The ladies of Salford Angels WI stepped back in time for May’s monthly meeting, courtesy of a vintage makeup demonstration with Helen McGlasson. Helen is a nurse by day, but wanted to study makeup and started doing vintage makeup part time after taking a course. Her portfolio ranges from looks of the 1920’s, to the 1950’s, right through to modern fashion shoots with a not to vintage makeup.

WI member, Vicky, volunteered to be a model for a 1940’s makeup look that would hark back to the glamour of the golden age of Hollywood. Paper plates were passed around to act as makeup palettes as the makeup bags and brushes came out and the ladies joined in with the demonstration, making themselves and each other up along to Helens instructions.

Helen shared her tips and tricks for perfect makeup application, such as how to define your eyebrows and where they should fall in relation to the eyes and nose. We also learnt about the benefits of primer in smoothing the complexion. Priming the complexion was important in the 1940’s, as makeup was pale (not like the tanned style that has been fashionable in recent years) as these were still the days of black and white movies, when a ladies face would be bright and luminous on the cinema screen. We even learnt about making homemade brush cleaner. (The WI is partly about learning new skills after all.)

As Helen told us, the makeup of the 1940’s was about accentuating natural beauty, and our lovely ladies left the meeting primed, glowing and looking forward to trying out all the new tricks that they had learnt.