Painting the face and body became another psychedelic trip of the 60s.
Mod model Twiggy added a famous flower eye to her look, and suddenly everyone wanted to use the body as a canvas.
This was no slapdash finger-painting, however – Twiggy’s flower eye was a careful artistic work, with painted petals and false eyelashes framing her doe-eyes.
Makeup as an artistic tool changed the face of cosmetics: makeup wasn’t just to prettify, it was to electrify.
The hippies (as was their wont) went a step further, trading in their clothes for body paint. Flowers, peace symbols, smiley faces: bodies became a living canvas for the art of the new groovy lifestyle.
Shops like London’s Lady Jayne would hand paint a one-of-a-kind dress or necklace on customers as they waited.
No more spending all day in the fitting rooms and walking out unhappy. Artists were on hand to create your very own fashion statement, tailored to you.
A forerunner of the tattoo, body paint allowed you to share your message and joy with the world. While body paint would never take the place of clothes in conservative circles, painting became an exciting accessory to already psychedelic fashions.
