'70s Makeup Looks Are Populating Our Pinterests Again—15 Looks We'll 100% Be Replicating

The '70s were defined by many things, but through the eyes of nostalgia-loving editors, it can be summed up by all things disco, decadence, and Studio 54. The decade brought with it noteworthy cultural phenomenons in music, fashion, and social normals, but its influence in the beauty space is second to none. The era launched an appreciation for long strands, doe eyes, glossy lips, and smoky eyes that ultimately dared to be more messy than polished. The era's makeup continues to remain influential today even for those who didn't live through it.

According to director of education for Merle Norman Cosmetics Melissa Baker, not unlike today, women in the 1970s wore makeup with the goal of making them feel independence, empowered, and confident. "Specifically though, in the '70s, brows were thin, lips were glossy, and lashes were long. A woman could use one of those elements, such as glossy lips, as her signature (Ali MacGraw) or all of them at once (Cher) depending on how she wanted to express herself," she tells us.

While MacGraw and Cher were certainly two of the era's most recognizable beauty icons in film and music, there were many other notable names that set the tone for makeup in the 1970s with the likes of Diana Ross, Farrah Fawcett, and Beverly Johnson also breaking on to the scene during it's early years. If you, like us, love adding a '70s-inspired touch to your makeup, keep scrolling to discover the 15 best makeup looks of the era and the best products to replicate them.

Jane Birkin

Jane Birkin will always be synonymous with effortlessly chic French beauty. Here, pictured in January 1970, she wears drawn-own bottom eyelashes (a remnant of the Twiggy-inspired eye makeup of the mid-1960's). Her natural freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks on full display add a youthful touch to one of her first iconic makeup looks of the decade. To recreate this look, carefully draw on lower lashes with thick, short strokes and apply faux freckles on the high points of the face.

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Carrie Fisher

While Carrie Fisher's role as Princess Leia in "Star Wars" ushered audiences into the brightly colored 1980's space age, the actress broke onto the scene a few years earlier. For a promotional photo shoot in 1978, Fish was pictured with bronzed skin that looks as if she's just stepped off of an L.A. beach and glossy, nude lips. This shot is also a prime example of a smoldering, day eye makeup look with light-catching shimmer applied to the inner corners.

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Beverly Johnson

As a model, Beverly Johnson was frequently photographed wearing some of the decade's defining beauty trends. During a Vogue photoshoot in 1972, she posed for the cameras with wearing a glossy, berry-toned lip and thin eyebrows (two of the '70s most recognizable makeup moments). We're itching to copy sunburnt orange blush applied to the apple of the cheeks and sky-high cheek bones with the help of a creamy contour.

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Farrah Fawcett

There's no debating that Farrah Fawcett was known most for her flowing, blonde tendrils during and following her career-defining role as Jill Munroe in Charlie's Angels, but we've fallen in love with the actress' signature eye look and perfectly angled brows. To recreate this look, consider reaching for an eyebrow pencil with a slim tip to deliver small, natural-looking strokes and a volume-boosting mascara for defined, long lashes.

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Donna Summer

Donna Summer owned the decade with her high-energy disco sound, but we also appreciate her contributions to beauty. While most kudos are given to the singer's high-fashion strands, her bold makeup is just as memorable. In 1979, Summer was photographed wearing skinny, dark eyebrows (with a dusting of highlighter under the arches for added dimension), and a classic pink shade on the lips.

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Jacyln Smith

If you've been on the hunt for more thin eyebrow inspiration from the '70s, take a look at how Charlie's Angel Jaclyn Smith wore hers. To replicate the look, Baker suggests using a modern makeup tool like the Merle Norman Automatic Fine Brow Pencil ($20) to achieve a, "fine, precise application in a retractable package with no messy pencil shavings left behind." Apply this in short, upward strokes to give them a thin, long appearance that frames the face beautifully.

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Jerry Hall

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Before Jerry Hall first appeared on our screens in 1989, she graced over 40 major magazine covers. With her long, blonde hair and doe eyes, there's no question as to why she shot to stardom within a few year. In 1976, Jerry Hall was photographed for Vogue with angled brows and wide, doe eyes. To pull of this look, use a glowy foundation for coverage, then go in with a brow wax to create shape.

Jane Seymour

This wouldn't be a true 1970's beauty edit without including at least one mention of a Bond Girl. When British actress Jane Seymour appeared as Solitaire in 1973's 007 film Live and Let Die, she became one of the biggest reference points for the long hair lengths that went on to define the first half of the decade. Here, Seymour is pictured on the set of the film with a soft smoky eye with a white eyeshadow across the lid, and lips with a wash of a peach-y beige color.

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Ali MacGraw

Ali MacGraw played one of the most memorable "girl next door" characters of the 1970's after appearing opposite Robert Redford in 1970's Love Story and received love from audiences for her glossy, straight strands. As much as we adore her hair, we're just as obsessed with her perpetually bronzed complexion, as offers some of the best makeup moments of the decade. Her eye-catching, full brows are just the cherry on top.

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Bianca Jagger

One trend that's made it all the way to today from the 1970's are the strong, defined cheekbones and full eyebrows combination. Nicaraguan activist and from actress Bianca Jagger was photographed in 1976 wearing both with flirty eyelashes and matte lips. To bring this look to life with a modern touch, reach for a smooth-gliding eyebrow pencil with a gel formula and slim tip to create dimensional, hair-like strokes. If you weren't born with Jagger's sharp cheekbones, get your hands on a creamy sculpting and bronzing contour stick like the one below to enhance the face.

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Pam Grier

Another noteworthy 1970's trend that translates well to today are brown lips, as pictured here on actress Pam Grier in 1972. Cool-toned and neutral, her selected lipstick shade with a hint of gloss. Grier's cheeks have a soft, burnt orange blush applied on the cheekbones which stand out against an eye look with light-reflecting silver shades and shimmering taupe blended into the outer corners.

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Cher

Baker reveres both McGraw and Cher as two of the most memorable '70s makeup icons (especially when it comes to eye makeup looks). Here, Cher is pictured in 1978 with a wash of matte, pink eye shadow on the lids and highlight placed on all the high points of the face. The highlighter here has a glassy, oyster pearl finish that strongly resembles Westman Atelier's newly launched Lit Up Highlight Stick in the shade Pärla ($48).

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Diana Ross

Ross's influence on beauty and pop culture extends far beyond the 1970's, but of all her most recognizable makeup looks, this moment captured in 1975 is certainly worth giving some flowers. Whether you replicate this with your natural lashes or with some extra help from falsies, you'll want to have a length-boosting and defining mascara that won't clump or flake. This eye look stands out with some framing by a thin, angled brow.

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Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John captured music-loving hearts while starring opposite John Travolta in 1978's Grease, but audiences were falling in love with her aesthetic long before she donned those leather pants. While promoting the movie the same year, she was photographed at a press conference with an eye look consisting of long lashes and matte, mauve eyeshadow and glossy, honey brown lips to match.

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Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda is known for her award-winning movies and activism, but we also love her for all the amazing eye makeup inspiration she's provided us over the years. Here she is pictured in 1972 with long, dark upper and lower lashes complemented by a stroke of dark eyeliner to turn up the intensity. It allows her enchanting blue eyes to take center stage with a mauve lip and sun-kissed complexion.

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