This outfit was inspired by the September 1944 cover of Seventeen magazine (see the previous post for a picture). I am also including hair & makeup so you can get the complete look!
Shop the Look:
–Top: Aeropostale, $23.16 (Color: Blue)
–Another Top Option (Not pictured): Aeropostale, $23.35 (Color: 455 / Blue)
–Cami: Emmalise, $8.97 (Color: Denim Blue)
–Skirt: Urban CoCo, $23.86 (Color: Navy Blue)
–Shoes: WFL, $18.99 (Color: Brown)
–Handbag: Alyssa, $23.95 (Color: Red/Black)
Beauty:
For a 1940s makeup look, start with a cream foundation. Cream foundation was predominantly used in this period, most famously being the Max Factor Pan Cake Makeup. I use CoverGirl because it matches my skin tone best. If you are super fair like me, I would definitely recommend it.
–Foundation: Covergirl, $13.99 (Color: Ivory)
To set your foundation and make sure that it blends properly, use a loose powder on top. I use the classic Coty Airspun Loose Powder and cannot recommend it enough. It’s sheer enough to look natural, keeps me matte all day, and has very minimal transfer, even when I’m wearing a face mask.
–Face Powder: Coty Airspun, $5.72 (Color: Translucent ; Size: 2.3 Ounce (Pack of 1))
The next step should be to apply rouge or blush. You can also do this before your powder for a more subtle look that gradually unveils itself as the day goes on. This is my preferred method so that the cream blends evenly and is then mattified by the powder. Women used cream blush in the 1940s, typically in bright shades of red or orange. The shade listed below is the one that I use. It goes on much more subtly than it looks it the container.
–Blush: Revlon, $11.49 (Color: Coral Reef)
Now you’re ready to apply your mascara. Mascara was a relatively new invention at this point and usually came in cake form, which was a dry powder that you could spit in to mix up and then apply with a brush. I don’t like to use cake mascara, though, because it takes longer and is trickier to do. I’m suggesting what I use, which is just a normal black mascara.
–Mascara: L’Oreal Paris, $11.79 (Color: Waterproof Blackest Black ; Configuration: 1 Count)
Perhaps the most important step of a 1940s beauty look is the lipstick. Almost all women wore lipstick, even if it was the only makeup you applied. Lipsticks at this time were typically matte and came in metal containers. The product listed below is what I’m wearing here.
–Lipstick: Maybelline New York, $5.48 (Color: 382 RED FOR ME)
Nail polish typically matched the lipstick at this period in time. In fact, it was sold in matching shades with lipstick. I, however, prefer a bit darker shade for my nails than my lips.
–Nail Polish: OPI, $10.79 (Color: In the Cable Car-Pool Lane)
Perfume adds a nice finishing touch to your look. Yardley is one of the oldest perfumers around and still makes many of the same scents that would have been available in the 1940s.
–Perfume: Yardley, $17.45 (Scent: English Rose)
For your hair, to be authentic you would set your hair in pin curls or rollers overnight and unfurl them in the morning for a perfectly set style. I am uncomfortable sleeping in rollers most of the time, so I instead opt to curl my hair with heat in the morning. To achieve this look, I use a straightening iron with a curved barrel. I take 1-inch sections of hair, place the straightener near my roots, and wrap the hair up and around the top barrel of the straightener. With the hair wrapped around the straightener, simply pull the straightener down your hair towards the ends slowly. This creates a beautiful, bouncy curl, much like wrapping a ribbon around scissors to curl it. It’s my preferred method of curling because it’s fast and keeps the hot tool moving through your hair, which is healthier than having a curling iron sit in one place to curl the hair. After I’ve curled all the sections of hair, I used a wide tooth comb to break up the curls and make them look more natural.
–Straightener: Bekind, $38.99 (Color: Living Coral) – This is what I use!
Let me know if you like this type of post and if I should do more of them.
Vintage Outfit Ideas 