80s Makeup: 3 Amazing Ways To Do It

80s makeup has always been loud, colorful and creative. Remember Madonna’s brows and Grace Jones’ lips. Those were the exact look of how makeup was done in those times. Nobody wanted to wear nude lipstick or nude color eyebrows, every look must show colors and brightness. 

80s makeup is slowly making its way back into the spotlight just like other trends like flare jeans and afro punks hairstyles. Many makeup artists are adding more colours to their looks with the inspiration from this era’s fashion. 

80s MAKEUP LOOKS

There are some features that distinctively differentiate 80s makeup from other eras. Every makeup done must have these looks.

1. Foundation

The current trends with foundation during make-up is to use one that matches with your skin colour but this is not the case in the 80s. The colour of the foundation used must be a tone or two lighter than your skin. The trend is to have a paler face than the rest of your skin. The foundation used must be full coverage. 

2. Bright Lipstick

There was nothing like nude lipstick, every color used on the lips must be bright and loud. The concept behind each lipstick is power you must show balance and power with your lips. Most popular colors are orange, purple, fuchsia and bright red. If you are going for darker colors, the lipstick must be mate. 

Read Also: Clown Makeup: Types, Materials & Procedure

3. Bright Blush

Applying bright color as blush did not start today, it was the concept birthed in the 80s. The 80s makeup is not complete without a vibrant bright blush on both cheeks. The color must be bright no matter your skin tone and must be applied generously, the concept is to have high and bright cheekbones. You can either go for purple or bright pink. 

4. Eyeshadow 80s Makeup

The 80s so much experimented with colors that the eyeshadow must have bright color. For your makeup is to considered cool, your eyeshadow must have bright and unusual colors; the brighter, the better. The colors used are pink, blue, yellow and purple with blue being the most common; some even combined all the colors. 

5. Multi-colored Eyes Makeup

80s makeup had one motto, do not be afraid to experiment with colors. To look like the women in the 80s, you must use many bright colors during your eye makeup, no need to appear nude or be reserved about the brightness. You can use bright pink for the upper lids, yellow for the corners and blue for the under while your cheeks go with pink.

6. Lipstick

Everything about the 80s makeup must scream brightness including the lips. No neutral or nude colors were used, red, orange, and purple hues were the trend. You can blend the red and pink colors if you want an uncommon bright lips. Apart from the colors, another thing is that the lipstick must have metallic and frosty shades. Remember that the lip liner should be darker than the shade used on the lips. 

7. Bold Under Eyes 

Nowadays, no attention is given to the under eyes, we only focus on the upper eyelids. Well, the 80s makeup paid close attention to every part of the eyes. The under eyes are as important as the upper eyelids so to complete the look, bright colors (which may not be the same shade as the upper lids) are used generously on the under eyes. 

8. Bushy Brow

Shaping, drawing or colouring the brows are not features of the 80s makeup. The eyebrows are left to be as natural as possible. They are only taken care of during make-up by applying brow gels and styling them a bit. The bushy and bold brows makes the makeup complete.

9. Colorful Mascara

Using black mascara is so not among the 80s makeup trend. In fact, black is rarely used for mascara. The mascara are done using bright colors like cobalt blue, pink, or purple.  

10. Heavy Eyeliner

Black color is used for the eyeliner but it must give the look of raccoon eyes. You can apply matte black eyeliner and smudge it together to look thick and heavy.

11. Colorful Lashes

Black lashes were not accepted in the 80s era. If you must wear lashes, they have to be colorful and make a statement. Common colors are turquoise, burgundy or hazel color. 

HOW TO DO 80s MAKEUP

The process is similar to the current way of doing makeup but the focus is on the bright colors. 

1. Apply concealer on any spots or blemish on the face. Choose a color that is two times lighter than your skin color. The foundation is next, use a full coverage foundation and apply generously on your face. The tone can also be lighter than your normal skin color by 2 tones. Use a brush or foundation sponge to make it it blends very well. 

2. Use a bright colored blush and apply it over your cheek. The blush must be so pronounced that your cheekbones will look higher and more brighter. Pick any bright color from your eyeshadow palette for your eyelids. You can combine two or three colors if you want. The idea is to use bright colors for the eyeshadows. 

3. The mascara comes next. You do not have to use black, go for bright colors. You can even go for color combination. The eyeliner color is black. After applying the upper eyeliner, the under eyes should have a generous amount of eyeliner in order to look thick and heavy. If you are wearing lashes, they must be colorful. Your lipstick must have bright colors and heavy as well.

CONCLUSION

The 80s were known as the era of fashion, music and also makeup. Every makeup look must show color display and have a statement. Nobody goes for nude or light makeup then. So, if you are recreating the look, you should be generous and liberal with your color choices and creativity.

In order to really go into the 80s looks, you can complement your makeup with any of the hairstyles like permed curls, teased roots and maybe feathered waves.