Looking Good

Like all trends, ’80s Makeup Trends seemed normal at the
time, but looking back by twenty years or so, we can see the
difference in the apparent natural look of today. In the
eighties, women were coming into their own as far as work-
place issues were concerned, and the trends were towards
ultra-smooth color on the face, bright eye and lip shades and
plenty of make-up. The combination of workplace politics and
cheap fluorescent lighting played absolute hell with women’s
makeup, turning foundations and eye shadows (blue was popular)
into strange colors indeed. And makeup was important if you
wanted to be taken seriously. It was quite usual for a woman
to apply a full set of makeup—foundation, powder, lipstick and
liner, mascara, eyeliner and eye shadow—to go to work. Like
most fads, 80s makeup trends looked good: nowadays, women who
make up that heavily look like they have something to hide.

For the perfect eighties theme party costume…

But if you’re going to an 80’s style retro party, you can
easily create the eighties look. Fashions are easy: a matching
dress or skirt suit with big shoulder pads, preferably in a
bright color is a good start. Heels are imperative, and hair
should be big and fluffy but very controlled. Remember, the
’80s look is all about minimizing flaws but maximizing power.
It was the decade of the woman’s power suit, along with power
lipsticks in bright reds and power perfumes heavy on the
oriental floral scents. Need a model? For a perfect ’80s hair
style and suits, look at reruns of Designing Women.

Put some glamour into your eighties look…

But if you’re looking to do something more glam, Madonna is
your model. Not the Madonna of today, with her London-Pilates-
yoga chic, but the younger, earthy, in-your-face fashionista
who successful combined wedding gowns with soldier boots. Any
woman who was a teen in the eighties probably has a mental
picture of Madonna that makes ordinary eighties clothing and
makeup look like something from another century. Madonna wore
makeup, all right, but she wasn’t afraid to tear it up with
plenty of white foundation and stark black eyeliners. Eighties
fashion for the fashionable was all about extremes: shock had
its value, and the idea that everyday women were wearing
shoulder pads and big brass buttons to claim their share of the
glass ceiling workplace was laughable. There was an interesting
thing happening in the 1980’s: some women were trying to climb
the corporate ladder while others were trying to capitalize on
a sort of brooding sexuality. The combination was confusing,
since the clothes were hard edged but the faces were hidden
under piles of makeup. It’s almost like women had taken up full
body and face armor to meet the wars of the workplace.

80s hair and make-up styles…

Glam came along in the 1980s, and the cosmetic and clothing
fashions were a combination of Star Trek and an Illinois Human
Resources convention. Glam makeup practically preceded the wearer
into the room: we’re talking eyes so smoky they teared from all
the goopy makeup, and big, pillowy, pouty lips, the kind of lips
that say, “kiss me and then I’ll sue you for sexual harassment”.
The average woman put on a lot of makeup, did things to her hair
with curling irons and bright hair dye color, blow dryers and
three kinds of gel, and then it was time to do her eyebrows.

More 80’s fashion and outfit ideas…

Other 80’s styles included workout gear, because the 80’s was
the time when aerobics really hit the big time. Jane Fonda’s
workout video made leg warmers a must-have, and it became
fashionable to be thin so you could look really great in your
gym wear. We saw the advent of lavender jogging suits for women,
millions of cross trainers and meaningless little visors for
running in the sun while it burned the top of your head.
Sunglasses were big, so big in fact, that they reduced the
wearer’s face to the size of a bug’s. Indoor glasses were also
big and round, covering from cheek to eyebrow and resulting in
glasses wearers pouring on even more eye makeup than ever before.