Daily Mail Features Atom Retro in 50 years of Femail Sixties Makeup Article
Photo: John Godwin / Daily Mail
"The Sixties were about a dramatic approach to beauty. [...] The smokey eye is like a little black dress — it will never go out of fashion."
- Charlotte Tilbury, makeup artist.
Clothing supplied by Atom Retro was recently featured in a Daily Mail article, celebrating 50 years of the Daily Mail's Femail lifestyle supplement. Femail launched in 1968 and to celebrate it's golden anniversary the Daily Mail is taking another look at some of their archive articles from the 1960s.
For the article, 'Smokey eyes summed up the rebellious glamour of the Sixties - and we still love it!', a look back at a sixties makeup article discussing that iconic 'Smokey eyes' 1960s fashion and comparing a contemporary 60s article on how to acheive that retro look, the Daily Mail selected a Marmalade 1960s mod Airline style dress in navy with contrast white belt.
In the article, journalist and writer, Alice Smellie compared modern makeup with what was available in the 1960s with contributions and comments from A-list makeup artist, Charlotte Tilbury, Hannah Adkins, an archivist for makeup company, Coty and novelist, Judy Astley who had turned 18 in 1968.
"This was the decade when eye make-up really stood out. [...] Everyone wanted to experiment with looks and, in the post-war period, mass production really kicked off. New colours and synthetic ingredients were being developed and it became easier to manufacture cosmetics in large quantities. Everyone was battling to create the most exciting mascara or eye shadow."
- Hannah Adkins, Archivist for Coty.
Archive article from Femail in the 1960s.
Photo: Daily Mail
"We couldn’t wait to be old enough to wear make-up. Aged 14, I could be found hiding in the phone box around the corner from my parents’ house in London, applying eyeshadow in the tiny mirror they used to have in there. I remember seeing the smokey eye on Biba posters in 1966. Biba also had mail order catalogues I used to drool over with my friends — for the make-up as much as the clothes."
- Judy Astley, novelist.
The article also contained tips on how to achieve the 60s smokey eyes look with modern makeup - a lot easier to day than then, as powdered eye shadow was not readily available in the 1960s. Women back then only had cream makeup to work with.
"‘Make-up was far simpler in the Fifties and early Sixties. Eyeshadows were greasy creams. But, by the end of the decade, we had powder products, pioneered by Mary Quant, that were far lighter on the skin and easier to blend."
- Lynne Sanders, the founder of Cosmetics a la Carte.
Quotes are from 'Smokey eyes summed up the rebellious glamour of the Sixties - and we still love it!' by Alice Smellie, published in the Daily Mail on 15th November 2018.
