Hollywood Makeup Magic

The Magic of Makeup and Hollywood

In our beauty-obsessed world today, we can't imagine a time without easily accessible makeup. We can't imagine a day when women went outside the house with no makeup and thought nothing of it.

Today most women put on their makeup first thing in the morning and take it off the last thing at night.

Models and Hollywood stars are that rarified breed of people who always look perfect, their makeup is always natural and stunning, and their clothes are the best. When they appear in magazines, hordes of makeup artists and hair stylists make sure they look their best. It goes without saying that actresses and actors in movies and television are also treated as royalty as they wait for hair and makeup. We expect them to look perfect and wouldn't like them if they weren't. We don't go to movies or watch television to see average people who look like us. We want glamour and beauty.

Have you ever seen Oprah without her hair and makeup done? It isn't a pretty sight. I respect her for sometimes showing the real Oprah, but would we want to see her look like that everyday? Probably not. We love to tune in to see what she is wearing and how she looks. Of course. We also like to see her show, but since she is like a best friend, we enjoy seeing her look her best. Her hair and makeup people are truly artists. Her skin always looks so natural that I thought she was blessed with perfect skin until I saw her on the marathon show. Then I knew she had a makeup artist. Her hair is always perfect too. If I ever win the lottery, I want to hire a hair and makeup artist to put me together every day. Now that would be living.

But women were not always so lucky as to have myriads of makeup choices to make them beautiful. At the turn of the twentieth century, women or at least decent women had to go with what God had given them. Only low class or fallen women wore any type of makeup. Ladies of good breeding wouldn't think of adding any beauty products, if they were available, on their faces. Their husbands and families would have been horrified.

Times began to change in the Twenties when women became more daring and wanted to rebel against the mores of their time. Silent movies gave women new stars to look up to and emulate. Unfortunately, there was little to no makeup available for actresses much less for the general public. If you watch silent movies, you have probably noticed that the actors appear pale and wan like they are one step away from a TB hospital. Many actors and actresses did their own makeup, but often not very well.

One exception to this rule was Lon Chaney, the Man of a Thousand Faces. With one makeup kit, he single-handedly created his own faces, many grotesque, terrifying, and unique. He worked his own magic with makeup like few before or after him. Still there was a problem with the makeup used for most actors, the makeup cracked and was unusable. The "greasepaint" used for the stage was useless behind the hot lights because it cracked or caked.

Then came Max Factor. An emigrant from Imperial Russia, Max Factor had worked with wigs and makeup for years. He did the makeup for the Russian Royal Family and the Russian Opera Company. Originally from Poland, he immigrated to the United States in 1904. He worked several jobs before heading to Hollywood to seek his fortune. He realized that movie actors and actresses would be in need of makeup and wigs that he had been making for years. When he saw the problem with the stage makeup, he created a lighter makeup that would neither crack or cake. Suddenly, everyone in the movie industry wanted his products. Then models and actresses started wearing the pancake makeup outside the sets and average women started to see the benefits of a little makeup. They clamored for his products so much that he started the Max Factor makeup line. The line of cosmetics was immediately successful. He quickly became known as the Father of the Cosmetics Industry.

Max Factor also began to create looks for certain actresses he worked on. He created the beautiful Bette Davis eyes, the Joan Crawford red lips, and Clara Bow's tiny mouth. After awhile everyone wanted him as their makeup artists. He was in great demand. even though most movies were filmed in black and white. When color pictures came into vogue, the makeup for black and white films made the actors and actresses look a sickly shade of green. He created Pan-cake make-up that was applied with a sponge to get a natural look that made the actresses look beautiful in color. He created different shades foe each skin tone. When these actresses began to appear in ads for his makeup line, women all over the nation couldn't wait to buy his products. Everyone wanted to look like her favorite stars. In the thirties and forties, Max Factor's name was synonymous with glamour and beauty.

Another use of make-up is the special effects that scare us in space or horror movies. Countless hours are spent in the makeup chair to create Frankenstein, the Wolfman, the Tin man, the Phantom of the Opera, and many other characters. This makeup helps the actor or actress create the characters we love to scream about at the movies.

Today actresses and actors are just as dependent on their makeup artists as they have ever been. Being perfect is so important because there is always someone looking over their shoulder to take their place. Sometimes actresses sneak out of their homes trying to go to the store or do a little shopping without makeup or complimentary air brushing. Their faces always end up on the front of the gossip rags. These pictures remind us of the fantasy created by the Hollywood makeup artist because major stars look as bad as we do without makeup or airbrushing.

Today when beauty is one of the main reasons an actress is hired, her makeup people are more important than ever. Often cast as eye candy for the mail lead, the actress has to look breathtakingly beautiful even if she is playing a Professor of history or a cop. Even when an actress is especially beautiful, she can be improved upon. Take Julia Roberts. Her features are not classically beautiful but with the right makeup and hair styles, she will make you forget her flaws.

Let's not forget the men. When Peter Jackson needed the most beautiful Elf Prince, he found a very handsome, bordering on beautiful, Orlando Bloom. His makeup artists and wig makers made him ethereally beautiful as the elves would have been and changed his look dramatically. When I saw him on a talk show, I was surprised to learn that he was a dark eyed brunette. Still gorgeous but not the long blond haired elf he portrayed in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. His posters were sold everywhere and he soared to stardom very quickly because of hisbeauty in the movie. He should definitely thank his makeup artist.

Without Max Factor and his makeup creations, Hollywood would lack the glamour that has made it the Magic Factory that has given us so much enjoyment all these many years. Max Factor's makeup enabled ordinary looking people to look pretty and feel good about themselves. Of course, today there are countless makeup companies, but they all owe their success to Max Factor, the creator of all the tools we need for beauty.

Celebrity Makeup

Technorati Tags: Esca Makeup, Celebrities Without Makeup, Makeup Tips

• Hollywood Makeup Magic
• ESCA Makeup
• 60s Makeup Look
• 80s Makeup
• 1920s Make Up
• Celebrities With No Makeup
• Cleopatra Makeup
• DHC Cosmetics
• Discount Mac Cosmetics
• Dramatic Eye Makeup
• Egyptian Makeup
• Estee Lauder Makeup
• Flirt Cosmetics
• Gothic Eye Makeup Tips
• How To Apply Eye Makeup
• Miessence Cosmetics
• Mime Makeup
• Palm Beach Wedding Makeup
• Punk Makeup
• Special Makeup Effects
• Vanity Makeup Tables
• Who Invented Makeup
• Makeup Tips
• Makeup Artists
• Lon Chaney



• Social Bookmark This Page
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• Privacy Policy
• Sitemap