History of Makeup: The 60s Makeup Tutorial

Your 60s makeup look should start with a radiant base that sets a flawless-looking foundation for the rest of your 60s-inspired look. To get the look of a 60s star, apply your perfect shades of my complexion heroes: Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Foundation and Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Radiant Concealer. Apply foundation first, using the flat end of my Hollywood Complexion Brush to smooth my hydrating, hyaluronic acid-infused formula evenly onto the face. Then, place concealer everywhere you’d like to lift and brighten the look of – I recommend under the eyes, around the nose and along the corners of the mouth. Finally, set your foundation and concealer into place by tapping a light layer of Airbrush Flawless Finish powder onto the skin with my Powder & Sculpt Brush.

Tilbury Tip: Complexion products will always look better when applied onto moisturised skin. I always apply Charlotte’s Magic Cream before makeup to help skin look smoother and plumper.

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Eyebrows were kept neatly groomed in the 60s with the favoured shape being a rounded arch. Thin, softly shaped brows complemented and accentuated the roundness that 60s eye makeup looks sought to achieve. To get the look, use the spoolie end of my Brow Cheat eyebrow pencil to brush your brows upwards and outwards to reveal a thinner brow shape, then add subtle brow strokes to sketch out a more rounded-looking arch. Once you’re happy with your brows, use Brow Fix clear brow gel to help them stay in place while you get into the 60s swing!

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60s eye makeup looks are famous for their graphic lines and black and white contrast. Many 60s makeup looks featured a half-moon shape that stretched from the inner corner and along the crease to the outer corner – this was to create that doll-like eye shape. My powder eyeliner The Classic is perfect for creating a 60s eye makeup look; it glides above your natural socket without skipping to create a precise, 60s-inspired crease, then effortlessly blends and diffuses with a swish of my Eye Liner Brush. Then, take the same eyeliner along your upper and lower lash line, connecting to the outermost point of the crease you’ve created and softly blending for a flattering, smoked-out effect.

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The matte shades in The Sophisticate Luxury Palette will help add dimension to your 60s eye makeup; take the dark brown shades on my Eye Liner Brush and follow along the linework you’ve created to help set your eyeliner into place, then mix the cream and soft brown shades as the perfect nude colour to wash all-over the lid.

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To get the classic 60s doe-eyed effect, reach for a liquid eyeliner like The Feline Flick in Panther to intensify the look of your lash line and accentuate the graphic 60s details you've created. Then, use the beige-nude shade of The Super Nudes Duo Liner and glide along the water line for an enchanting, eye-opening effect.

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Add lashings and lashings of Pillow Talk Push Up Lashes! mascara to your 60s makeup look for fluttery, lifted-looking lashes. My push up-effect formula is perfect for creating dreamy, doll-like lashes, combing through each lash hair and giving them a 24-hour vertical lift effect.

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Darlings, you can create the illusion of 60s-inspired bottom lashes with The Feline Flick liquid eyeliner. Making small strokes along the lower lash line with jet-black eyeliner creates the effect of individually separated bottom lashes with no false eyelashes required.

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Popular lipstick shades in the 60s included sherbet pinks, sweet peaches and powdery nudes that gave the lips a softly pinched coat of colour. The decade saw a decline in red lipstick, favouring light and airy shades that resonated with the mod makeup aesthetic. From my lipstick wardrobe, I recommend my Pillow Talk Original Lip Cheat and Hot Lips lipstick in Kim KW as the perfect nude-pink combination for recreating a 60s-inspired pout. The natural-looking, nude-pink tones of Pillow Talk Original expertly shape the look of lips and Kim KW is the perfect nude with a hint of pastel pink to pair it with for easy, pale-pink 60s lips.

If you want to wear lip gloss to hydrate and accentuate the look of your lips, choose Collagen Lip Bath in Refresh Rose or Pillow Talk to give them a glossy, plumped effect.

Tilbury Tip: For deeper skin tones, choose a deeper shade of lip liner like Pillow Talk Intense, then apply pale-pink lipstick in the centre of the lips and softly blot the edges with your fingertips.

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60s makeup looks were less concerned with contouring the look of the face and instead accentuated the natural roundness of facial features. The best way to lightly sculpt the look of your face in true 60s style is with a silky liquid contour like my Hollywood Contour Wands. I created this formula to give the complexion a seamless, sculpting effect that buffs and blends to create Hollywood-inspired, skin-like contours. Three dots of liquid contour along the cheekbones will be plenty to softly define the look of your cheeks and a single swipe down either side of your nose is the secret to effortlessly contouring the look of the nose.

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Similar to the lipstick trends of the 60s, blush was applied with a light hand in barely there pastel pink shades to softly blush the look of cheeks. To get the 60s blush look, I recommend my Matte Beauty Blush Wand in Pillow Talk Pink Pop as the perfect pop of ballet pink. This natural-looking shade has a magical matte finish that beautifully lifts the look of the complexion while channelling the babydoll charm of 60s makeup looks. I suggest applying one dot of blush onto the apples of the cheeks for a sweet and understated flush – by focusing your blush at the front of your face, your cheeks will appear rounder and more prominent.

Tilbury Tip: If you’re a blush lover, you can certainly add an extra dot or two – just dot, dot, blend and pop!

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Darlings, now that you’ve applied a magical mod makeup look that exudes classic 60s style, it’s time for some finishing touches! 

First, try adding some faux freckles to your look with my Lip Cheat lip liner in Foxy Brown; lightly dot the saddle-brown shade onto the nose and cheeks, then tap them out with your ring finger to create the illusion of natural-looking freckles. 

As for styling – think miniskirts and middle partings, go-go boots and huge, backcombed hair to complete your full 1960s fantasy! 

Finally, spritz AIRbrush Flawless Setting Spray onto your face to lock in your 60s makeup look!

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