New Year's Beauty Plan

The New Year is the perfect time to see how you are coming in your Beauty Plan, according to our resident expert Ruth Murrin from Good Housekeeping. Objectively you should evaluate yourself and see how you are coming along. I did just that. Murrin's steps were:

Know exactly how you look now. Use mirrors, lights, and snapshots to do this

I think I know. Snapshots are very telling.

Determine your best points and how to show them off

Hmmm . . . I have gotten compliments on my hair and legs, so I would have to go with those. I particularly love my hair color (auburn which unfortunately is starting to go white).

Acknowledge your worst points and figure out how to correct them.

Too many. Where to begin? Basically everything except my hair color.

Know your ideal and try to figure out how to get there

My ideal is the lovely Rita Hayworth, of course! But how does one become a Love Goddess?

Some things to correct, according to Ruth:

Overweight or distressing thinness

Flat chest

Thick waist and diaphragm

Bad carriage

Careless grooming

Frizzy, lifeless hair

Stringy, oily hair

Stiff waves

Too-short cut

Muddy complexion

Hard make-up

No make-up

Shaggy eyebrows

Colorless lashes

Pasty powder

Smeared lipstick

Downward lines on an older face

Rough hands

Unkempt nails

No polish

Wrong tone of polish

I could definitely work on all of these, but the no make-up one is probably my worst fault on the list. Here's to new beginnings!

If Your a Brunette - Colors You Look Fabulous In!

The black-haired, dark-eyed women in this group can wear either black or rich brown as a basic color. Becoming to them also are white, peach, apricot, brick Chinese red, russet, sage green, bright greens provided they do not make the skin seem sallow, mustard, burnt orange, henna, tan, and beige.

Norma Shearer

If the hair is medium brown, skin is tanned, and eyes are blue or gray, brown is the most flattering basic color, especially in tobacco and in russet shades. Other flattering colors are dull gold, dusty rose, woodsy greens, soft dull blue and muted orange-reds.

Gail Patrick And now, to end on an optimistic note - no brunette need envy a blonde. Her type of beauty wears better, is not so fragile, and she can flaunt it more - use more daring perfume, brighter make-up, more striking coiffures. But she does have to work a little harder to get her effects! Gail Patrick

This ends lovely Ruth Murrin's beauty advice based on hair color. I hope this gives everyone ideas for how to be a fabulous 1938 beauty.

Carmen Miranda

I've been reading some fun vintage beauty and house keeping books from the 1930s and 1940s. Not sure what I will be posting next, but possibly some advice from one of the vintage books.

Ann Blythe

If you are a brunette - Makeup tips Part 2

By far the largest number of brunettes have warm coloring. Their skin tone ranges from light olive to a deep tan.

They look best when they use dark rachel, beige, ocher, or tan powder as dark as their complexions. Lighter powder makes this type of skin look muddy.

A yellowish cast can be avoided by choosing shades livened with red. Lipstick and rouge should be orange-red, the intensity of tone depending on the vividness of the individual.

Many women of this type look best without rouge. Mascara should be black or brown and eye shadow green, gray, or brown.

If You Are a Brunette - Coloring Part 1

Here's a Ruth Murrin's 1938 take on Brunette coloring - Part 1

With a clear complexion and shiny dark hair set off by perfect grooming, a brunette has a fine start. But to complete the picture, she must know her color schemes. There are warm brunettes and cool brunettes, and a girl must know to which side she belongs.

The most famous example of the cool group is the Irish type - black or dark brown hair, milky skin, pink cheeks, blue eyes. She looks best with creamy powder, rose rouge and lipstick, black mascara, blue eye shadow. She wears blue beautifully in every shade except harsh, bright blue. Powder blue is especially becoming. Black and navy are good basic colors for her, and she can wear purple bluish orchid, turquoise, gray, rose, ruby, and emerald.

Then there is the dark-haired, brown-eyed girl whose medium skin has lots of pink in it. Her best make-up is a pinky rachel powder, medium bluish red rouge and lipstick, black mascara, brown, purple, or green eye shadow. She like her "cool" sister avoids brown and chooses black or navy as her basic color. She looks well in bluish greens, bright jade green, warm pinkish gray, deep blue, pure soft yellow, crimson, American Beauty, wine, and all the deep bluish reds.

Part 2 coming soon!

Blondes: Makeup and Skin Care

Make-up is a very important part of looking put together. Today, we will look at a Blonde's ideal skin and makeup routine, according to Ruth Murrin in 1940s editions of Good Housekeeping.

Some blondes have an opaque magnolia type of skin as hardy as any brunette's. But most of them have the thin, delicate complexion that won't stand neglect. A girl with this typical blonde skin can't afford to be careless about cleansing. She must guard constantly against blackheads. It is difficult for her to prevent freckles, but she should do what she can with protective make-up bases, sunburn preventives, shade hats, and long sleeves. Crinkles and lines lie in wait for her if she doesn't watch out, so from her teens on she must use cream every day of her life.

Gossamer powders are best for the transparent-skinned blonde because they enhance her delicate air, and all her make-up should be applied with a light hand. Just enough rouge to give her cheeks a faintly rosy hue; enough mascara to make the fringe of her lashes noticeable without being prominent; vague eye shadow, soft lipstick - that's her prescription.

Overemphasis in any one of these strikes a strident note which can be quite disastrous to subtle blonde harmonies.

Flesh and natural powder look well on pink-and-white skins, and cream or light rachel on fair eggshell complexions. Soft violet-pink rouge and lipstick, blue eye shadow, and brown mascara complete the typical palette recommended for blondes.

But some blondes like their complexions to be, as they say, more "substantial." They like a darker beige or rachel powder, and with many costumes prefer to use rouge and lipstick in coral or nasturtium tones that have a slight orange cast. In either case their aim should always be to keep make-up gentle and to key it nicely with the colors that they wear.




I was curious about a few things that I was not familiar with. One of them is what "rachel powder" is. From what I could find, it appears to be face powder. The below is an example of Coty's Rachel 2 (a Medium Ivory Shade)

I was also curious about what "nasturtium" was. For what I could find, Nasturtium is a flower. It can be grown in containers or in vines. They come in several colors. From the context of the advice, I think they are referring to the orange ones.

As a side note, being a blonde sounds difficult. From the skin care bit, it sounds like blondes get wrinkly granny skin the second they hit puberty. And ya'll know my freckle policy - I love them. Curious about blue eye shadow as well. I know I couldn't pull it off. Good thing I'm a redhead!

Tomorrow's lesson for Blondes - Colors that Flatter

Redheads Lipstick Harmony

Lipstick is a huge part of any girl's wardrobe. Gook Housekeeping's Beauty Clinic from the 1930s has plenty of advice for use Redheads about the proper use of lipstick:

Remember your bright hair dominates your personality. It's your keynote. Play up to it and take advantage of every ounce of glory it can give you. You know that if you put orange zinnias and pink roses in the same vase, the effect is terrible. In the same way a rosy-pink lipstick would clash with your hair. Always choose one on the orange side. If your topknot would clash with your hair. Always choose one on the orange side. If your topknot is flaming red, the orange note in your lips can be pronounced, but it your hair is sandy red or a soft russet, the color must be soft geranium red. There is a wide variety of shades you should investigate - brownish-red, rust, nasturtium, and brownish-red. One of them may be just what you need to complete the picture.

My mom (a redhead in her own right), has always used an orangish lipstick. I always wondered why, because I don't usually see orangish lipstick on that many people. Apparently, she was right as usual :)

I have never been able to get blush right. I blush so easy naturally, so it always seems useless to use it, but sometimes it is necessary. Here is Ruth Murrin's 1930;s advice:

There is one exception to the rule that redheads should use rouge and lipstick of an orange-red tone - the girl with fair skin and dark mahogany red hair. A raspberry or even darker lipstick may be charming for her,

Should you use cheek rouge? No, if your hair is a bright, strong color. Yes, if your coloring is pale and your hair is a light, sundry shade.

Cream or light facial powder is the choice of most fair redheads, but there are types of olive complexions or countless freckles who look better with a beige or punky-ocher powder. Nobody can advise you specifically about this. Try different shades and find the most becoming one.

As someone with auburn, reddish hair, I have found that cosmetics are basically hit and miss. There is a lot of trial and error involved. You think you find the perfect cosmetics, get it home, try, it out, and its terrible and you feel like your wasted a bunch of money.

You may have scanty lashes and colorless eyebrows. Lots of redheads do. But you need not worry. A little practice with a brow pencil , black or brown mascara, and brown or green eyeshadow and your eyes will not be overwhelmed by the brilliance of your hair.


Unfortunately this info doesn't work for me. Eye makeup just irritates me to much. I have pretty decent brows, so I groom them. I read somewhere to use a bit of Vaseline to bring out your eyes and eyebrows by putting a small amount of it on the eyebrows, eyelashes, eyelids, etc. Seems to be doing the trick so far.!

If you like the deep tones of nail polish, there are many good shades from which to choose. Rust, suntan, ten rose, cherry and all the soft orange-red shades are good possibilities for you.

Again, I am totally boring. I usually only where a clean layer. Boring! I do occasionally wear red, but it gets chipped so easily because all the lifting I do at the library, that the manicure is ruined by the time I get home.

Tomorrow's Last Red Headed Lesson - The Colors You Wear

Red Head Beauty Skin Care

Ruth Murin, who wrote a monthly beauty column in Good Housekeeping, addresses Redheaded beauties this month. She acknowledges, that most of the time us poor redheads are ignored in favor of blonds and brunettes, so Murrin attempts to remedy this.

Because Redhead's skin is so fair, it "coarsens readily, wrinkles early, and freckles with maddening ease". A Redhead's skin needs at least one good cleaning a day with soap and water to keep it fresh and clear. Use a Bland cream at other times or even an Oatmeal mask that is neutral for sensitive skin. Use a great lubricating cream and night and be sure to protect your face from sun, wind, and cold weather.

No sunbathing! "You must shield your face and cover up your back and arms if you want to save them from permanent freckles." Be sure to protect your skin at all costs in order to maintain as ideal skin as possible.

"Whether your hair is red-gold, sand, brick, copper, or carrot, it is important for you to see red - really see it and recognize it as orange or a true red or one with a note of blue. If you don't know the difference between geranium and rose, vermilion and carmine, you probably will go haywire when you choose your lipstick and clothes."

Tomorrow's Lesson - Lipstick and Makeup for Redheads