Ol' Green Eyes: Barbie Makeup Look

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On March 9th 1959, the world of toys changed forever when Mattel released the first-ever Barbie Doll. Barbara Millicent Roberts (Barbie's full name) was invented by Ruth Handler, who was one of the founders of Mattel, Inc. along with her husband Elliot (Barbie and Ken were named after the Handler's children Barbara and Kenneth) and Harold Matson. Ruth was apparently inspired by a German doll called the Bild Lilli which was based on a German comic strip character from a tabloid newspaper. The Lilli doll was launched in 1955 and marketed toward adults as a racy, joke gift that was sold in tobacconists and newsagents. After a lawsuit from the inventors of the Lilli doll, Mattel bought the rights to Bild Lilli in 1964 and I suppose the rest is history.

You're either a Barbie person or you're not. To me, a Barbie doll represents joy in its purest form. It's Christmas mornings and birthdays. It's those rare trips to the toy shop and looking up at the faced-off rows of reflective plastic and pink and dreaming of being able to take home one of each. It's pulling back the wrapping paper and seeing that pink B and the endless possibilities your imagination would allow during playtime. Seeing your sister's face light up on her birthday and wondering how long it would be until you could reasonably ask to play with her new Barbie. It was plastic dolphins, crimped hair, lost shoes, tulle, glitter, blue eyeshadow and pink lipstick.

I was so excited when I learned that Greta Gerwig was going to be directing the Barbie movie. I've been a fan of her work since her 'mumblecore' days with films like Hannah Takes the Stairs, Baghead and her directorial debut Nights and Weekends. Some of my favourite films starring her are those directed by Noah Baumbach (her now husband), particularly Greenberg, Frances Ha and Mistress America. She is slowly taking on all of my childhood memories with her adaptation of Little Women, Barbie and apparently she is set to write and direct adaptations of The Chronicles of Narnia.

I haven't seen Barbie yet but the press tour and marketing for the film have made me so excited to see it and it's been so much fun to see everything surrounding the film's release like the style, makeup and soundtrack. Even Lisa Eldridge is involved as she did the makeup for Dua Lipa's 'Dance the Night' music video (which my daughter is obsessed with) and apparently, her makeup products were used in the film so I'll be keeping an eye out to see if I can recognise anything.

I went three years without a single trip to the cinema and only recently, a couple of months ago, I went for the first time since March 2020. The cinema has always been my happy place so not going for such a long time was difficult. It's something that brings me so much joy, sitting for two hours and concentrating on one thing without distraction, choosing your snacks beforehand and the moment when the lights dim and you wonder if you're about to watch your new favourite film. I'm going to see Barbie with my sister next week and whether I love it or not, the whole thing has given me a much-needed boost of dopamine and I'm embracing every part of it.

There were obviously many inclusivity and representation issues with the Barbie that I grew up with and thankfully that seems to be ever changing. Barbie, as I remember her, represents a simpler time, pre-internet, pre-social media, and pre-responsibilities. It represents a brief few years between Cabbage Patch Kids and Spice Girls. It's a time that I can never get back, but maybe for a few hours next week, I can be transported to that time and the carefree feeling of not having any worries.

Below are some of the Barbies (and Kens) that I remember from my childhood belonging to my sister and I. My absolute favourite was Rapunzel Barbie from 1994, I'll never forget how elated I was when I opened the wrapping paper and saw her.

Last week I decided to recreate the makeup of the original Barbie from 1959. Two years ago I recreated the makeup of the 60th anniversary Barbie and the makeup was fairly similar but I wanted to film the look for a Reel on Instagram which you can watch below if you haven't seen it yet. Of course, I completely leaned in with black and white stripes, gold hoops and white sunglasses. I also gave myself a fake curly fringe to top it all off. I had so much fun with this look and I hope you enjoyed it too! All the details are below.