Marylin Monroe in everything
Be honest: is there anything more iconic than Marilyn's beauty look? Probably not, right? From the hot blonde bob to the top-lid liner to the huge red pout, everything about Ms Monroe screams sex appeal, which goes some way to explaining why she was such a style icon back then and remains so to this day. Marilyn has been in many an iconic film but we will always remember her stepping on a subway grate in the Seven Year Itch, and wondering if anyone will ever look that beautiful again.
Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Audrey Hepburn's look in the movie adaptation of the Truman Capote book Breakfast at Tiffany's has spawned many a cute fancy-dress costume, and we all know why: Holly Golightly is the best way to look pretty and sophisticated without taking it into "slutty" territory. Plus, it's always fun to wear a tiara, right? Ms Hepburn had a look that worked for her, and was pretty consistent throughout most of her films: An elf-like quality that was exaggerated by soft eye makeup and strong, straight eyebrows.
Shirley Eaton, Goldfinger (1964)
If you ever wanted to know the inspo for the all-glitter thing that Insta has going on right now, look no further than Shirley Eaton. Cast as Bond girl Jill Masterson in Bond movie Goldfinger, Eaton is possibly the most well-known Bond girl after being covered head-to-toe in gold paint for her character. She was an icon of the sixties because of this look, and was on the cover of Life magazine in the gold paint. Strangely enough, it only took two hours to apply for the film, meaning that if you wanted to incorporate this look into your daily routine it only requires a couple of hours prep time. We'll leave it to Shirl shall we?
Uma Thurman, Pulp Fiction (1994)
Uma Thurman spawned the fancy dress costume that makes every girl look effortlessly cool and instantly recognisable. As well as being a fashion icon, Thurman's character Mia Wallace was also a trendsetter when it came to beauty, too. Mia's nail varnish in Pulp Fiction was Chanel Rouge Noir, a vampy shade of red that achieved cult status when the film caused the brand to completely sell out of the shade. Teamed with a bob, baby bangs and a crisp, white shirt, and you've got a look that will always be effortlessly cool whatever the era.
Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman (1990)
There are many different looks that Julia Roberts' prostitute-come-housewife character Vivian Ward sports throughout Pretty Woman. There's the short blonde bob Vivian, with her red lips and over-the-top eyeshadow, and there's the conservative Vivian, who wears gorgeous red ballgowns and sleek updos. But our favourite Vivian is the one in between these two - the Vivian who puts her feet on the table whilst eating pancakes, with humongous, untameable curly red hair and minimal makeup. Pretty woman was a good lesson in knowing when the natural look works for you, and it sure worked a whole lot for Ms Ward.
Elizabeth Taylor, Cleopatra (1963)
Elizabeth Taylor: The ultimate example of sophistication. Ms Taylor was never one for looking anything less than perfect, but her look in the 1963 film took that sentiment to the highest level. When it came to Cleopatra, the idea was "more is most definitely more". Liz's look was a flourish of fierceness and colour - how else could you portray one of the most powerful women in Egyptian history without a bold cat eye and some hella strong eyeshadow colours? Oh, and one of the most magnificent headdresses we've ever seen! Move over Lady Gaga.
Rooney Mara, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)
As we all know, strong women have always been our jam. Which is why we love Rooney Mara's character Lisbeth in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Sure she has some troubles, but she is BAD. ASS. And that's reflected in her look. A nu-wave goth, who else could rock bleach blonde eyebrows and black baby bangs? Lisbeth, that's who. Where do you think Kim et al got the inspiration for their 2016 brows? We're pretty sure it's Lisbeth.
Carrie Fisher, Star Wars (1987)
If you ask anyone to name an iconic look from films of the past, it's pretty much guaranteed that Carrie Fisher's look as Princess Leia in Star Wars will be close to number one, if not nabbing the top spot. The most famous look being her cinnamon buns hairstyle. The inspiration for Leia's buns is firmly rooted in feminist culture: Star Wars creator George Lucas said that he didn't want Leia to be a damsel in distress, and so looked to Mexico's "soldaderas', or female revolutionaries, who were involved in the uprising at the start of the 20th Century, for hairspiration. And it worked - Carrie looks as badass as the soldaderas of 1913.
Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe, Hidden Figures (2017)
You gotta love a woman that can rock a bright lip every day of the week. Hidden Figures stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe, and whilst Spencer doesn't go for the whole bold lip thing, Henson and Monáe have got us Googling bright pink and red lippies all week to try and find one that'll match. These three women are living proof that you just can't go wrong with a classic sixties vibe: A sophisticated feline eye flick, colourful lipstick, and a voluminous bob.
Halle Berry, Die Another Day (2002)
Halle Berry emerging out of the sea was the most memorable moment from the 2002 Bond film Die Another Day. And like any red-blooded woman, we can totally see why, but we're more interested in her look here. Only one other woman in the whole franchise has sported a crop, and when you consider how much badassery Berry's character Jinx Johnson has going on in this film, she ain't got time for no hair-flicking nonsense. Her beauty look was toned-down (but I guess anything looks toned down in comparison to Jill Masterson) and athletic and we were totally digging it.
Anjelica Huston, The Addams Family (1991)
The nineties spawned many great goth looks - I mean, we were totally tempted to include all four members of The Craft - but there's none better than Morticia Addams. Whilst the pale skin, high arch eyebrows, bold grey eyeshadow and red lips might not be something we can pull off very well with finesse in broad daylight, Mrs Addams manages just fine. But when it came to playing Morticia, it was definitely a case of no pain, no gain. Her look is no easy feat - to make Huston's eyes more slanted like the original Morticia, the makeup artists attached strings with spirit gum to the outside corners of her eyes and anchored the strings on her head. She also had to wear a metal corset, and have neck tucks and fake nails applied daily. But despite all this effort, we can still safely say that Morticia's look is one that we'd still love to rock today - we're booking ourselves in for a mani, stat!
Jennifer Connelly, Labyrinth (1986)
Always the top of our princess mood board, a (very) young Jennifer Connelly starred as 15-year-old Sarah Williams, who must go rescue her baby brother Toby from Jareth the Goblin King, played perfectly by none other than Mr David Bowie. Her massively puffy dress is one thing, but huge hair adorned with some kind of... silver contraption, was the thing we were most jealous of, not to mention Jennifer Connelly's very on-trend bushy brows. The whole look for Sarah in this scene was how we imagined being a princess for a long time after this - minus the fracas with Jareth.
Stacey Dash, Clueless (1995)
Forget Cher, you guys - Dionne was the real beauty and fashion icon in Clueless. Once we saw Dionne with a nose ring, we wanted a nose ring. Once we saw Dionne in a huge, shiny plastic hat, we wanted a huge, shiny plastic hat. Her penchant for a pink lip was a hell yaaas all around the world, and now every time we match a pink eyeshadow with a pink lipstick - which, admittedly, isn't that often - we think of sweet Dionne!
What's your fave film look? Let us know! @sofeminineUK
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