Women’s Makeup and Hair in the 1950s Lucille Ball was a TV legend of the 1950s, famous for her red lipstick, perfectly coifed hairdo and her ability to make everyone laugh. She represented the style of the decade, with hair-treatments to add red sass to her hair color, bold lipstick to define her pouty lips, soft eye-shadow to make her eyes pop, and carefully curled and shaped hair topping off the look.

While today’s women apply fake tanner to darken the shade of their skin, the women of the 50s wanted flawless white skin. They used powder and liquid foundations to cover up any blemishes and smooth out their appearance.

While the lipstick was often bold and dazzling, blushes and eye shadows were softer and more subtle. It was something of a Snow White look, with women trying to achieve the natural look of innate beauty, albeit with makeup and curlers.

Women wore their nails long and rounded, with white painted tips. It was something like the French nail look often achieved with acrylic today. But, in the 1950s there were no acrylic nails, so women made do with what they had.

Some women began using hair dryers in this decade, as the handheld blow dryer came out. Women often washed their hair at night and wore curlers to bed to shape their hair into curls. Then, they undid their ringlets in the morning. But, for those with hair dryers, they began to have the ability to wash and style all in the same morning.