The Look of a Pin Up Girl
Look back at Hollywood's heyday and you'll find a number of women whose bathing suit-clad posters kept soldiers company during World War II and beyond. The typical pin-up girl could be blonde or brunette, hair color is not as important as style. These ladies almost always had a pretty face and a voluptuous figure, for example:
- Betty Grable
- Betty Page
- Rita Hayworth
- Hedy Lamarr
- Ava Gardner
The bullet bras so popular during that era helped make the most of a pin up's figure, but her fresh faced beauty is part of what captivated soldiers, magazine readers and movie audiences.
How to Do Pin Up Girl Makeup
You don't have to love everything retro to appreciate a pin up girl look from time to time. Try these tips the next time you want to be the sexy girl-next-door:
- Begin with a smooth canvas: Use foundation to even out your complexion and follow up with a dusting of loose powder. Although heavy foundation was in vogue at the time, modern options are much lighter and beneficial to your skin.
- Eye-catching brows: Brush your eyebrows into place and color in any sparse areas with eyebrow pencil. Pin up girls usually had dark, dramatic brows, no matter the color of their hair. Also, don't forget that high arch. This may require tweezing or waxing to get rid of any stray hairs.
- Eye makeup: This is not the time to create a smoky eye; instead, your eye makeup should be light, with the exception of eyeliner. Sweep a natural colored eye shadow all over your lids, using a slightly darker color in the crease to create some depth if desired. Apply liquid or gel black eyeliner in a thin line on your upper lids, extending the line just past the outer corners. Add a few coats of black mascara to curled lashes, or go for the full glam look with fake lashes.
- Light blush: Use a blush brush to apply sweeping pink or peach color to your cheeks.
- Lips to die for: No pin up girl would be seen without her bright red lipstick, so choose a rich red shade that works well with your complexion. Line your lips with a red lip liner and then fill in with the red lipstick of your choice. Your lip color shouldn't be too glossy, but have a slight shine to it.
- Options: Add a dark beauty mole high on one cheek or on one side of your chin. If you want to get into full pin up girl mode, fashion your hair into a 1940s-era style, either with full, thick bangs and a slight curve at the ends of shoulder length hair or with lots of loose curls and a big flower pinned onto one side.
Update the Look
Maybe you're into vintage and rockabilly—if so; your pin up look will fit right in. However, you don't have to shop at vintage stores and look for fashions from the 50s all the time to want to try pin up makeup. This is a fun look for nighttime and even one that works in the day; just skip the false eyelashes for the office. It's a makeup look that's sultry and innocent at the same time, allowing you to be the typical girl-next-door who's also full of va-va-voom!
