1920-1929
The 1920s was a transition period. Social pressures were lessened, inhibitions were looser, and the ideal of the "New Woman" really began to take hold. Advertising for makeup products became more noticeable. It was also the decade of silent film, as Hollywood only continued to grow in popularity and production.
This decade is when the new idealized version of feminine beauty, that hinges on cosmetics and beauty products, becomes prominent in women's magazines (including those that did not heavily advertise cosmetics in the 1910s, such as the Ladies' Home Journal). As America transitioned to a more visual culture, women's appearances became more important than ever. Film and photography were the main cause for this shift. As actresses became more accessible and visible, their influence increased. The stars of the decade, such as Clara Bow and Joan Crawford, glamourized the ideal of the "New Woman" to the female consumer. Screen stars were now symbols of beauty who were always seen wearing cosmetics and who often appeared in advertisements for beauty products; as such, beauty was positioned as being achievable through consumption.
A selection of mass-market magazine covers provide a visual sample of what women were consistently seeing.
The 1920s are known as the decade of prosperity. The bourgeoning cosmetics and film industries were certainly both major benefactors of the post-war period. The strictness of the 19th century towards the use of cosmetics had dissipated in the 1910s, and the new expectation for society women was having an understanding of how to apply makeup and an everyday cosmetics routine. A writer in an issue of Vogue in 1921 commented that in only a short period, women went from being the subject of harsh judgement for wearing any sort of makeup, to being expected to understand how to use face powder and rouge.
The beauty industry's revenue increased exponentially during this decade. By 1925, women were spending approximately 6 million dollars each day on beauty products and services. In 1928, the annual revenue of products alone was 500 million, and by the market crash in 1929 it was up to 750 million dollars. This was a result of the aggressive advertising by cosmetics companies. Not only were they more prominently featured in film and women's magazines, but makeup companies were physically advertising their products to the female consumer. They used the popular pastime of going to the movies and the glamorous image of Hollywood to their advantage; companies would set up at movie matinees and do product demonstrations, raffle cosmetic kits, and hand out complexion analysis cards to women in the audience. This was not only to sell product but to get women used to using and purchasing cosmetics.
Flashier beauty products, such as lipstick and mascara, started becoming more popular in the mid-20s. Advertisements for these products began showing up more often and taking up more space in the pages of magazines. The examples below are a sample of mascara and lipstick ads that appeared. Maybelline was a company that continued to advertise using celebrity influence throughout this period. In the larger of the two ads shown below, an image of actress Clara Bow is the focus. Clara Bow was nicknamed the "It Girl" of 1920s Hollywood, a double-entendre that stemmed from her starring role in the 1927 film "It". She embodied the ideal of the "New Woman" and flapper fashion, and she was incredibly popular among female film fans. Bow represented the beauty and personality that many women wanted to embody, and consumer culture made it possible for her to be an imitatable commodity. Fans copied her hair style and colour, her clothing, and her makeup style. Bow was known for her low eyebrows, dark eye makeup, and red lipstick.
Max Factor began his journey to notoriety in the cosmetics industry in the late 1920s. Factor opened a beauty studio in Los Angeles in 1908, where he provided cosmetics and beauty services to nearby Hollywood production companies. His products were so popular among actresses that sometimes bottles would go missing from sets because the actresses took them home for personal use. The company only began to sell their cosmetics to the public near the end of the 20s, as there was now an ever-growing market that not only wanted cosmetics but wanted cosmetics that the stars of the screen were using. The first advertisements for Max Factor Hollywood appeared in the pages of film magazines; they did not appear in women's magazines such as Vogue and the Ladies' Home Journal until the 1930s.
The advertisement shown here is not for a product, but rather a booklet. Max Factor wrote The New Art of Make-Up to share Hollywood beauty tips and 'secrets' with the public. The pages were filled with photographs and product endorsements from a long list of beloved actresses, including Joan Crawford and "It Girl" Clara Bow. Following the release of his first public line of makeup, Color Harmony, Max Factor's success grew rapidly and the company became a giant in the cosmetics industry by the end of the 1930s.
Sources
Alexander, Rachael. “Consuming Beauty: Mass-Market Magazines and Make-up in the 1920s.” IJAS Online, no. 4 (2015): 3–14.
Maloni, Ruby. “Dissonance Between Norms and Behaviour: Early 20 Th Century America’s ‘New Woman.’” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 70 (2009): 880–86.
Orgeron, Marsha. “Making ‘It’ in Hollywood: Clara Bow, Fandom, and Consumer Culture.” Cinema Journal 42, no. 4 (2003): 76–97.
Peiss, Kathy Lee. Hope in a Jar: The Making of America’s Beauty Culture. 1st ed. New York: Metropolitan Books, 1998.
Sherrow, Victoria. For Appearances’ Sake. Oryx Press, 2001. https://archive.org/details/forappearancesak00sher.