This Beauty Creator Is Calling It Now: '60s Eye Makeup Is Back — and Bolder Than Ever

According to research, we turn to nostalgia during times of crisis. Whether we're seeking comfort or looking for a way to distract ourselves, our default setting is to look back in order to move forward. If you're skeptical, we suggest that you take a quick scroll through your TikTok.

Like YouTube in the 2010s, TikTok is becoming a home base for beauty creators, with artists and amateurs coming together to show off hidden-gem products, hack-filled tutorials, and general enthusiasm for all things beauty. Model and beauty director Emira D'spain grew up on the former and is quickly becoming a celebrity on the latter. Her industry expertise and sparkly personality inspire trust; if she tests a new product or an experimental beauty look, you're compelled to listen and try it yourself. Now, she's calling a new trend — or rather, an old one, but with a new coat of paint. According to D'spain, the '60s — specifically, the decade's eye makeup — are having a moment again.

At the start of the pandemic, skin-care routines eclipsed makeup — being stuck at home in isolation meant that our lipstick and bronzer weren’t seeing the light of day. So instead, we got really good at taking care of our skin: people who used to exclusively opt for makeup wipes at the end of the day could suddenly rattle off the top three ingredients that unclog sebaceous glands. By 2021, that emphasis on skin was merging with our longing for makeup again. Plans found new homes on our calendar and new routines called for new expectations.

Now, glowing, no-makeup makeup is in. D’spain thinks this is most likely how people landed on nostalgia. "In the '60s, the focus was so heavily placed on the eyes because the skin was so simple, and I think we’re in that time, too," she says. "It's so funky and unique, and a nice shift from that now-traditional snatched look." So what does '60s makeup look like? Think: heavily shadowed creases, flashy lashes, and dramatic eyeliner.

But D'spain, like her TikTok comrades, is interested in innovating — not copying. To put her own twist on the old look, she's blending her signature — glowing, hydrated skin — with a retro vibe. "My skin needs so much hydration underneath makeup," she says. "I'll always go in with a hyaluronic acid serum, an ultra-thick moisturizer, and a hydrating eye cream."

Once her skin-care routine is complete, D'spain moves on to primer, an essential step in preserving hydration. "I only recently started implementing primer into my routine [again]," she says, adding that all it took for her to get back on board was the right formula (her old mattifying go-to was flunking the assignment). "Now, I've started using an illuminating primer, and I'm obsessed."

To know D'spain's videos is to know her glow. While she can credit a lot of products, the Smashbox Photo Finish Illuminate Glow Primer is the undeniable leader of the pack. Loaded with skin-loving ingredients like vitamin C and passion fruit, this radiance-boosting primer works to create a silky barrier between skin and makeup. The result is a natural, lit-from-within radiance that also helps protect the skin from environmental aggressors, such as pollution and blue light.

When used underneath a foundation, this primer creates a base layer for a shimmering smooth complexion. Plus, it helps you avoid sacrificing products you love just because your skin won't allow it. For D'spain, that includes using powder without worrying that her skin will dry out. "[Primer] started giving my face a more even glow," she says. "I can use more powders now and still have that radiant look."

To keep things simple (and truly master that effortless no-makeup makeup look), D'spain opts for a tinted moisturizer. The hybrid base is essentially a skin tint that prioritizes hydration and lightweight coverage. A three-in-one formula, like the Smashbox Halo Healthy Glow All-In-One Tinted Moisturizer, does the trick. The combination of rose extract and hyaluronic acid makes this buildable formula ideal for anyone in search of a healthy glow.

D'spain's take on '60s makeup is all about the eyes, and few looks are as iconic as a floating crease. To start, cover your lid in a sparkly shadow — preferably something that will complement the shade of the floating crease. Way back when, people might have used a matte pastel cream shadow (most likely a blue) for this step, but we want the focus to be on the graphic crease, not on the lid.

The key to mastering this look is to use a pigmented eyeliner or an eyeshadow cream, such as the Smashbox Always On Cream Eye Shadow, to draw on the floating line. Using a thin liner brush, trace out the line just above the hollow of the crease and extend it out towards the end of your eyebrow. If you want something more historically accurate, keep the end of that line pointing down; if you want to put your own twist on the trend, flick the end of the line up, like a cat-eye wing. This mod look was usually drawn on using a jet-black color to stand out against the lid shadow, but feel free to use a loud, bright color instead.

Another way to modernize this trend is to soften the floating-crease line. To do this, cover a fluffy eyeshadow brush in a shadow that's a shade or two lighter than the color you used on the crease (this could be the same shadow you used all over the lid) and lightly buff out the line. This will blend any harsh edges and hide wonky mistakes.

'60s makeup almost always featured dramatic lashes. D'spain is a fan of lash extensions, so she puts most of the emphasis for this look on her bottom lash line to create a doe-eyed effect. Grab the same cream eyeshadow or eyeliner that you used on the crease and draw on a few — maybe three to five — flicks of color on the bottom lash line. Top off the eye look with a few coats of mascara on the bottom lashes, and you're done. If you were living in 1967, you'd most likely use a matte peach lipstick to finish off the look, but if you're following D'spain's lead, opt for a pinky-nude lip with a silky satin finish, like the Smashbox Be Legendary Prime & Plush Lipstick in Level Up.

For a long time, nostalgia was perceived as undesirable; in fact, some physicians would treat it as a medical disorder. Today, nostalgia is considered harmless — and, in the case of D'spain’s makeup, inspiring.

Credits: Photographer: Emma Craft; Art Director: Samara Grossman and Colleen Lennon; Visual Designer: Mia Coleman; Wardrobe Stylist: Melina Kemph; Makeup Artist: Amanda Wilson; Hair Stylist: Blake Erik; Producer: Hannah Lee