Beauty

​ Beauty

​In the Roaring Twenties, short bobbed hair, heavily lined eyes, and tiny, red lips showed that a woman was modern and liberated. In Europe, this look featured women with short hair (Bubikopf) for the first time; in the U.S., "the bob" was reintroduced by actress Louise Brooks in the late 1920s. Hairstyles at this time were drastically changing and were influenced by Hollywood stars, such as, Lousie Brooks; fashion designers, such as, Coco Chanel, and magazines. Cosmetics were also advertised through these sources, although, they were not as popular. Also, perfumes and fragrances became popular during this era. Coco Chanel created her classic and legendary scent, Chanel No. 5, which is still currently being sold in several up-scale department stores throughout the world. Cosmetics and heavy make-up were not as common and were not usually accepted, prior to the twenties. However, once again, through advertisements and movie stars, the trends began to change. Soon enough, bright red lips and bobbed hair became highly popular. Makeup was in its rawest form, because the market was just beginning to grow. Early mascara was a cake of wax that was melted and applied in a gluey mass to the lashes with an orange stick. As you know, this is nothing like the mascara options on the market today. The trend in lipstick was the reddest red, because no other color options were available. Now, today's woman has the choice of every color in the rainbow, and this includes glosses as well. Eyebrows were worn extremely thin, or plucked completely with drawn-on, much higher brows. The 1920s started the beginning of the beauty and cosmetic market that has turned into such a high-volume market today.

media type="youtube" key="2rx16fTV8QI" height="364" width="445" [|Video Source] This video gives a nice overall view of life in the twenties. From the music, to the black and white photography, it gives us a sense of how far everything has progressed over time. Especially the hairstyles, make-up, and accessories. The people of the 1920s were innovators at so many levels, and beauty is simply just one example. As displayed in the video, "Betty Boop" was inspired by the popular hairstyles and fashion from the twenties. This was something I did not know prior to viewing this video, as I am sure a lot of other people did not know as well. We can also see the two most popular hairstyles from this time period, such as, "the bob" and "the marcel wave".

 [|Picture Source] This photo shows "the bob" hairstyle that became popular in the twenties. "Hairstyles of the 1920s created more controversy in hair fashion than in any other period of American culture. And one hairstyle, known simply as "the bob," would be at the center of this great debate."  [|(Michael Warner, "The Bob")]. This daring hairstyle originated in 1915 with Irene Castle, a ballroom dancer who cut her hair for convenience, with no intention of creating the new, "hot" look of the twenties. In 1915, it was named the "Castle bob", after Irene. Although this look was a rebellious change in hairstyles, it was eventually accepted and worn by many women, young and old, in the 1920s. It was also very common to see pearls on many of the women in the twenties, as displayed in this picture. You would almost always find a pearl necklace on a flapper or a woman living in the 1920s. They resemble elegance and beauty.

 [|Picture Source] This is a picture of a flapper from the 1920s. It is displaying the look they portrayed through make-up. As you can see from the photo, dark eye make-up was very popular, along with dark, red lips. Eyebrows were often penciled in very dark and thin, as shown. Both upper and lower eyelids were usually lined heavily with either black or brown eyeliner. The goal was to create a big, innocent-looking eye. Lipstick was applied to make their lips look like a small heart, rather than the natural shape of lips. Another huge step in beauty of the twenties was nail polish. Colored polishes originated in the 1920s, and as they progressed, crimson red became a very popular color.

 [|Picture Source] Greta Garbo was one of the most popular faces of the twenties. Every woman envied her and wanted to follow in her footsteps, as well as look like her. Greta was a well-known Hollywood star that appeared in several advertisements in the 1920s, and movies later on. She was known for her perfect, pearly-white complexion and deep red lips, that was popular in the twenties. Greta will never be forgotten, as being an icon from the twenties, that everyone truly admired.