These Are the Exact Makeup Products Frida Kahlo Wore

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The Brooklyn Museum has opened a new exhibition that offers a glimpse into Mexican artist Frida Kahlo’s makeup bag. Kahlo’s personal style was as striking and memorable as her iconic self-portraits, including the way she applied makeup. On view from February 8 to May 12, 2019, Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving showcases Frida Kahlo’s makeup, clothing and jewelry, with some of her paintings and drawings.

Frida Kahlo’s style

Born on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacán, Mexico, Kahlo was and is still known for her distinctive personal style. Perhaps most notably, Kahlo had a unibrow that she did not tweeze or attempt to hide, but showed off proudly.

Besides being way ahead of the bold brows trend, she also wore her hair up in plaits decorated with flowers that enhanced her bold choices and unique features even more.

Kahlo wrote, “Of my face, I like the eyebrows and the eyes. Aside from that, I like nothing. I have a mustache and the face of the opposite sex.”

Frida Kahlo’s makeup

Frida Kahlo loved makeup! Though the artist struggled with feeling self-conscious of her looks at times (as we all do), she loved applying makeup in bright colors that stood out. As a painter, she was naturally skilled with a makeup brush. She often chose lipstick with matching blush and nail polish in reds, oranges and dark pinks. Kahlo even sealed some of her letters with a lipstick kiss!

Art historians have theorized that Kahlo used makeup as a form of self-expression since her relationship with her body was complicated, to say the least. She was diagnosed with polio when she was six years old, which left her right leg thinner than the other. At 18, she was in a near-fatal bus accident that caused numerous bone fractures and other injuries. The multiple surgeries and long recovery periods left Kahlo bedridden for much of her early life, which is why she turned to painting.

Olga Campos was a psychology student who befriended Kahlo in her later life and wrote a study on the artist. Campos wrote, “she possessed—and even radiated—a strange and alluring beauty… She had a special skill for applying make-up…She knew how to transform herself into a sensational beauty, irresistible and unique.”

Inside Frida Kahlo’s makeup bag

One of the most popular brands of cosmetics during Kahlo’s time is still sold today at nearly every drugstore in the country. Revlon, founded in 1932, was a mainstay in Kahlo’s makeup bag.

Kahlo’s husband, Diego Rivera, saved many of her personal possessions after her death in 1954. This has made it possible for us to see exactly what makeup products she regularly wore.

It’s fitting that the Brooklyn Museum’s Appearances Can be Deceiving is sponsored by Revlon since so many of Kahlo’s favorite products were made by the company.

A press release on the exhibition shares some of the artist’s Revlon items on display. These were some of Frida Kahlo’s favorite makeup products:

Revlon Lipstick in “Everything’s Rosy”
Revlon Brow Pencil in “Ebony”
Revlon Nail Polish in “Frosted Pink Lightning,” “Frosted Snow Pink” and “Top Coat”
Revlon Blush in “Crimson”
Revlon Emery Boards

Recreating the Frida Kahlo makeup look with Revlon products

To recreate Kahlo’s striking look, you’ll have to make a few adjustments as some of the Revlon products she used are no longer made today. To get a similarly timeless look, Revlon suggests these products:

Revlon Compact Emery Boards have been a staple in my cosmetics case for a long time, and I’ve used Revlon lipstick on and off throughout the years. In fact, one of my favorite red lipsticks for fair skin is Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in “Cherries in the Snow.” (Pictured above is “Cherries in the Snow” with a Frida Kahlo mirror and trinket trays my brother gifted me for Christmas!)

To me, it’s exciting to use these products now and think about how they made Kahlo feel more like the best version of herself instead of fragile or vulnerable. I think that for Kahlo, applying makeup was a way to feel powerful while she had limited control over her health and other aspects of her life.

More Frida Kahlo makeup inspiration

If you aren’t a fan of Revlon, you can still get a Frida Kahlo-inspired look. Use your favorite brands to get Kahlo’s signature bold lip and healthy application of blush.

When actress Salma Hayek portrayed the legendary artist in the 2002 film, Frida, makeup artist Judy Chin used “rosy and peachy tones by Tarte and Paula Dorf to create a natural flush in her cheeks and her lips,” Vogue Australia reported.

Kahlo is instantly recognized around the world for her colorful, fearless sense of style that was a living representation of her artwork. See photos of Frida Kahlo’s cosmetics and learn more at brooklynmuseum.org.

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If you enjoyed this post on Frida Kahlo’s favorite makeup products, check out these 1940s makeup and beauty ads!