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You probably can recount each time you have watched a movie or television clip from the past that made you shake your head. That is because you saw a beauty trend from the past that you and many others consider to be cringeworthy. You wondered how that was even a beauty trend at all.
You may have seen some old questionable beauty trends in magazines as well. That is something you will see whenever it comes to media from the past. Think about in potentially ten to 20 years from now; beauty experts then would even say that some of the beauty trends today are also quite questionable. Which beauty trends from back in the day do experts say are quite cringeworthy? Let’s get started with painted legs!
Painted Legs During The Era Of The Second World War
The early 1940s was a gruesome time, even more so than what we are dealing with today regarding the pandemic. The Second World War was happening, and Britain and the USA had to ration materials for the soldiers’ clothing. Therefore, one of the clothing pieces that had to go where nylon pantyhose and stockings, and women were understandably upset about this fact. Women were encouraged to improve and find ways to become creative to keep their standards up.
Women began to paint dark stripes on their legs to replace the appearance of pantyhose with gravy juice. That became a beauty trend during WWII, and when you think about that being a thing now, you cannot fathom it at all. If pantyhose had to disappear again, there would be other methods to replace that without having to resort to gravy juice or any black paint at all. Speaking of color, do you remember the blue eye shadow craze from the 1980s?
Blue Eyeshadow Craze From The 1980s
It is a known fact that eyeshadow was a significant part of fashion back in the 1980s, especially blue eyeshadow. Even though aqua eyeshadow has made a comeback, no one wants to touch the blue eyeshadow again. Not when it comes to the solid blue eyeshadow, which covered their entire eyebrow area. Whenever you look at women who had that solid blue color eyeshadow from the 1980s, you cannot help but wonder why they thought that was such a popular beauty trend.
Those who wore that blue eyeshadow did not end up appearing as glamorous as they believed they did at the time. Aqua is a nice color if it is light enough, but not solid blue. Never again. Was that as bad as that big teased hair during the time the blue eyeshadow was hot?
Big Teased Hair From The 1980s
Big hair was typical in the 1980s, and when it comes to having the right hairstyle, you want your hair to have plenty of volumes. If your hair lacks volume, then it lacks the appeal that you want your hair to have. However, back in the 1980s, that was a time when hair volume was literally out of control. Teased hair from back in the day and maintaining its appearance by using up one can of aerosol spray after another was the beauty trend from then.
Not only did it take too long to undo the teased hair, but the hair ended up having the appearance of a bird’s nest. Hair volume is essential for beauty, but never allow it to go the direction of teased hair. What another beauty trend in the 1980s is cringeworthy nowadays when you think about it? Colorful contouring, of course.
Colorful Contouring In The 1980s
Contouring has made a fashionable comeback thanks to the celebrities bringing it back, which includes the Kardashians. There is nothing wrong with contouring, and it does not have to be cringeworthy. However, when color contouring was popular in the 1980s, it did not consist of the average blush and bronzers.
In the 1980s, each rainbow color on your face was a famous beauty trend back then. However, nowadays, you cannot help but wonder why it was even a thing when you think back on that. That beauty trend from back in the day only made you look like a clown. If you believe that color contouring involving colors of the rainbow is cringeworthy, how about the idea of you glowing?
Enhancing Your Glow With Tanning Oil In The 1970s
What do you think of the idea of heading to the beach after slathering on plenty of tanning oil? You probably wonder why it was ever necessary to do that and why it was a thing at all. Back in the 1970s, covering yourself in tanning oil to the point of your skin glowing was a beauty trend. That only made you appear that you had plastic saran wrap covering you. How could that possibly be a beauty trend?
Back in the 1970s, it was extremely fashionable to do that. Everyone did that when they flocked to the beach, but nowadays, no one would ever even dream of doing such a thing again. All of that oil covering you caused you to appear tacky. What is worse? Having glowing skin or having a flower on your head? Let’s talk about another cringeworthy 1970s beauty trend.
A Flower On Your Head In The 1970s
There is nothing wrong with having a flower clip on your head if you are just a flower girl at a wedding. That makes her cute, given her role as the flower girl. However, anytime aside from that, having a flower does not seem acceptable at all. However, women had flower clips they placed on the tops of their heads like Goldie Hawn. There is nothing tackier than that style. How does having flowers on your head make you appear fashionable and cool? It does not. It should never have been a thing.
Now let’s go back to the 1980s to talk about the last notable embarrassing beauty trend. The 80s were notorious for having many of those.
Too Much Blush In The 1980s
Do you remember how popular it was to wear copious amounts of blush in the 1980s? You wore so much blush that you had the appearance of having burned cheeks. How could that possibly be a popular fashion trend? You either had the appearance of sunburns at the side of your face or going beet red from embarrassment. And if you wore all of that blush, then you would have a good reason to feel that way. That is one beauty trend that will likely never make a comeback.
Conclusion
When you look at the current beauty trends‘, you may agree or not agree with some of them. Some of these beauty trends, even today, you could think of cringeworthy. However, when you fast-forward time and have a snapshot of the currently popular styles‘, you could easily find many of today’s trends cringeworthy as you look back on them.
That is why when you look back on a number of the beauty trends prevalent in the past, you will often wonder why they were ever appealing. There are so many questionable fashion trends from the past that became so popular. Many of these cringe-worthy fashion trends end up making a comeback as well at one point or another.