Immaculately groomed, defined and uber-polished, nothing beats 1950s hair and make-up for pure, ladylike elegance.

Here, in the second of our iconic look videos , make-up legend Mary Greenwell shows us how to recreate 1950s sophistication but with a modern 2013 twist using Chanel make-up.

The key to the look is to create fresh, super-luminous skin (instead of the thick pan-stick foundations women would have worn in the fifties), which adds a modern lightness and youthfulness that would not have been possible with make-up textures back in the mid 20th century. Mary also uses slightly unconventional eye shades and layers two red lipsticks to give the look an edge.

All products by Chanel - Mary used:

Face

Eclat Lumiere Highlighter Face Pen in 20 Beige Clair  , £27.00

Vitalumiere Eclat Comfort Radiance Compact Makeup SPF 10 in Beige ,  £45.00

Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Candy Blush , £31.00

Eyes

Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow in No.8 Vanites , £38.00

Pinceau Brosse Sourcils No. 11 Brow / Lash Brush , £17.00

Le Crayon Kohl Intense Eye Pencil in 62 Ambre , £17.00

Le Crayon Kohl Intense Eye Pencil in 69 Clair,  £17.00

Sublime de Chanel Infinite Length and Curl Mascara in 10 Deep Black , £24.00

Crayon Sourcils Sculpting Eyebrow Pencil in 30 Brun Nature , £19.00

Lips

Le Crayon Levres Precision Lip Definer in 57 Rouge Profond , £17.50

Rouge Allure Luminous Intense Lip Colour Lipstick in 97 Incandescente , £25.00

Rouge Allure Luminous Intense Lip Colour in 96 Excentrique , £25.00

Credits

Words: Susannah Taylor

Make-up: Mary Greenwell at Premier Hair and Make-up

More Gloss

Beauty
18 September 2023  
Beauty
14 September 2023   Sarah-Jane Corfield-Smith
Wellbeing
13 September 2023   Kerry Potter & Melanie Macleod
Beauty
11 September 2023   Sarah-Jane Corfield-Smith
Skin
7 September 2023   Ingeborg van Lotringen
Makeup
7 September 2023   Jessica Morgan and Sarah-Jane Corfield-Smith
Beauty
5 September 2023   Cassie Powney and Sarah-Jane Corfield-Smith
Explore More