There’s something irresistible about nostalgia — but what about nostalgia for an era you’ve never lived in? After seeing some of these products, it’s enough to make you wish you’d been around to actually try some of these vintage makeup products out.
On the other hand, modern day has more human rights and smartphones, so…let’s just admire these amazing and innovative products from afar while we stick to our Urban Decay products, shall we?
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Avon’s grandfather clock
Hailing from the 1970s, Avon’s grandfather-clock shaped cologne was called “Fragrance Hours.”
Very clever, Avon. The original perfume inside it was “Bird of Paradise,” which usually came in an elaborate, bird-shaped bottle.
Guns are a-blazing with this compact
This antique pistol-shaped compact is from the 1920s.
Rather than come loaded with makeup, it was a free form compact that you could place your own makeup into.
You can spot a bullet-shaped lipstick in the second slot (at least, I hope that’s lipstick…).
I want to believe
A compact Fox Mulder would love.
This novelty compact had two releases: one in 1956, and the second in 1957. Why two?
Well, to add music to it, of course. Why else?
Lipstick containers weren’t always lucite
Long before we started stacking our lipstick in clear containers, women were placing them in ornate, metal holders that we absolutely need to bring back into style.
Why have plastic on your desk when you could have this masterpiece?
Lipstick, but add…wood
French brand Molinard had a different approach to lipstick containers: they made them out of wood, with carved logos and product names surrounding the casing and bullet.
It must have been nice to be able to see how much lipstick you actually had left, huh?
You spin me right round
This Pupa Vintage Carillon Palette is everything you’d want in a palette: whimsy, colors, horses…it really is the package deal.
Originally released in the 1980s, this palette was brought back briefly in 2009 before disappearing again.
Revlon’s Lipsticks were a-doll-able
Called Couturines Doll Lipstick, Revlon released these from 1961-1963.
Yup, somewhere underneath all of that fur (which I’m guessing is real) is a tube of lipstick that would be very inconvenient to carry around.
But what a conversation starter!
This blush is timeless
Elizabeth Arden really was doing something different in the 1950s.
This cream blush, which swivelled to open and was an extremely bright red, came from 1959.
Note the embellished circles in the cream!
That Max Factor
In case you ever needed to tell the time, apply blush, or do both at once, Max Factor had you covered with this pocketwatch compact.
Poufs were often used in place of brushes, even with cream products. Bacteria city.
Two is better than one
What’s better than lipstick? When it comes with matching blush.
This compact hid a small compartment and tiny pouf for its very magenta blush, as well as a lipstick bullet.
Now that’s a two-for-one deal.
Don’t make me blush
Honestly, the way blush was packaged back then isn’t that much different from today.
Sure, we don’t get heavy metals (unless you really want to pay for it), but the relative size and the concept of the attached mirror are the same.
The improvement? The shade range, of course.
This Leaning Tower of Lipstick
The product is actually not the whole lipstick—it’s just the tube, meant for you to transfer your own lipstick into.
It’s made of silver and gold plated, which you can make out along the top edging of the bullet.
Ugh. I love it. I want it.
Liquid blush is way older than I thought
Googling this yielded some interesting results.
While a few pictures of what I assume is liquid blush came up, it also looks like Revlon introduced another product called Moon Drops: lipstick.
And not just any lipstick
Revlon called it “wet” lipstick. It was still in bullet form, but Revlon claimed that this lipstick was something special.
It came in 20 shades and contained 1/3 moisturizer, and had a marketing campaign so self-congratulatory that I probably would have fallen for it, tbh.
This perfume is quite a-peel-ing
By Parfums de Marcy, this 8-piece set came with a dimpled orange container and was sold in 1925.
It was called, fittingly, L’Orange, and this amount of perfume would probably last you a lifetime.
Pack your bags, we’re going to the fair
Vintage compact cases were huge in the 20s, 30s, and 40s.
Take this one from 1939, which was made especially to commemorate the New York World’s Fair.
The next time anyone calls millennials vain for taking selfies, point them to the “put mirrors in any compact shape” trend of yesteryear. New format, same principal, fam.
Blue lipstick isn’t new, apparently
I had no idea vibrantly colored lipstick was a thing in the 1950s, but it absolutely was!
Take this Helena Rubinstein set, which contains green, purple, blue, and orange lipsticks.
Can you imagine how much this would cost today? Yikes.
Esso was in the makeup game
I am dying at how funny this is.
Who at Esso decided to get into the makeup game, and to make it as tiny as possible?
Did they just want in on making tiny traveling tubes, for the on-the-go lady who was also a fan of oil?
Whatever the explanation, I love it.
Honestly, this is still genius
A mirror that easily clips onto your lipstick and gives you instant access to a mirror exactly when you need one?
This should still be a thing, then I wouldn’t have to pull my phone out to fix my lipstick.
Obsessed.
Early era false eyelashes
So…what do we think these are made out of?
Actually, that’s not my first question.
My first question is: Fabergé made false eyelashes in 1969? What? I thought they only did the egg thing.
You learn something new every day, kids.
Makeup, but make it literal fashion
Hello, new favorite concept.
Why carry around a compact and loose lipsticks when you could make the entire compact your clutch for the night, and sore multiple products inside it?
They had it figured out in the 1930s.
Maybe she’s born with it
Maybe it’s a literal brick of mascara from Maybelline.
This early form of mascara required a pretty bristly brush to apply. The thing I’m surprised by is that they had waterproof mascara figured out in the 1930s?
Damn.
Chanel’s wartime packaging
Beauty genius Lisa Eldridge shared this snap from her collection for her book, Face Paint: The History of Makeup.
Wartime packaging for cosmetics was very different, as many resources were required for the war itself.
Here, Chanel issued a special cardboard packaging for its perfume.
Dial it up
One more compact for the road, shall we?
This 1950s compact featured enamel plating with inlaid buttons, just like vintage telephones.
The baby pink pouf inside it even compliments the pink numbers on the outside. CUTE!
