The Best '60s Makeup Trends to Try

makeup - 60s trends to try — (Image credit: Getty Images)

As a response to the more buttoned-up 50s, the 60s ushered in a real variety of aesthetics. From the London-inspired, mod fashion scene at the beginning of the decade to the groovy flower child looks that dominated the end of the decade, there were many more ways to express yourself. This was true for makeup trends, too. It was a time of bigger, bolder looks, from bright eyeshadow and graphic eyeliner to big eyelashes and soft but dramatic eyebrows. Of all the decades, this one is the easiest to emulate without looking like a caricature, especially since there are less dramatic, more everyday iterations of the most iconic looks from that time. Here, the best '60s makeup trends to try, if you love the decade's aesthetic.

No-Makeup Makeup

Pioneer of the no-makeup look, Joni Mitchell eschewed some of the "bigger" trends we saw in this decade (graphic eyeliner, big lashes, etc.). Her minimalistic aesthetic—maybe a touch of color on the lips and mascara, with a clear complexion—is one of those forever classic looks.

Top and Bottom Liner

Putting strong eyeliner on the top and bottom of your lid can make it look smaller, so it might not be for everyone. But, as we see on Audrey Hepburn, the key is to go with thick, voluminous lashes on top and minimize color elsewhere on the face.

Graphic Lines

It wasn't only women who were makeup trendsetters! Mick Jagger was flamboyant and unabashed in his look, and frankly he's nailing it here with a carefully lined lip, light highlighter, and lots of black eyeliner. The look is graphic, maximalist makeup to perfection.

White Eyeshadow

White eyeshadow can be admittedly tough to pull off: It's so light and reflective that it can look jarring. So it's important to add contrast—a darker color lining the crease, as we see here, plus loads of black eyeliner and false eyelashes. (And it's still probably not an everyday look.)

A Teeny Cat-Eye

Here, the mini-mini-wing is so sweet that it's almost twee (it matches the florals in this photo perfectly). But the spiky, asymmetric eyelashes help "toughen" the look up a bit, as does the deeper lip color. Keeping the rest of the face natural—including the eyebrows—helps keep it from being over the top.

Contrasting Liner

Diahann Carroll is giving us a highly emulatable look here, in part because of the striking color of her eyeliner. Her brows are brown, and her lips and cheeks are a complementary pink; even her bottom eyelid liner is a softer color. Then, a strong black cat eye on top can be the focal point.

Thicker Brows

Top model Lauren Hutton demonstrates that thick brows are not a modern invention (this photo was taken circa 1967!). The beauty is in the messiness. They're not so perfectly done—you see a few stray hairs here and there—that they look eminently natural.

Short and Smokey

Helen Mirren (both now and when she was younger) is a fashion icon for the ages. She has a smokey eye on the top of her lid, but it's subtle, only visible at the outer corner. This is a great look if you also happen to have hooded eyelids, wherein the eyeshadow disappears when you open your eyes.

A Long Wing

Barbra Streisand had a deep and dramatic makeup look to match her personality. It honestly feels quite modern (it wouldn't be out of place on a makeup-heavy show like Euphoria, for example) and was apparently inspired by the look of mythical women.

Deep Berry

No matter what colors happen to be "fashionable" for the moment, a deep berry color feels luscious—even if you're not matching your coat, as in this photo (although it's a nice bonus). A more modern iteration of the look would be to make the lips unlined and a bit more smudged.

Bright Blue

Jean Shrimpton, who was one of the major models of the '60s, adds just a dash of color to her eyes here. This is a good way to utilize blue on your lids; too much, and it can look like Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, but a gentle brush of color is vivid without being over-the-top.

Dark Brows

Ann-Margret had some very bright, brassy blonde hair, so brows with a gentle arch and contrasting color helped draw focus to her face. The "blonde hair, brown eyebrows" look is not new, but it lets the eyes and face match the maximalism of the hair.

Touches of Gold

This feels a bit like a '50s throwback (and this photo was taken circa 1960, so that tracks). Technically, this is a plum color on the lips with gold face powder to offset the deep color and make the face look brighter. Powder can sometimes look drying, but the right shade can make you glow.

Light Brows

While the '60s leaned in on graphic makeup—colorful lips, bold eyes—it wasn't necessarily a decade that focused on heavily made up brows. Case in point: There's a lot of eye makeup here and a pretty pink lip, but the brows are almost completely natural. It's a nice contrast.

Almost-'70s

In the late '60s, we can see the seeds of the following decade: big lashes (on top and bottom!), glossy lips, tanned skin, and more blush. The lashes don't have to be quite so big to emulate this aesthetic, but otherwise this look is actually pretty cohesive.

Pink Lips

While the '60s may be most well-known for its frosted, nude lips, there was also an impressive array of lip colors available. Peach-pink (this is Estee Lauder) helps draw the eyes towards the lips instead of hyper-focusing on the length of the eyelashes.

Red Blush

Jean Shrimpton helpfully illustrates why blush with a touch of red in it (mirrored in her red coat) can actually look really great. This decade didn't necessarily over-emphasize the cheeks, instead opting for a natural flush—red blush does that extremely well.

A Strong Brow

The arch of the '60s eyebrow was both gentle and dramatic, with a nice balance between well-defined and unobtrusive. Barbara McNair shows us how it's done in this photo: The arch is strong, and it's almost s-shaped, but it's also not sharp or overly filled-in.

Pink Lip Liner

The defined, closed-off lip was certainly popular in this decade—there was nothing messy or smudged about it. The darker liner and lighter, shinier lip interior would work just as well now, just with a bit more blending and a slightly higher line on the top lip.

Spiky, Top and Bottom

Natalie Wood had big, soulful eyes, so she was a big proponent of the "doe-eyed" makeup look: big, spiky mascara on top and bottom lids (plus false lashes, in this case) to make her eyes look even wider and more innocent. Keeping the rest of her face relatively neutral helps increase the impact of her eyes.

Smokey Sweep

The graphic eyeshadow trend was alive and well in the '60s. Marsha Hunt, seen here with a gorgeous afro, continues the maximalism in her eye makeup with white eyeshadow and chunky dark shadow sweeping up towards her brow bone. Plus, big, '60s-worthy lashes.

'Nude' Lips

"Frosted lips" remain one of those trends where, if it's not subtle, it can look a little cartoonish. I think Ali MacGraw (here posing for Glamour in 1967) is making it work by having her lips still be pink—and therefore visible. If you wanted to try this look today, you'd benefit by having even more color.

Overdone Lashes

There's big lashes, and then there's these lashes on Marisa Berenson. This is unsurprisingly for a photoshoot (Vogue, 1966) and is probably not what you'd reach for as an everyday look. But the main premise still applies: Big, big eyelashes are always a gorgeous focal point.

A Lot of Color

A big, black, sweeping smokey eye is very '60s, but notably the look is still soft and dimensional with a lot of blending. This could make for a great "night out" look, without going quite so high onto the brow bone and opting for shorter fake lashes.

Sharp Wings

While a sleek, sharp eyeliner wasn't always in vogue in this decade, The Supremes (specifically Diana Ross on our right) were playing with geometric shapes before it was mainstream. Worth noting: The sharp liner goes with the blunt bob perfectly, which is part of the appeal.

Double Wing

If you feel like an artistic, painterly eyeliner is too "out there" for you, let Twiggy convince you otherwise. The dark eyeliner at the lash line is mirrored in a lined upper crease, but it all feels cohesive thanks to the thick lashes on top and bottom.

Deep Lips, Dark Eyes

One of our biggest '60s icons, Sophia Loren, had a "bedhead" look that helped define her aesthetic. Her winged eyeliner is more "siren" than it is "doe" (meaning it's sharper and longer than the other looks on this list). Combined with the rich lip color, it makes for a very sultry vibe.

A Gorgeous Design

Lola Falana is urging us all here to just go for it, in terms of eye makeup. While this shape is obviously quite intense (and would take some practice—and makeup remover—to master), the softness of the rest of her makeup keeps it from looking too costume-y.

A Throwback Red

This early '60s magazine photo (Glamour, 1961) is a throwback to the classic '50s red lip; it's just a deeper, richer version. This red has a touch of blue in it, making it feel closer to burgundy. The blush, with a matching touch of red, helps complete the look.

Soft and Smokey

On the opposite end of the spectrum to the "extremely graphic eyeliner," here we have "deeply smokey, smudged eyeshadow." It's probably not a surprise that this image is from the late '60s (Mademoiselle, 1969), wherein makeup artists were playing with the conventions of the decade.

Messy Liner

Part of Brigitte Bardot's appeal was the casualness of her look: this included her eyeliner, which felt a bit drawn-on and imperfect (as if she just did her makeup quickly and dashed out the door, probably to do something glamorous). This deeply graphic but casual style remains classic to this day.

A Little Color Everywhere

Few people defined the '60s more than Jane Birkin—and not just for her clothes. Her French vibe extended to her makeup, too, with her classic-casual-undone aesthetic. Here, her lips are unlined, she's got a warm flush to her cheeks, and her eyes are graphic (white eyeshadow, lined at the lid and the crease) without being excessive.

Katherine’s a contributing syndications editor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle. In her role, she writes stories that are syndicated by MSN and other outlets. She’s been a full-time freelancer for over a decade and has had roles with Cosmopolitan (where she covered lifestyle, culture, and fashion SEO content) and Bustle (where she was their movies and culture writer). She has bylines in New York Times, Parents, InStyle, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Her work has also been syndicated by ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, and Women’s Health, among others. In addition to her stories reaching millions of readers, content she's written and edited has qualified for a Bell Ringer Award and received a Communicator Award.

Katherine has a BA in English and art history from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in art business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art (with a focus on marketing/communications). She covers a wide breadth of topics: she's written about how to find the very best petite jeans, how sustainable travel has found its footing on Instagram, and what it's like to be a professional advice-giver in the modern world. Her personal essays have run the gamut from learning to dress as a queer woman to navigating food allergies as a mom. She also has deep knowledge of SEO/EATT, affiliate revenue, commerce, and social media; she regularly edits the work of other writers. She speaks at writing-related events and podcasts about freelancing and journalism, mentors students and other new writers, and consults on coursework. Currently, Katherine lives in Boston with her husband and two kids, and you can follow her on Instagram. If you're wondering about her last name, it’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.