I was requested by the
Boyer Family Singers to share my favorite picks of vintage lip products for those just starting out with the world of beauty products. This of course, is one of my beauty weaknesses: lip products of all kinds [the other being blushers]. So let me share with y'all my favorite vintage inspired lip products from my makeup collection.

Within this post I'll be breaking down the products by price, what level of boldness it is, and what era it works best for. Now, I'll be doing mostly 1940s, 50s, and early 60s lip products as those are my personal favorites [and the ones I know the best]. Of course, the era I know
the most about their makeup is the 1940s, as I gone to several classes on the hair & makeup of the 1940s.
[Pricing Code: DS = Drugstore | HE = High End (Sephora, etc..)]
1940s
When one thinks of the 1940s, we think of the middy, swing dresses, World War II, rationing, red nails, red lipstick, and the golden age of black & white films.
Tinted Lip Balms -- These are the easiest to wear & the least bold option to do. The color is like a wash to the lips, giving you a light red color. I would recommend this option to those who are too young for lipstick [what is the right age for lipstick? What ever you & parents agree upon. Personally, I was over 21, where Gaby was 19]. My favorite option is the
Maybelline Baby Lips in Cherry Me[DS]. There is also an option for an homemade tinted lip balm from Etsy [if you like supporting independent companies]:
Red Velvet Cake from
Epically Epic Soap Co.[DS] [this was my very first tinted lip balm]. Oh, well...it looks like she doesn't have it in stock right now.
Lip Gloss -- Glosses are something that some girls love, and others dislike. One person might find one type of brand of lip gloss non-sticky & smell divine, while another may find the brand too sticky or the smell brings bad memories to her. As of right now, I only have a few red lip glosses that I really love, they are the following:
e.l.f. Liquid Lipstick in
Ruby Slipper [DS]
&
mark. glow baby glow hook up lip gloss in
Blow Kisses [DS]. Both of my recommend glosses are pigmented color and not sheer at all.
NYX [DS] does have some red glosses that I haven't tried out yet, but their pink glosses are amazing and pigmented too.
Lip Crayon -- A few years ago lip crayons became very popular [and still are], and I'm one of those girls who loves them too! They are usually easy to use, leave a stain to your lips [making your color last longer], and come in several finishes now [matte, cream, or glossy]. I have four options for you, three of which can be found in drugstore, whilst the other is more higher end and can only be bought online.
e.l.f. Matte Lip Color in
Rich Red,
NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil in
Hot Red,
Revlon Just Bitten Kissable in
Romantic, and
Be a...Bombshell in
Hot Damn [HE].
Lipstick -- One of my top favorite red lip color is a lipstick, mostly because I found a wearable red that works for everyday and doesn't look too painted on. On of the key things for finding the perfect red lipstick for YOU is discovering what your undertone is, for example I'm cool-toned, which means my veins are blue & I have a pink undertone in my skin. Alright, back to my favorite red lipsticks:
NYC in
Sheer Red [this is my top favorite & super cheap too!],
Revlon Lip Butter in
Wild Watermelon [looks like you ate a cherry popsicle] and
Candy Apple [can be applied sheer-like or like a lipstick],
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in
Certainly Red [very bold], and
Mía Mariú in Amore [HE].
*Another great red lipstick that is perfect for the 1940s is MAC's Russian Red & Ruby Roo.*
*Red Lipstick Tip: To have your lipstick last longer, wear a lip liner underneath, blot your lipstick, and with a tissue over your lipstick lightly brush some loose translucent powder over your red lipstick.*
Bonus: Favorite Red Nail Polishes --
Essie's a-list,
OPI's Lost on Lombard &
Got the Blues for Red.
1950s
In the 1950s you have a range of makeup styles to choose from, as there were different type of popular looks made famous by several film stars: Marilyn Monroe [the bombshell of the decade, with her clean skin (though piled with makeup), beauty mark, and red lips], Audrey Hepburn [the simple girl who looked glamourous in what ever she wore, in the 60s she did go for the Mod look], and the lady who made grace and being ladylike popular: Grace Kelly [the American princess]. Of course, there were others but these are the most famous today.
Tinted Lip Balms -- Hmm...for the 50s I don't think I have any for y'all, of course you can still wear a red one [like the
Baby Lips one that I recommended for the 1940s]. But
for reference, pink shades [the pinker the better] were very popular in the 50s along with blue-reds & orange-reds.
Lip Gloss -- I have two hot pink lip glosses for the 1950s, one is super cheap, while the other is more pricy. All right, I just looked my higher end gloss, and it appears that it is no longer available. If you are curious to what it is was, here you go:
KORRES Lip Butter Glaze in
Quince. The other one is,
e.l.f. Glossy Gloss in
Wild Watermelon.
Lip Crayon -- Gosh! I'm really lacking in the 50s inspired lip products in my collection. I have a ton of 1940s & 60s ones, 50s not so much. Hmm...need to remedy this. I do have one hot pink lip crayon that would work,
Revlon Kissable Lip Crayon in
Smitten.
Lipstick -- I have five drugstore lipstick to share with you, three of which are by Revlon and two of them are originally from the 1950s. Yay!
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in
Cherries in the Snow [hot pink],
Love that Pink [50s mid-tone pink], &
Kiss Me Coral [coral] [DS]. Two other options are the following:
Wet 'n Wild [silver tube] in
511B Nouveau Pink [hot pink] and
Maybelline in
045 Pink Me Up [late 50s pink/early 60s].
1960s
In the 60s you had a more diverse makeup look, the younger group did hipper/Mod colors [pale pinks, pastels, & frosty colors], while the older age group [for the most part] still kept wearing reds and the colors of the 1950s.
Tinted Lip Balms -- Hmm...I don't really have any in my personal collection for the 1960s, but there are some 60s color's in the
Baby Lips collection by Maybelline.
Lip Gloss -- Some of my favorite lip glosses are in 60s pink colors, and are some of my go-to colors when ever I need a "natural" lip color. My two favorite glosses are the
mark. glow baby glow hook up lip gloss in
Honey &
NYX Butter Gloss in
Cream Brulee. There are two e.l.f $1 glosses that work for the 60s too, one of them is the
Hypershine Gloss in
Fairy and the other is the
Luscious Liquid Lipstick in
Perfect Pink.
Lip Crayon -- I have four lip crayon options for you, three of which are drugstore, whilst the other is high-end. What can I say? For the 60s pink lip, I love using a lip crayon best. The following products are going to be listed from cheapest to most expensive:
e.l.f. Matte Lip Color in
Natural [DS],
NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil in
720 Honey Nectar [DS],
Revlon Kissable Lip Crayon in
001 Honey [DS], and
Tarte LipSurgence in
Lucky [HE].
Lipstick -- Surprisingly I only have two lipsticks to share with y'all, both of which are from the drugstore. My favorite, and the one I always wear in 60s makeup tutorials, is the
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in
Pink in the Afternoon [which reminds me of the one Audrey Hepburn wears in,
Breakfast at Tiffany's]. For a frosty light-ish pink lipstick give
NYC 411 Snowcone a try, it is under $2 and works amazingly well.
I hope some of you found this helpful, and if you have any recommendations of products you love leave them in the comments below!
~Ashley