#powder doom

The late 60s and early 70s ushered in a new style - a nostalgic filter had settled on the glamorous styles of 20s/30s. As Cabaret was playing in cinemas, Biba supplied the wardrobe that incapsulated the 70s meets 20s/30s glamour with dark, rich hues and trademark prints in silhouettes that echoed the decadence of the bygone era.

As the Biba empire grew, with it came the arrival of their makeup line. Dazzling foundations, eyeshadows, and lipsticks arrived in shades never seen before. They were offering blue foundation, and lipsticks in colors like black and yellow when everywhere else were offering lipstick in pale, frosty pinks.

Today, 52 years after Biba first opened it’s doors, their influence is still very much so felt from stores like Topshop and in Meadham Kirchhoff’s past stunning collections.

Lisa Eldridge, a phenomenal makeup artist, used her collection of unused Biba makeup to recreate the look of the quintessential Biba girl - and I wanted to try my own version using makeup you can actually get today!

Thank you Randi for my Biba compact!

1. To begin, start with a clean, moisturized face and prime your eyelids with your favorite eyeshadow primer. I used NYX’s HD Eyeshadow Primer and Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk - this will ensure your eyeshadows stay put and to their full, colorful potential.

2. When thinking which eyeshadows could live up to Biba’s intensely pigmented makeup - Sugarpill Cosmetics immediately came to mind. Founded 10 years ago by the extremely lovely Amy Doan, they are famous for their bright, bold, beautiful eyeshadows!

I started the eyeshadow look by applying Hug Life all over my mobile lid and extending it to just below my brow.

3. Next, centering the color in the inner corner of your eye, I mixed two eyeshadows together: Strangeling and Royal Sugar to create a frosty bluish… purple. With a blending brush, blend the blue and green together. I also used a white matte eyeshadow (Tako) to diffuse the edges. We don’t want any harsh lines with this shadow look.

4. For a doll eye affect, line your lower waterline with white eyeliner. This makes your eyes appear larger. Line Hug Life and the Strangeling/Royal Sugar mixture under your eyes.

5. Conceal any under eye circles or blemishes on your face with concealer (I use Makeup Forever Ultra HD Concealer *), and use your favorite foundation/powder. (I used Maybelline BB Cream and Makeup Forever HD Powder *)

6 & 7. For the cheeks, we are going to use the Birthday Girl eyeshadow as blush - apply the color on the apples of your cheeks, then extend the line upward into your brow bone. The "too much blush" look is precisely what we are going for here! For a bit of highlight and to blend the eyeshadow and blush together, I used Lumi - an amazing eyeshadow that can be used for highlighter and is just plain stunning.

8. Extreme false eyelashes would be ideal for this look, but I was fresh out - so I used several coats of my favorite mascara, Tarte’s Lights, Camera, Lashes, with a mascara primer (pictured here, Urban Decay’s Subversion Lash Primer *).

9. For the lips, we are going to draw on a beestung shape with a rich berry color. I used MAC’s Vino lip pencil to get the desired shape and filled in my lips.

10. And went over the lipliner with NYX’s Soft Matte Lip Cream in Copenhagen.

Voilà! A Biba inspired look. Though it isn’t what most people would consider a "wearable" look today - I’m happy to report I only got ONE rude comment when I went to the store wearing this makeup - but then a little boy in a Spiderman shirt complimented me so it more then made up for it!

Amanda Lear’s accomplishments far outstrip expectations of a glamorous blonde 1970s model-turned-limited-disco singer. She went from a swinging 60s model (modeling the decade’s biggest designers such as Mary Quant, Paco Rabanne, and YSL; and posing for the biggest photographers like David Bailey and Helmut Newton) to Dali’s biggest muse, the inspiration behind Absolutely Fabulous’ Patsy, songs and artwork for the Rolling Stones and Roxy Music, and much more.

While she is one of the world’s most high-impact “muses”, that word does her, as it does most women, an injustice. Starting out as an art student, Lear took up modelling to pay the bills and through that fell into a swirl of celebrity-studded glitz, eventually leading to her own career as a 15-million-selling pop singer. She now often exhibits her own artwork (including some of her own album covers), is a noted memoirist having written extensively about her uniquely close alliance and work with Salvador Dali, and has pursued many other interests in art, film, television, and more.

In a striking piece of 1970s music iconography - shot by Pierre et Gilles in one of their first big works - the “Diamonds for Breakfast” album cover features Lear with Tiffany-designed diamond “tears” next to her signature sharp cheekbones, pink-red lips and tousled gold locks.