1980s REVISITED: BEAUTY: Subtle it wasn't. The 1980s were about being bouffant and brassy in equal measure, writes Phyl Clarke
Of course, it all seemed perfectly normal at the time. We thought we were the bee's knees with our dense, opaque foundation, blue shimmer eye shadow, cheeks accentuated with tiger stripe blusher and glossy lips. To balance the look, hair was huge, shoulder pads big enough to provide a buffer zone, and it was a wonder we could lift our arms with all those brightly coloured bangles. They must have made an awful racket, too, but we were far too busy being hip to notice.
In the 1980s, we were living in a monochrome world. The news was depressing, the dole queues were long and it was all very drab. No wonder we escaped into the magical world of music, movies and magazines, where happy faces smiled back at us. Make-up was fun and cheap. Because the style was OTT, we didn't have to worry about going too far because we overdid everything. Happy days!
Anyone for pancake?
It was impossible to achieve a natural look with thick, liquid foundation. The choice of shades varied between a hideous chamomile pink or a perfect match for your American Tan tights. Primers were still associated with home decorating, and concealers were only used by make-up professionals. This meant that foundation was used to cover up, and resulted in a very heavy-handed finish.
Formulations were matt and unrefined, applied with a powder puff, so you were almost guaranteed to overdo it. And no light-reflecting properties meant that the look was very flat.
Send in the clowns
In the 1980s, it was recommended that you match your eye shadow with your clothes. This may sound reasonable, but when your clothing was a rainbow of bright colours and the shadow was literally popped on to the eyelid, the results could be quite startling.
Blue, blue, electric blue
Probably the most popular eyeshade of the 1980s was blue, especially when used as a bright-blue liner on the inside of the lash line. A world away from the muted shades of today.
Shiny, happy people
We watched Star Trek and got a bit carried away with the iridescent, shiny look. The boys were at it, too, Prince Charming himself, aka Adam Ant, brought new meaning to the term war paint, but we did wonder about his brand of lip gloss. Of course, we had our style guides with Dallas and Dynasty on TV every week and the brilliant Bananarama girls.
Eye of the tiger
Blending had not been perfected as a technique. Those paint-box shades on eyes were positioned carefully and then just left as they were, finished off by a heavily drawn liner. Blush was applied (usually with a sponge or puff) and was meant to stand out vividly, so no softening of lines there, either. Lips were lined with a bright colour, too, and the whole thing added up to a series of separate, brightly coloured areas.
Walk like an Egyptian
We discovered bronzer in the 1980s and a gal was not "done" until a shovelful of Egypt Wonder was striped below her blush to "contour", with liberal amounts also applied to the neck and décolleté. Was this the start of the tango tan craze?
Hair-raising days
You couldn't just go for a sweet little side parting to crown that "work of art" on your face now, could you? Hair was big and brightly coloured - damsons and plums being very popular hues - and hair was teased to the extent that you looked as though you'd been electrocuted. Mad colours on the face only added to the overall effect.