e.l.f. Discovery

HOW TO ACHIEVE A GROOVY ‘70'S MAKEUP LOOK

By Jeanette Crutchfield

The beginning of the ‘70s was all about the “flower power” hippie movement where the focus was on a natural, barely there, almost invisible complexion. The look was anchored by sheer, hardly noticeable foundation in super soft natural textures.

The idea was to disguise any signs of texture on the skin to get a poreless looking finish. This is a trend we can easily take into today as the focus on skin looking natural and healthy is one that’s always in style.

Step 1: Apply Face Primer

Start with an illuminous face primer that will give you that groovy glow. Then apply your favorite foundation to achieve your own natural, no makeup-makeup look.

Step 2: Apply Eyeshadow

For eye makeup, the hippies of the 70s took “flower power” literally and used colors they would find in nature to accent their eyes. Think gorgeous matte earth tones symbolizing the ground where flowers grow. Lush greens like the leaves, bright blue eyeshadow like the sky, and shimmery eyeshadow in the golden yellows of the sun. The idea was to make your eyes as colorful as possible, which sometimes included drawing actual flowers around your eyes and on your face.

Have fun and be creative when using eyeshadow shades. For a colorful and easy way to achieve a ‘70s eye makeup look, try putting a matte nude-brown eyeshadow all over your eye, a shimmery golden yellow on the inner corner of your eye, bright blue eyeshadow in your crease, and smudge a forest green eyeshadow under your lower lashes. There really are no limits, so play around with the colors and have some fun.

For all the retro shades you could possibly need to recreate this look and more, try the Perfect 10 Eyeshadow Palette in “So Bright Now,” as well as our cream eyeshadows and shadow sticks that come in plenty of groovy colors.

Step 3: Apply Sheer Lip Balm

Lips of the groovy ‘70s were sheer and barely there, but they had a lot of sheen to them. The emphasis of the era was always on the eye makeup, so lips stayed more subdued. That doesn’t mean they were completely ignored though. Lip balms were all the rage in the time of flower power. People kept lip balms everywhere and used them constantly to keep their lips looking sheen and hydrated all day long.

Try our Squeeze Me Lip Balm for the perfect amount of hydration and sheen on the lips. It’s infused with nourishing ingredients like shea butter, hyaluronic acid, and goji berry to help keep your pout plump and hydrated. You can also use it as a dewy highlighter to keep that fresh skin look going strong.