The '70s was a fun, often over-the-top decade, with plenty of experimentation in color, pattern, and shape. Beauty-wise, the decade was rich with pastels, pretty lip colors (sometimes with a shiny, gloss-like texture), big lashes, a hint of dewiness on the skin, natural brows, heavy blush, and a ton of glitter.
Since the '70s were all about change and variety, the decade's beauty spanned maximalist makeup all the way to barely-there application. So if you're a '70s beauty fan, there are a ton of aesthetics to choose that will integrate well into your more modern looks.
Strong Colors
If you like a thick, contoured cheekbone, model Patti Hensen is showing it off here (although a more updated iteration would be to blend it into the skin a bit more fully). This rich, glossy red lipstick feels very modern, combined with a deep but smudged smokey eye.
Pastels
Light makeup—specifically pastel eyeshadow—is not for every occasion or context. When it's too light, or not a match to your skin tone, it looks like it's laying on top of your skin instead of integrating with it. Here, Ann Turkel is lightly tanned, which offers a nice contrast with the light eyeshadow, blush, and lips.
Deep Wine Lips
Given the bold volume of some '70s hair (especially curls, like on Shelley Smith here), an equally bold makeup look was in order. What's fun about this is that the eyes and lips are strong and graphic, but the eyebrows are essentially untouched—a nice balance.
Minimal Color
An icon in the '70s and beyond, Jackie Kennedy (later Jackie Kennedy Onassis) was an expert in the everyday, minimalistic makeup from the decade. She often wore bold accessories, from strong shades to these enormous pearls, so she didn't need to add much other than a little color on lips and cheeks.
Bright and Playful
This unnamed model has the overly shaped brows from the decade (and very thin—not something you'd need to emulate today) but gives great color elsewhere. The '70s could be a time of bright, bold enthusiasm, which we saw in makeup as well as clothing.
Soft Reds
"Top model" Janice Dickerson shows off a rich, but subtle red (extremely well-drawn, including a defined cupid's bow) that wouldn't be out of place today. The softer hue is echoed in the soft eye makeup, and her s-shaped brows are full without being bushy.
All-Pink Makeup
Model Karen Graham is a vision in pink. Hat, scarf, and enormous collar aside (which feel very '70s in a way that might be over-the-top if you tried it today), the pretty rose color on lips and cheeks deepen the color story without feeling out of place.
Strategic Bronzing
Rosie Vela is sporting a bronzed complexion here, as well as a softer version of curls (she was often photographed with bigger, bouncier hair). The overall effect is effortless and sunkissed, although bronzer these days is a little more luminous than we see here.
Modern-Throwback
It feels like Beska Sorensen is channeling a bit of a flapper girl vibe (thin brows, short and crimped hairdo) but the deep eye makeup helps it feel more modern. You don't need either the brows or the hair to pull this off, just a commitment to a bold eye and lip.
Graphic and Bold
In case you're unfamiliar, Madonna had her career beginnings in the late '70s as a musician performing in New York. From the very start, her look was striking, but this pixie (so long in the back it's almost a mullet) gets a feminine spin with strong spiky lashes and a bold lip color.
Deep Colors
Dayle Haddon is giving us "modern '70s working woman," complete with matching pantsuit. Her darker hair color means that she can mimic the color in her deep smokey eye makeup, with an equally striking deep wine color on the lips. It also contrasts nicely with the lightness of the outfit.
The Dewy Look
Cher was already one to watch in terms of beauty trends (and had been through the '60s), but her '70s vibe was glorious to watch. The luminous shine to her skin, the pale pink color on her eyelids, the touch of gloss but otherwise minimal-seeming makeup: perfection.
Lots of Lashes
While Jean Shrimpton might be more closely with the London "mod" scene of the '60s, she continued working as a model well into the '70s. The defined undereye was very much a thing of its time, but generally the "doe-eyed" look is still highly emulatable.
Luminosity
Aside from the haircut, this model wouldn't look out of place in a magazine today. The berry red on her lips has a touch of shine—which is a nice way to soften and add dimension to the color—and the eyeshadow feels like there's a touch of glitter and shine to it.
To the Max
Lisa Cooper is doing '70s maximalism in a very fun way, which is proof that you can lean in if you're wearing a bold color. A near-matching red lipstick is a fun choice, but what I like the most here is that her blush has a touch of red too—matching without being too matchy.
Toning It Down
Supermodels helped to popularize the "no-makeup makeup" look of the time, which prioritized healthy skin over tons of makeup. The "I woke up like this" look on Lisa Taylor and Christie Brinkley necessitates some soft brown eyeliner here and a matte lip, but it's not nearly as much as others on this list.
The Brighter the Better
Forever icon Iman gives us exactly what we expect when we think of the phrase "'70s eye makeup." The bold and dimensional purple, which fades to lilac towards the nose and brows, makes her eyes "pop." A similarly bold lip means that the look feels cohesive instead of over-done.
Rocker Chic
Debbie Harry had a cool contrast in her look: she sang with fierce power as lead singer of Blondie, but she did it while dressing in a soft, feminine way. Her beauty look contains those multitudes, from the deep ombre smokey eye to the petal pink lipstick.
The Long Tail
Barbra Streisand was well-known in the '70s for her long cat-eye, which connoted a feeling of royalty and mythical status, according to her makeup artist. Keeping the rest of her face minimal allowed the depth and shape of the eyeshadow to take center stage, as it were.
A Modern Cat-Eye
Obviously it's hard to see the precise makeup colors here, given that this photo of Mary Russell is in black and white. But the thick, intense, short cat-eye look was still going strong after its intense popularity in the '50s and '60s—just in a slightly more modern rendering.
Glitter Glitter
Donna Summer's unique and trendsetting style made her a fashion icon of the decade (and long after). Her love of color and texture extended to her makeup, with a brilliant red lip, spikey lashes, and what looks like a touch of glitter on her cheeks.
Single Tone
This matte, all-pink look on Patricia Dow wouldn't be out of place today, particularly with the intense full coverage of the blush. If you dial back some of the vividness of the color, this could absolutely pass as a "no-makeup makeup" look that works for everyday.
Soft and Subtle
Here, you can really see how timeless some of the '70s looks were (and how much the '90s were influenced by the '70s). Keeping the focus on the strong smokey eye and leaving the rest of the face bare—or bare-looking, anyways—is one of those forever-classic looks.
The Biggest Lashes
Diana Ross' evolving beauty look in this decade is epic, particularly the use of her natural curls when she became a solo artist. She was also doing big, bold eyelashes to highlight her eyes as the focal point of her face way before it was a cool trend.
A Hint of Spice
On the spectrum of maximalist to minimalist makeup looks from this decade, Jane Birkin will always be on the minimalist end: a tiny bit of gray-black eyeshadow, particularly the top lid (and occasionally paired with lots of mascara on top and bottom lashes), plus a little color on cheeks and lips.
Bold and Beautiful
The blaxploitation star, who had her first career high point in this decade, was another star to embrace her natural curl pattern. A more voluminous 'do deserves a bolder makeup look, like this deep red lip and gray-black eyeshadow, plus lots and lots of mascara.
Soft but Striking
Pat Cleveland, '60s and '70s top model, was unbelievably talented (this is from the Halston Summer 1976 ready to wear runway, according to the original caption). The gentle, smudged cat eye draws the eye upwards, but everything else is minimal.
A Soft, Rich Cheek
That apres-ski "flush" (as in, you look like you just came off the slopes after a long day of skiing) is not a 21st century invention. This Halston model demonstrates how a natural warmth to the cheeks looks good on just about everybody—with a little shine on eyes and lips, too.
The Whole Color Palette
Beverly Johnson's influence on beauty and fashion can't be understated. She's also pulling off one of the bolder '70s makeup looks that might feel a little tougher to pull off in an everyday way (this is from Vogue in 1976). But don't let a bright color like green stop you from leaning in on your eyeshadow colors.
Natural Skin
Charlotte Rampling gives us a masterclass in minimal makeup—and also embracing your freckles and skin spots. Less really is more: a little eyeliner, lipstick with a touch of shine, and a liberal helping of blush on cheeks and nose to highlight her features.
Petal Pink Lips
You can still look like an off-duty model, even without the richly oversized mohair jacket on Lisa Taylor. The key is to play up the lip color, which is a shade or two richer than a nude, then keeping everything else on the face soft and not too matte.
Soft and Balanced
Bianca Jagger, '70s "it girl," has exceptional taste both in fashion and beauty (exemplified by being friends with Andy Warhol). If you could only choose one makeup look to wear forevermore, let it be this gentle smokey eye and peachy pink lipstick, with just a touch of blush.
