hair and pulled it upwards and at an angle. Next, I rolled the hair around my fingers and got it into a position that I liked. I then took bobby pins to secure the roll to my head. When I was forming the roll, I rolled it away from my face. 

Now for the third section. This section is the section that is next to and behind the roll just made. This section helps finish the overall look. To get this section to do what I wanted it to do, I took a section of hair, gave it a twist upwards and pushed it forward slightly and then secured it with a comb. At this point, I have used two combs and about 3 bobby pins. Use as many pins as you need to get the roll to be secure to the head. 

Here you can see the final product. I think my hair turned out a bit fluffier than hers, my hair was in a mood this day and was also dry. A nice thing about 40s hair, is that there is always more than one way to get to an end result. It is possible that the original hair style in question was done in two steps - two twists and secured with combs. I had to break my recreation down into three steps but I think the end result is close enough for a first attempt. To make this look last, I suggest hair spray and a hair net. Hair nets work great to get the hair at the back of the head to stay in the desired shape and style. 

To complete this look, here is a step by step on how I did my makeup from the foundation to the final sweep of lipstick and perfume. I prefer to use Besame Products, it's a personal preference and I'm not getting paid to say that. One reason why I like their products because they reproduce 1940s makeup colors for really authentic looks. 

To start, a good clean face and then apply a layer of vanishing cream. Next, apply a cream rouge.  I am using the crimson cream rouge by Besame. In applying the rouge, I prefer to use a rouge brush instead of my fingers, so I keep my fingers clean and not get rouge all over where it does not belong. In applying the rouge, I apply it on my cheeks and blend it up towards my hair line and down my jaw and blend, blend, blend as much as I can. 

Next comes a heavy layer of powder. I will use a mixture of loose and cake powder but here I am only using the cake powder. I apply it rather heavy and then take a long-haired finishing brush to blend and remove any excess powder. 

Next, eyeshadow. I applied a cream-colored eyeshadow over my lips by dabbing the product on and then blending it upwards. I applied it very light. Emphasis was on the lips in the 1940s, not the eyes. I did not apply an eyeliner for this look, but I did apply a thin application of mascara. 

Lipstick! I am using the Red Velvet lipstick by Besame here. To apply, sometimes I will use a brush and sometimes I apply it right from the tube. Here I am applying it straight from the tube. I start with the upper lip and then the lower. For this look, I am staying in the natural lip line. 

To finish the look, I take a mascara wand without any product to groom my eyebrows. I brush my eyebrows kind of like how one would brush hair. I don't apply any product to them, I leave them rather natural. Last, I apply a poof of my favorite period perfume: Evening in Paris. 

The Final Look: