1980s Makeup Looks

Runway makeup takes its cues from the 80s

Dust off the legwarmers and the crimping iron and get ready to make a splash. Eighties makeup is back in a big way. The runway shows at Dior, Prada and Marc Jacobs were veritable tributes to hardcore 80s glamour with a punk edge. You don't neccessarily have to channel David Bowie or Debbie Harry to look the part of an 80s rockstar (but seriously who are we to stop you)? Have fun with these intensely colorful ideas or try on 1980s makeup in our virtual makeup studio.

Fuchsia lips are a classic, albeit wildly colorful, nod to eighties trends. In a pinch, you can apply eye shadow directly to the lips in lieu of lipstick—that way you will have a larger color spectrum from which to choose (lipsticks rarely come in blue or green, but this way you can create your own). Mix the shadow with vaseline to create the texture of lipstick.

The last thing you want to do is look like you’re not wearing makeup.  Forget everything your mama ever told you about beauty, and go eighties extreme in a foundation a few shades lighter than your natural skin tone and a stark black eyeliner, paired with neon orange eye shadow and raging faux lashes. Rockstar-inspired colors know no bounds: their value is in their shock factor. Experiment with a smoky eye in electric pink or eighties blue, instead of your usual brown or charcoal and fill in your brows so that they look extra bushy. Apply clear lip gloss to your lids for futuristic shine

To get hair that’s unmistakably 80s, but a wee more modern, take a crimping iron to strategic parts of hair that's already curled: crimping just around the face or in intervals will give your hair fullness without looking like someone ran over it with a Big Rig. -Stephanie Simons

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