ON THE COVER Bygone Beauty Buys Cosmetics and scents we all loved
Oh, the good old days of our teenage years…
There’s nothing more evocative than a stump of lipstick found in a forgotten handbag or a waft of scent transporting us back to the school disco, a first date, a wedding…
The fascination with Mum’s lotions and potions as a child sparked a lifelong interest in cosmetics that began at her dressing table, tr ying out her per fumes and lipsticks. Mum’s Tweed
per fume with its chunky wooden top, and the gloopy pinkness of Yardley’s Beauty Magic in its intriguing black jar. And then the thrill of your own bright yellow Kiku globe as a teenager at Christmas!
The 1950s were a boom time for the beauty market – austerity was out and glamour was in! Girls ditched Max Factor’s Pan-Cake for creamy Pan-Stik or Crème Puff and copied Hollywood bombshells Marilyn and Jayne with Revlon’s bold Fire and Ice lip and nail colours and Helena Rubinstein’s Mascaramatic – mascara in a wand – launched in 1958. Creams by Elizabeth Arden and per fumes like Jean Patou’s Joy meant women wanted luxury and fun.
By the 60s it was all about the teenager and make-up lightened up. Mary Quant launched her cosmetics range in 1966, sleekly packaged in silver and black to appeal to the trendy. Her Starkers Nude Foundation matched pale lipstick with a space age feel, such as Revlon’s Moon Drops. Spidery lashes were a must – you could even buy Yardley’s Twiggy Lashes to get her wide-eyed look.
With the 70s and the rise of feminism the shift was towards the modern working woman, who might spritz herself with Revlon’s Charlie before striding to the office.
“Make-up in the 60s was fun, young and all about the modern spacep age” g
Other popular fragrances included Fabergé’s Kiku, Babe and Panache. Hippy chicks would head to Biba for their make-up fix, where colours were dark and glamorously packaged in black and gold.
Sadly neither Beauty Magic nor Starkers is available today, but thankfully Charlie is alive and well, AquaManda and Babe have been relaunched d, Crème Puff is still going strong 60 years on, and hats s off to 4711 Cologne, now 222 years old!