Max Factor had been at the forefront of innovation in makeup for several decades and its products were as popular as ever.
Covergirl, Maybelline, Revlon, Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein and Coty were also popular brands.
Mary Quant launched a cosmetic range in the late ’60s.
Quant’s makeup was specifically designed for their young mini-skirt wearing customers, taking them away from the cosmetic products worn by their parents.
Packaging was in black and silver, and always featured the Quant daisy logo, products were affordable and contained little “how to” instruction leaflets.
Yardley, whose phrase was “The London Look” (sound Rimmarkably familiar…?!), had trendy British model Jean Shrimpton as its poster girl featuring in magazine adverts and commercials during the mid-’60s. Yardley produced a popular range of colours and products.
The start of the 1960s saw a continuation of the 1950s makeup look – a flicked upper eye line, matte eye shadows (primarily in greys, greens and blues), soft blusher and lipsticks ranging from soft reds to corals and pinks.
Just a few years later, the distinctive pale lid with a dark eye shadow crease came in. This was matched with pale lips. Pastel colours were in, and this look became all the rage for the younger women. Older women would more likely stay with the more familiar (and more becoming) look of the early 1960s.
1960s high-fashion makeup became all about the eyes – the rest of the face was kept more soft and natural, or pale and understated.
False lashes were incredibly popular – the accessory of the decade.
False eyelashes were the fashion accessory of the ’60s (from about 1964 on) and fashionable girls wore them everyday. Some even wore two sets.
Lashes (both upper and lower) came on a long strip that you cut to length, or else as ready-to-wear individual sets.
The strip that bottom lashes came on could be annoying, so girls would cut them into smaller pieces.
Lashes were made from human hair, synthetics and animal hair like sable, mink and, er, seal.
Lashes mainly came in black and brown, but could be decorated with rhinestones and glitter.
Mascara could now be bought in a tube with a wand applicator, having been invented in the 1950s, but the solid block products were still used too.
Block mascaras were activated with water or, more realistically, spit, and mixed with the little brush that came with it. Max Factor’s block mascara could really be built up.
There was also cream mascara in a tube that came with a little wand brush. Some products were waterproof, others were not.
Powder eye shadows were matte. You could also get eye crayons and liquid eye makeup in a tube (e.g. Revlon’s Eye Velvet, a matte product available in several shades of green, blue and purple). Compacts containing several colours were available.
The mod eye makeup look, exemplified by model Twiggy, was the distinctive black eye shadow line in the crease with a pale eye lid. White was the colour to have, though other colours were worn as well, especially blues and greens.
The fashionable dark crease line was left as a sharp definite line – it wasn’t blended or smudged at all – and was applied in an arch from inner eye to outer eye.
Using a darker colour in the crease hadn’t really been done before and this fashion continues today, albeit using various colours and a lot more blending.
Continuing on from the ’50s, the upper eye line was in vogue, flicked out and up at the ends.
Eye liner came in pencil, cake and liquid formats in a variety of colours.
If someone didn’t have an actual eye liner, block mascara or Max Factor’s Pan-Cake (black was no. 2880!) were good substitutes.
If false lashes were worn, eye liner could be used to cover over the edge of the lash strip.
Eye liner could be used to paint on bottom lashes (like Twiggy was sometimes seen with).
Eye brows were groomed, shaped and defined with a brow pencil. The thickness of the brow and amount of pencil used ranged from a tweezed lighter touch (e.g. Twiggy) to a heavier pencilled look (e.g. Elizabeth Taylor).
Pastel colours like corals, pinks and peach were the fashionable colours, and the look geared towards natural and soft.
The trend of applying blusher to more than just the cheeks started in about 1963, and was meant to create a natural glow to the face. A swoosh of colour was added to temples, the hairline and under the jaw to add warmth and subtle definition.
Blushers came in a variety of formulations including cream in a tube or pot, liquid washes, solid cakes and a cream that was applied with a damp sponge. Blushers were matte and free from shimmer and glitter.
Corals, pinks and peach were the fashionable colours, as well as beige-pink nudes.
Keeping the mouth understated, lips were naturally defined and not lined with a lip pencil.
Reds, pinks and browns were still available, being fashionable at the start of the decade and coming back in towards the late ’60s.
Traditional lipsticks were mainly matte (though Vaseline could be used to add a sheen if really wanted), though there were lipsticks designed to create a sheen. Yardley’s Lip Slickers added a hint of sheen and could be worn over or under lipstick, or just on its own.
Revlon had Moon Drops, which gave lips a wet-look sheen, and Max Factor had UltraLucent Creme lipstick.
Quite a few pictures in makeup adverts and fashion magazines show models wearing a soft red colour on their top lip and candy pink on the bottom lip (see first Yardley advert at top of page).
Lipsticks came in the standard tube and the lipstick was generally rounded at the tip, shaped like a bullet. Long slim tubes were a fashionable design. Lip brushes could also be used to apply the lipstick.