Marilyn Monroe Makeup

Happy Monday!

I've always wanted to do an "icon" series with makeup.  I guess Marilyn Monroe is a pretty fine place to start :)  On June 1st, the bombshell would have been 86 years old.  In her honor, I watched "My Week with Marilyn".  After watching, I am still intrigued.  She is flawless yet ever so vulnerable, and what girl can't relate to that?  She has proven that sexiness doesn't mean you have to be a size 0 and that despite one's perception of her perfection, she was a wounded woman. 

Marilyn Monroe's make-up artist, Allan "Whitey" Snyder, did her make-up from her very first screen test at 20th Century Fox to doing her funeral make-up.

Here are some tips from the one and only...MM.

Highlighting Tips:

She used a powder to highlight certain spots on her face that she liked to accentuate.   

For clients that are being photographed, I use a matte highlight that comes in the smashbox contouring kit.

 

 

 

$45

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Buy it here: Smashbox Contour Kit

Lip Tricks:

She used up to 5 different red lipsticks at once to get her perfect red mouth.  Her make-up artist would draw above the top lip curve with a white eyeliner (use a nude if you are a darker skinned gal) to make it look larger and more highlighted.

 

 

Also, she extended her top lip liner out at an angle above her lower lip (take a peek at the pic above!).

They would also dab a white eyeshadow in the center of her lips to make them look fuller and grab the light, as you can see in the photo above!

 

EyeBrow Tips:

 

 

Marilyn's eyebrows were drawn into very pointed eyebrows, which was because she thought she had a wide forehead (...women and their insecurities), and adding such sharp peaks makes it look like your forehead doesn't take up so much room.  

Eyeliner Tips:

This is my favorite. Her MA would draw in a white triangle on the outer corner of her eye with a white eyeliner, and blend it outwards to brighten the eye.  He also lined the waterline of her lower eye with white eyeliner, this was a very popular trick in that era (50's), to make the eyes look bigger and brighter on camera!

 

Next they usually used a brown eyeliner (contrary to all the popular Marilyn looks that use black), and drew the liner like I show in the red above, and slightly below the eye--LEAVING the white space on the corner UNTOUCHED. This trick makes the eye look wider, in combination with drawing the top eyeliner out longer. Gives it a doll-like feel. Obsessed.

Absolute perfection.  

I'll leave you with this MM quote...

Until next time...

Xo