Whether you were a teen in the 60s or just love to take a nostalgic look back at the best makeup from years gone by, there's no denying it was an amazing era for fashion and 60s makeup trends. If you're anything like us, you'll remember perfecting your thick eyeliner and trying to glue on some false eyelashes in front of the mirror before heading out in your Mary Quant dress that you'd saved up for.
From The Beatles to Twiggy to the iconic mini skirt, the 60s saw a real turning point both in terms of culture and society, particularly for women. This era saw the introduction of the contraceptive pill, the abortion act as well as increased rights for female workers and unmarried women. It was a time when women were gaining freedoms and a sense of independence the generations before them could only dream of, so it's understandable why this new found freedom was reflected in fashion and makeup.
Although these retro make up trends might be synonymous with the swinging 60s, and we might not be wearing our eyeliner so bold and our lashes so long, these 60s makeup and fashion trends are still very prominent on today's catwalks and in modern fashion magazines, and taking a look back at them, it's no surprise.
If you want to reminisce in the 60s makeup trends you once wore, or have a go at trying out some looks, we've rounded up some of our favourites from the era.
Bold eyeliner
Not only did The Ronettes know how to sing a tune, they were also fashion icons in the 60s, and their eyeliner was always on point. Here are Ronnie, Estelle and Nedra showing off their signature eye liner look. The black cat-eye look was all about extending the lash line with a statement flick. They paired this dramatic eye look with a pretty pastel lip like a bubblegum pink or coral colour to balance out the look.
Big eyelashes
When you think of the 60s and of the best mascara looks, Twiggy probably springs to mind. She is a face synonymous with the 60s, and her drawn on lower lashes were very popular during the era. As well as the exaggerated lower lash mascara, she always had a bold line in her eye crease using liquid liner as well as a pair of high arched eyebrows.
Powdery skin
While dewy and highlighted skin became popular with 70s style make up, it was all about the matte finish on powdery skin during the 60s. French singer and actress, Jane Birkin always had flawless powdery skin, and was renowned for her very minimalist approach to make up. While she kept it powdery, there's still a flush to the skin and plenty of mascara on those lower lashes.
Pastel shades
When it came to eye make up, subtle pastel shades were very popular in the 60s, similar to the 90s makeup style and frosted looks. Here's 60s model and one of the original English Rose's, Jean Shrimpton showing us how it's done paired with her pastel lips and thick mascara.
Eye contour
Although how to contour seems somewhat of a new concept in the world of makeup, eye contour was invented in the 60s. It involves drawing a line across the eyelid using a dark eyeshadow, liner or liquid liner to create the illusion of a bigger eye. Here's Patti Boyd with her husband George Harrison showing her black and frosty white eye contour with subtle glossed lips.
Pale lips
Unlike 80s make up styles, more natural lips were the go-to in the 60s, with all the focus on the eyes. 60s icon Brigitte Bardot always wore a subtle nude shade of lip. This was quite a dramatic difference compared to the Hollywood icons who came before her who would often opt for a bright red lip.
Bright eyeshadow
Liz Taylor in the 1963 film Cleopatra wore an iconic eye, with bold 60s liner and a bright blue eyeshadow. This is perhaps her most famous film role and covers all the 60s make up trends we love including the thick liner, flushed cheeks, nude lip and bold eye makeup with the thick and glittery lids.
How to do 60s make up
Back in the 60s, we were forced to try and copy the make up looks from the pages of magazines. These days, we have YouTube to teach us how to achieve our favourite 60s make up looks. The brilliant Jackie Wyershas some brilliant retro inspired tutorials to have some fun with and she's full of .