A Look Back: Vintage Skincare & Makeup Products

Something that is very exciting about the skincare and makeup industry is its dynamism. Every day, there are new discoveries made about how to better meet the changing needs of our customers’ skin and hair. Evolving environments have to be factored in, fashion lends a guiding hand, and of course, feedback from consumers about what you want.

Sometimes it’s fun to take a peek back in time, just to see how far we’ve come over the years. Makeup and skincare products of years past are always fascinating, quaint, and sometimes downright funny. Here are a few of my favorites that I stumbled across recently.

Stain n’ Scent - Nail polish has been around for centuries, originating in China and spreading to the decadent Egyptian upper class around the same time. Modern nail polish really came into vogue during the 1920’s, and this ad from 1951 illustrates THE popular red color of the day. Dura-Gloss nail polish apparently came in chip-free, and a perfumed formula, which begs the question: who would be sniffing your fingernails? Maybe it was to save the wearer from the strong smell during the application process? Who knows!

Suds Your Locks - We’ve heard lots of stories of all kinds of edible products being put in people’s hair to make it healthier. Beer is an oft-cited ingredient for making hair shinier and more manageable, and apparently the creators of Body on Tap took it to heart. They created a shampoo that had actual beer in it, and according to this former employee of the company that created the shampoo; the beer they used was Budweiser! I hope it didn’t make your hair smell like a freshly poured glass of brew.

Soap that floats - Apparently that was a major selling point for Swan soap during the 40’s and 50’s, even though that characteristic was discovered after a batch was accidentally made incorrectly with air bubbles worked in. People loved it so much, that Swan incorporated it into their advertising campaigns, along with, of course, pictures of a swan.

The Name Says It All – Not ones for being concise or subtle, the makers of “Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific!” shampoo didn’t want there to be any confusion in the store when you were selecting your hair products. Apparently the floral fragrance was strong enough that it stuck in people’s memories
for decades, and helped the shampoo enter the pantheon of timeless products. Gee, who knew!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 at 1:54 pm and is filed under Makeup - Products, Skin Care - Products, The Body Shop. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.