This week, for our Throwback Thursday, we honor classic beauty, Eartha Kitt.
We purred with glee when we stumbled across this stunning photo of the legendary Catwoman. Known for her iconic voice, Kitt was a popular nightclub singer in Paris and also honored her fellow Americans with her memorable performances both on stage and the silver screen. Kitt is known best for her 1953 recording of "Santa Baby," still beloved around the world to this day. With sky-high cheeks bones and the grace of a feline, Kitt also played in the villainous vixen, Catwoman, on the 1960's Batman series. From Broadway to the big screen, Kitt was an absolute star, whose beauty always left us wanting more.
Kitt's era of beauty was during the 1950's. After the Second World War and the need to go for minimal makeup simplicity, the beauty industry was back on an upswing and began to create a wide variety of colors for customers to choose from. The popularity of color motion pictures also helped to spearhead the need for different makeup palettes so women could look like their favorite star. Cherry lips, rosy cheeks, and neutral eyeshades were the overall theme of the era. The look is polished with soft, flawless skin, defined brows, winged eyeliner, and a colorful pout. Eartha's beauty was unmistakably natural, so just a few subtle touches of makeup made her even more of a knockout. Here's how to get the look.
Create your perfect base with the foundation of your choice. Matte was the popular option of the decade, but Kitt was also captured in many photos with gorgeous dewy skin. Choose your preference based on the skin effect you want. For matte, top off foundation with a pressed powder to set your look in place. For the dewy look, go for a cream foundation and cover up any blemishes with a concealer using your fingertips to apply and blend for even coverage.
Eyes palette shades play second fiddle to amazingly arched eyebrows. Play up the arch in your brows by brushing hairs neatly in place and enhancing your brow shape with a pencil that's slightly darker than your natural color. Application should start in the middle and working your way out to the ends. Choose an eyeshadow lighter than your skin tone that is either matte or slightly pearlescent in finish and accent the area just below the arch of the brows. Now it's time to wing out with black eyeliner. Use a gel for this part, creating a triangle of lines between top and bottom lids to fill in for the classic look.
Lips and cheeks are where the color comes in. Keep blush light with a sexy little flush of pink or rose depending on your skintone. For lips, the look is matte. Line lips and fill them with the liner to help hold your lipstick and make it truly pop. Then choose a complimentary red, pink, or plum shade and you're 1950's pinup ready.
Check out the fun 1950's pinup makeup tutorial below and let us know if you plan to rock this Throwback Thursday look in the comments section below.