to Marlene Dietrich’s pencil-thin eyebrows in, memorable beauty moments in film are era-defining. They provide a cultural barometer for the trends of the day and have birthed hundreds of pop culture icons: Princess Leia with her twisted buns, Margot Tenenbaum with her kohl-lined eyes and blunt bob, Isabella Rossellini inChanging beauty looks is also key to character development.
For other film heroines, makeup is a form of armour that shields them from the slings and arrows of the world. Liza Minnelli’s Sally Bowles is rarely seen without her exaggerated lashes, emerald green manicure and pencilled-in beauty mark in, Jessica Chastain’s Molly Bloom realises that she needs a sleek blow-dry and a smoky eye to make the men at her poker games take her seriously.