How to Highlight that Resort Tan: South Sea Shades of Lipstick

Ah, now that we've got our resort tans, we need new cosmetics! How about some "South Sea" inspired lipstick (or lip "tattoo") or some cosmetics in "savage" hues that apparently transport one to a land of palm trees and tropical moons?

Perfect Music: "Isle of Capri" Gracie Fields

For more on the subject of 1930s and tanned complexions as a new standard of beauty, I refer again to the oh-so-fabulous bloggers behind The Painted Woman for a fascinating discussion which they posted this past summer. It is only very recently that I clued into the fact that those backless and shoulder baring gowns from the era that I love so well were designed not just to highlight what I consider some of the most attractive parts of a woman (her back, her shoulders, etc), but also to allow the leisured rich to flaunt their resort tans (great examples of this to come in a later post). These glowy deco gals are such a far cry from the ideal ladies in the Victorian period, when a wealthy woman would try at all costs to keep lily white and even freckles were seen as unsightly.


For more on how to do a 1930s-accurate makeup application, I highly recommend Miss Amanda Lee's articles at AlleyKatsVintage. Miss Lee, I hope it's okay I copied that first ad from your article. If not, drop me a line and I'll delete it!