Taking a page out of Jessica of Getting Cheeky’s book (get it?), I decided to try and translate literature into makeup colors. I won’t be doing anything like Made-Up History, which is a series I made up where I take a work of art and translate it to a makeup look, just a selection of colors I think that make up pieces of literature. Click here for her Inspired by Literature series.

For this first post (of many? Possibly), I picked books that I spoke about on my 20th Century Book Tag Video, which you can watch here:

Without further ado, here are the photos!

1900s — What Maisie Knew by Henry James

NARS Eyeshadow Trio in Delphes, NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Montego Bay

I chose quite soft colors for this particular book cover. I haven’t actually read this yet, but I know that it has a lot to do with innocence.

1910s — Dubliners by James Joyce

NARS Eyeshadow Duo in Paramaribo, Guerlain Rouge G L’Extrait in Orgueil

Quite a depressing, though realistic portrait of Dublin.

1930s — Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

One of the earliest dystopian novels, in my mind. It can tend to be pretty scary, since some of the issues Huxley pays attention to are kind of rampant today.

1940s — The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus

bareMinerals READY 8.0 in The Cocktail Hour, Le Métier de Beauté Eyeshadow Duo in Brown as a Berry, NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Bahama

An early philosophic favorite. I was obsessed with this text when we were reading it for school. Camus questions the meaning and point of life, using The Myth of Sisyphus as the context of his arguments and observations.

1950s — Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger

NYX Eye/Eyebrow Pencil in Emerald City, Revlon PhotoReady Kajal in Purple Reign, Le Métier de Beauté Indelible Ink in Artemis, NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils in Bahama and Dolce Vita, KIKO EyeTech Look Eyeshadow in 102, Eye of Horus Natural Smokey Eye Pencil, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Ethereal Light

Portraits of two Glass siblings, Franny and Zooey, both of which question the true meaning of faith, religion, and belief from two perspectives and situations. This book made me like J.D. Salinger a lot, and then he died a week later.

1960s — Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

Addiction by Ayako eyeshadow in Safari Mode, Le Métier de Beauté Kaleidoscope Eye Kit in Northern Lights, KATE Rouge HD Lipstick in PK-17

My favorite novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It’s an apocalyptic story with intense characters and a slightly skewed picture of the world.

1970s — The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

BYS Matte Lipstick in Tango, e.l.f. Brightening Eye Color in Ivy (dark green shade only), Make Up Store Microshadow in Touch

A collection of creepy and haunting retellings of famous tales like Beauty and the Beast, Puss in Boots, and Red Riding Hood.

1980s — Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Addiction by Ayako eyeshadow in Deep Forest, bareMinerals Velvet Green and Satin Mist

One of my favorite sci-fi stories, set in a world where the human race has been preparing for another alien attack. Children seem to be the answer, and we follow the story of Ender, who is exceptionally gifted.

1990s — Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling

Shiro Cosmetics Lingered in Twilight, bareMinerals Satin Sterling, Fanny Serrano eyeshadow in Potter Clay

My favorite book from the Harry Potter series, The Prisoner of Azkaban represents a lot of my childhood memories and experiences.

And that’s it for now. I hope you all enjoyed this post, despite it being different than usual. If you’re interested in more book talk, check out my book blog here.