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make up

There was really only one make-up look throughout the 1960s, that being dark eyes paired with pale lips. The cosmetics firm of Gala can take credit for much of this innovation, as they were the first to introduce the paler colours found in the houses of Dior and Lancome.

In 1957 Gala unveiled the "Lipline" - an interchangeable lipstick in pencil form. It was much faster that the old method of applying lipstick with a small brush, and opened up a market of women who previously hadn’t used makeup because of the time involved in putting it on. To increase their appeal to younger shoppers, Gala copied the French and Italian designers by blending titanium into their lipsticks, to create a shimmery, pale look, and introduced new colours, such as silver and green (mind you, anything that wasn’t red in the late 50s was considered a new colour…) In 1959 they extended their innovations to face powder, which had always been available in either pink or yellow. Gala began selling "mink" powder for a more tanned, natural look.

By 1961 pale had become the fashion for the face, with girls blending their own shades of lipstick at home and white eyeshadow cream one of the top sellers (it was meant to be used to brighten up eye sockets but women quickly found uses for it all over the face such as highlighting or wrinkle-hiding.) Eyes soon became the focus and were darkened considerably to contrast with the pale faces. Dark eyeshadow, liquid and kohl eyeliner, and mascara were used in abundance and smudged on eyes all over Europe and North America. Lips became paler, until girls began using white lipstick and could go no lighter. Iridescent nail varnish to match the lipstick completed the look.


hair

The hairstyles of the 60s were the antithesis of those of the 50s. 1950s hair was sculpted, sprayed, teased, and styled at the salon every week into a helmet of perfectly-formed curls, waves, and bouffants. Wigs and switches of false hair were often used to create the illusion of "bigger, better, more". Older women were especially guilty of such crimes against hair, while younger women preferred the relatively hip "flip" - shoulder-length hair backcombed slightly at the top and then curled out at the ends. In 1961 girls started to tame their hair not with spray, but with barettes and ribbons. Instead of keeping it atop the head in a beehive, it was curled into a bun or a coil and tied or pinned in place. Often a short fringe accompanied this look...

The revolutionary of 1960s hair was Vidal Sassoon, who, in 1963, introduced the geometric, asymmetric, 5-point, and (most famous of all) the bob cut. Instead of taming the hair, he let it swing free and cut the style into the hair, eliminating the need for an hour in front of the mirror armed with false hair, hairspray, and pins. The bob proved very popular with young women, especially in London, and is still one of the most prevalent haircuts.

In the mid-60s Swinging London era, teenage hair was either very short (i.e Mary Quant’s 5-point cut by Vidal Sassoon) or very long and worn fallen over one eye, styles which both complemented the clothing and attitude of the time.