Makeup

Cosmetics came into the mainstream. Respectable women now wore rouge and powder, and in doing so, claimed themselves as sexual, attractive beings without sacrificing their good name.

Makeup was simple: pale powder and cream rouge circles on the cheek-apples; brows plucked and penciled in thin arches; lips were painted very red, emphasizing the Cupid's bow of the upper lip, and de-emphasizing the width of the lower lip, creating a rosebud pout. These "bee-stung" lips are unmistakeably characteristic of the 1920s. They could change their appearance subtly or drastically. By 1929, women were using an average of a pound of powder a year on their faces.