Evolution of Eye Makeup Looks

By October 27, 2017Beauty Trends

When looking back at the plethora of makeup trends over the last 100 years, it’s interesting to see where boundaries were broken in more prohibited times for women as well as how certain looks of rebellion and beauty have repeated. From droopy eyeliner looks to today’s eyebrow microblading and everything in between, it seems there’s no look women haven’t tried.








In the 1910s, women began to play with makeup, but in many circles of the social realm, if you wore too much (or even some), you’d appear as a prostitute. Only light, neutral palettes were used to subtly highlight features like the eyes and lips.


During the 1920s, ads for ‘The Painted Woman’ of the roaring twenties began popping up in magazines and on storefronts. Hairstyles went drastically short and curly, as women then plucked their eyebrows into extremely thin lines. The emphasis was still on the eyes, but instead of widening and brightening the eyes as we often try to do today, women used the smoky eye look heavily on their lower eyelid to make eyes appear sad.


As the 1930s came barreling in, much of the world leaped into war, which meant that makeup was a scarcity. Additionally, the south was met with The Great Depression, which meant food became more of a priority. Now, the beauties of the era on the black and white moving picture screens heavily emphasized the dark lashes and even photography seemed to want to capture the allure of a woman’s look from her eyes.


The 1940s carried on the simple, yet glam look of Hollywood females. Hair grew longer and made to appear heavenly soft as shadows through photography were made to emphasize the eyes of those stunning startlets that played on the screen thus starting our fascination with celebrities.


The 1950s brought back that brow and then some. It was all about the very dark and full brow, no matter how light your hair was at the time. Most of the average females played with mascara-brushed top eyelash lids and a bright lipstick.


As a rebellious and very personalized look, the 1960s brought to life the ultimate eye look. With heavy eyeliner that many women began to wing on their lids combined with white and dark shadows to give the full ‘cat eye’ look. Let’s not forget the falsies, and we’re talking big, long false eyelashes that made a woman sexy and unique. Well, even though every other gal was sporting the same look, but it brought about a lot of experimentation with makeup and a personalization to finding you and expressing that through your look.


If it weren’t for the 1970s would we be able to thank disco fever and the likes of Blondie for blue eyeshadow, glittered lids and basically all things shimmer? We think not. Some look back at the looks of the 1970s and cringe, but this was only the gateway to what massive hair and very bold makeup looks would come next…


Ah, yes, the 1980s when men really wanted to get on the makeup bandwagon during the hair band days. While men like Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne were donning super black lined eyes, the queen of pop, Madonna, was going for that ‘must-be-noticed-look’ as a material girl. Jewelry wasn’t the only accessory, it was about heavily painted eyebrows, lids and, not to mention, eyeliner galore!


For the average female in the 1990s-makeup settled down a bit and runway models looking barely 13-years-old wore moisturizer and mascara to get that minimalist, fresh out of bed look. You could almost say Beyoncé pulled inspiration for “Woke Up Like This” from the 90s. Of course, on the other hand, the ska and punk rocking females such as Gwen Stefani went for all things crazy and bold. From bejeweled foreheads to blue lipstick to match the hair, makeup became her signature standout accessory.


Let’s not forget that during the 1990s was the evolution of the over-plucked brow, which continued into the first part of the 2000s. Makeup during this time was all about the tanned face, bright eyes and digging in to find who you were while expressing that outwardly.


Today, in 2017, it seems that dominate looks for women have taken many cues from the previous 100 years. From heavy smoky eyes to 1970s bold eyeshadow colors, it’s become a collection of the previous decades. The only thing that isn’t trending is that thin, pencil-brow. Many women, still recovering from the over plucked eyebrow eras, are working to remedy this with a treatment known as eyebrow microblading. Learn more about this new and very flattering look here.

Let’s not bring back the 192a0s or 1990s pencil-thin brows, visit a microblading Las Vegas salon such as MicroBladers | The Art of Beauty to get the most out of your eyebrows in getting that haute look. Call or text today 702.200.2820.