Mad About Mad Men

We are huge fans of the sexy, stylized and provocative television series, Mad Men. We wait with baited breath each week to find out what kind of trouble the men and women of Madison Avenue’s advertising agency, Sterling Cooper, will get in to. And it’s not only us who are going crazy for this show; with viewers reaching approximately two million per episode, we think others quite like it too.

In addition to loving the quirky storyline, we are captivated by the mid-century chic of the leading ladies and wonder how we can look like that.

Lana Horochowski is the makeup department head and along with her team is responsible for making the ladies look picture perfect. “We do try to keep the characters looking like real people that do their own makeup and not like movie stars with a makeup artist standing by,” Horochowski states. To prepare for the latest season, there were weeks and weeks of meetings and research, and Horochowski found that magazines and old movies were a great guideline for a basic look and colour selection. “Women of the 60s had a stricter code of style and etiquette, so people tended to follow the trends closer to the book.”

M•A•C products are used on the Mad Men set and we found out what our favourite cast members are wearing:

Joan Holloway

(Christina Hendricks)
Sassy Office Manager

Joan is the Marilyn Monroe-esq bombshell who always looks put together, very sassy and sexy while gliding through the office. The key feature for Joan is a heavier eye. Horochowski recommends we try these products to recreate Joan’s eye look: Cream Colour Base in Virgin Isle, Fluidline in Blacktrack or Rich Ground, and Eye Shadow in Soft Brown. Don’t forget the strip lashes!

Betty Draper

(January Jones)
Doting wife of Don Draper

Although Betty is a housewife, she is an ex-model, so her makeup is clean but very current for the period. During the day, Betty has a very natural look with a sheer foundation, think black eyeliner and mascara. For evening, she goes a little thicker on the liner and uses a brighter lipstick, but it always coordinates with her clothing.

To achieve Betty’s look, these are the items you need: Cream Colour Base in Virgin Isle, Fluidline in Blacktrack or Rich Ground, Blushcreme in Posey, Lipstick in Vegas Volt, Lip Pencil in Redd or Cherry.

Peggy Olson

(Elisabeth Moss)
Escapee from the secretarial pool, and rising star at Sterling Cooper

Peggy is young and fresh faced, and the key to her look is for her to appear as though she is wearing no makeup at all. A great foundation is super important and a natural cheek and lip stain is applied to give her a little color.

For Peggy’s wholesome look use Eye Shadow in Orb, Vanilla, and Soft Brown, and Blot Powder.

So, if we don’t want to completely transform ourselves into a 60s diva, what can we take away from the show’s look and incorporate into our everyday look? Horochowski suggests lining the top lash line only with a gel liner like M•A•C Fluidline. “We love this product for recreating the perfect 60s eye.” Also, replacing gloss and sheer or shimmer lipsticks with matte reds, bright pinks, and corals help create a more retro look. Lastly, instead of a powder blush try using cream in pinks and corals to create a flushed looking cheek. For evening, strip lashes are always a bonus.

Off we go to the store to purchase our new look!