Living Beauty Vintage (Frugally) OR Was Grandma on to Something? (Part 1 - The Night Time Products)

Hello Everyone!
As those of you who know me are aware, and those of you who have read my blog may have guessed, and my Instagram followers know - I am a vintage fanatic.  I love vintage fashion and design and strive to have these items in my life and wardrobe.  Just so we can clarify, vintage for me is the thirties, forties, fifties, and early sixties. I do like the twenties, but the clothing style is not flattering for my body type.  I also know that vintage now includes the seventies, eighties, and nineties, but those are not the decades that I am drawn to and are not what I am referencing when I say vintage.  (Wooh, now that we have that cleared up, lets get back on with the post.)

This is from Tom and Jerry.  I loved the ones where Tom would try to woo a lady cat because it was one of the few times that we would see girl characters in cartoons.  Can I just say, her manicure is amazing.

Since turning forty, which was not as recently ago as I would like, I have been plagued by teeny, tiny, white, acne bumps.  A problem that I have never had before, not even when I was a teenager.  I was horrified.  So I researched the problem, went online, talked to my dermatologist, talked to my sister-in-law who is an aesthetician, and bought a boatload of products to try to fix the problem and nothing seemed to be working. (Reducing stress in my life - the one thing that everyone said would work - was not an option.)  Did I ask my mother?  No.  My mother is a true disciple of the less is more philosophy of life.  And I must say, it truly works for her.  She just washes her face in the shower with Olay soap and only wears makeup on special occasions and she has very clear skin.  But I like a more artificial look than that - always have- so I didn't think that her beauty routine of a clean face and no make-up would work for me.

Despite her face regime sounding very natural and hippie-esque, my mother was more into mod - as this picture shows.  The woman on the left is my grandmother who I am named after.  The lady on the right is my mother.  She told me the dress is called a "sizzler" and was so short that there were white with navy blue polka panties/shorts that matched the dress underneath.  I'm lovin' this look - even though I would never be brave enough to wear either of these outfits.

This amazing picture of my mom, and embarrassing picture of myself, shows my mother at least 15 years later . (Sorry if that is wrong Mom!)  I think she is around 28-29 years old in this picture.  I am thinking this because my brother, who you can only see the top of his head in this photo, looks like he is one or two in the non-cropped picture.  Which would make me 10 or 11 years old- and a style icon to be emulated.  

So I had to go further back in the family.  My grandmother liked to wear make-up every day, and used a variety of products.  Instead of a make-up drawer, she had a makeup cabinet and it was an Aladin's treasure cave of cosmetics.  When I was very good, as a reward, she would let me look at all the products and marvel at all the pretty cases and colors.  She was the one that took me to Merle Norman to get my first make-up at the age of 14.  Ah, memories.......

My grandmother.  I don't know how old she is in this picture, but I want her dress and her glasses.  This is a  look I want to achieve.  Don't believe me?  Check this out.

These are the vintage frames I found that I am going to try to turn into my prescription eye glasses.  I should know in a couple of weeks if this is going to be a possible thing.

She was a true lover of Avon products.  Whether this was because she genuinely liked the products, or she bought them to support my mother who was an Avon lady, I do not know.  There are three products that readily come to my mind that were always in her beauty arsenal.  Avon cuticle creme remove and cuticle creme moisturizer.  I remember being fascinated by these as a child - maybe because they were some of the few beauty products that she would let me use even as a child.  One came in a white tube and one came in a pink tube.  The neat thing about the tubes was that Avon shaped the tops of the tubes so that the tips were shaped like orange sticks to push back the cuticles and could be used in that manner.  I don't know why Avon doesn't still do that.  To me, that is brilliant packaging.  And, of course the staple that was in all of our showers and cabinets - Skin So Soft bathing oil and Skin So Soft Lotion.  (Skin So Soft Lotion and Bath Oil were items found in ALL of the women in my family's bathrooms and cabinets.  At least that was the case in the eighties.)

This may be my favorite Skin So Soft collectible bottle.  My great grandmother had one of these and I was obsessed with it.  I think the top is missing from this picture-in fact, I'm certain it is.  I may have to find one of these and purchase it.  I still love it.

I'm not opposed to trying Avon, but I didn't feel like ordering Avon online - you can do that now- and they no longer carry the Dew Kissed moisturizer I remembered from grandma. 

I think the name of this moisturizer is charming.  Dew Kiss.  Who doesn't want their skin to look like it has been kissed by dew?

So I decided, in a move that seems oddly oxymoronic, to go another generation back and into the vanity of my great -grandmother. 

Look at those perfect waves!!!  Can we say hair goals?

Still looking good!  And still wanting her hairdo!

My Ama and Bapa.  Isn't he handsome?  I think they are both in their eighties in this photo.  Look at her skin!!!!

It only seemed fair that I add a young picture of my Bapa since I have of everyone else.  He is proof that when you find a look, you stick with it.  These are the same hairstyle and glasses that he had in the picture above.

And, believe it or not, here is where I hit pay dirt. 
Until the day she died my great grandmother used Pond's Cold Cream and Oil of Olay, the original formula. And, she had super soft skin.  I also don't remember a zit daring to grace her face - EVER.  She did wear make-up - but was very light with it.  She wore Coty Airspun Loose powder, red lipstick in a gold tube - I have no idea what color or brand it was - and mascara.  Again, couldn't tell you what.  I'm also pretty certain that she wore blush, but I don't remember ever seeing it when I was naughty and went through her make-up drawer in the bathroom.

Another picture of my great grandmother, looking good in casual, lounging clothes.  I have actually worn an outfit just like this- great grandma just may be my style icon.  Who knew?  Maybe she is, partly, where I get my love of vintage.  I did spend a lot of my childhood visiting her. and most of her home was vintage as she wasn't fond of 70s/80 interior design.

Using my great-grandmother as inspiration, and scouring the internet for beauty products that existed when she was a young woman but are still available today, I decided to see if maybe a vintage beauty routine could fix my face problems.  I mean, generations of women couldn't be wrong right?  Or, at least it couldn't hurt to try.  Right!!!  So to research!  For Science!  For Beauty!
Here is one thing I learned.  If you are interested in history, fashion, and make-up, one can quickly go into an information hole that it could take you weeks to dig out of when researching this topic.  There really is ALOT of information available on the internet concerning vintage beauty products.  But after much searching and reading of what dermatologists say about old beauty tricks and skin care (Spoiler Alert - they don't agree on some - oh the debate on Vasoline!). I decided on a beauty routine that included both skin maintenance and a make-up.  I also found that most of the products are, surprisingly, inexpensive and, therefore, definitely fell under the title of Frugal making me want to do a post.  Perfect!  Even more amazing, though not as minimal as my mother's routine, the less is more still philosophy still applies for this routine.   At least it does when you consider that most women's skin care regime involves at least a dozen products for skin care alone -- not including cosmetics.  This entire vintage beauty routine, including make-up but not including manicure supplies or different colors in lipsticks- uses approximately 20 products.  (To put that in perspective - the modern woman averages over 40 products.)
I was going to try to list all of the products and the whole routine in this one post.  But I soon found out that would be a very long post.  So, instead, I am going to do a series of posts on this.  For those of you who follow my blog for the recipes and crafts - do not fear - I am not going to stop posting those.  In fact I will have a Frugal Femme recipe/menu  post out for Easter very soon.   But I also wanted to do some posts about vintage beauty because, well, that's my thing and I thought it would help me get into the swing of posting again.

Skin Care Night Time 

First, a quick disclaimer, I am not being paid to endorse any of these products. 

Second, I am still in the process of testing many of these products and will let you know my opinions on them in a later post- complete with pictures. This post is more a recap of why I chose these products.

Last but not least - I do not like washing my face in the bathroom before I go to bed.  Even when using warm water I find that it wakes me up and it makes it hard for me to go to sleep.  Because of this, I do not include any beauty products in this post that would involve washing my face at the sink.  I will say this though,  if I did use a soap cleanser to clean my face, then Pears Transparent Soap is the vintage soap that I would try.

Alright, so having said this, let me reiterate that I am not going to let you know how I applied these products and how well they worked until another post.  

Night Time Products Selected

Pond's Cold Creme                                                                                                                        $  7.99
Thayer's non-alcohol Witch Hazel ( I like Rose or Coconut depending on the season)                 $10.99
Oil of Olay Beauty Lotion                                                                                                             $12.00 Weleda Skin Food ( Optional - Used once or twice a week as deep moisturizing mask                $10.29
Frownies (with rose water as moistener - but could use witch hazel - Optional)                            $19.95
Smith's Rosebud Salve Balm (Optional)                                                                                        $  6.00
Bourbon French Kus Kus Body Butter (Optional and, technically not a face product)                 $24.00

History of the Products

Pond's Cold Creme

This one is straight from great-grandma's cabinet - no research about vintage authenticity needed to be provided.  Yet I did anyway.  Pond's cream was created in 1846, but, from what I can gather, wasn't known as Pond's Cold Cream until about 1910.  Advertisements from the time show that Pond's focused more on selling their vanishing cream and the cold cream was sort of an afterthought.

I purchased a jar on eBay that looks alot like this jar for my cold cream.  I just thought that it would look pretty on my vanity.

This time the cold cream is getting equal representation.

I could not see where vanishing cream still exists today- it seemed to be the moisturizer to use during the day in your morning routine and helped to bond loose powder to the face, but cold creme still exists.
If you would like more information on the difference in cold creams and vanishing creams, please see this article I have linked below.
https://cosmeticsandskin.com/aba/vanishing-cream.php

Before researching a vintage beauty regime, the only time that I had heard of vanishing cream was on Tom and Jerry.  Do you remember how Jerry used to use vanishing cream to become invisible?

Here is a picture of the duck and Jerry using the cream to hide from Tom.

Thayer's Witch Hazel - Non Alcohol (Rose Petal or Coconut)

So, if you believe the advertising on the bottle, this witch hazel, in its original form, has been around since 1847.  I have not been able to find anything disputing this, so I am going with it as a genuinely vintage product.  I do believe that the bottles that have lavender, aloe vera, rose petals, and coconut are all relatively new developments.  But, it is still the same basic recipe with a few bells and whistles added. 
This was not a product that anyone in my family used.  But I am trying to get rid of acne and I am from the generation that says that you have to use an astringent or toner.  This seemed like the best vintage and skin health way to go as it does not contain alcohol and is supposed to help with acne.

Oil of Olay Beauty Fluid

The glass bottle on the right with the slightly pink lotion is the one that I remember from my great grandmother's bathroom.

This one is also one that I took from my great-grandmother's cabinet of goodies.  It should also be known to almost everyone as it's, basically, become iconic.
Compared to the other products I have mentioned so far, this one is far younger than the others, having only been created in 1952.  This original beauty lotion was a real trend setter in its time because it was a fluid lotion rather than a heavy cream.  I was trying to stick with items that were available when my grandmother was a young woman, but if she switched and used it for decades, who am I to nay say and question her wisdom?

Optional Items
The following items on the list I have labeled as optional items because they, technically, do not need to be a part of the skincare routine unless you share some of the same beauty problems that I do.  These problems are:
 *  A forehead that, due to years of wearing glasses and having poor eyesight, has those two lines above the nose that the beauty biz has dubbed "elevensies".
 *  Dry, scabby skin on the face, especially around the area where the stupid little pimples are - thus making me want to do a deep moisturizing treatment about twice a week.
 *  You want moisturized lips so that your red lipstick doesn't look like it has been applied to a lizard.
 * A love of slathering oneself with perfumed lotion/body butter before they go to bed so that they wake up with their skin smelling gorgeous and feeling soft.

If you have any of these issues then, by all means, use the next products that I mention.

Weleda Skin Food

This is one of those products that, at least here in America, is one of the beauty industry's best kept secrets.  And it is amazing!!!  I had been using this cream already before I started researching vintage beauty items.  But I had only been using it for manicures as a hand cream and on dry areas when they needed extra special love and attention such as dry elbows and heels.  Imagine my surprise when I starting researching vintage beauty products still available today and found that it was a genuinely vintage product. 
Weleda started in 1921 and, as best I can tell, their skin food was created in 1925.

So it definitely falls under the category of products that my young great-grandmother could have possibly used-although I am fairly certain she never even heard of it.  I love that their packaging is very no-nonsense coming in a metal tube that, once used completely, has a tendency to look like it was mauled by bears as you try to squeeze every amazing drop out of the tube.  I also love the fact that they haven't changed their name and still call themselves skin food.  This used to be a popular way to describe products and went out of popularity sometime after the forties - but they still use it and I find it charming.
But, I haven't even told you the best part.  As I was researching, more and more articles started to come up telling me that many people in the industry consider this to be as good as La Mer for your face.  Um......... What?
As I researched, I kept finding articles like this:

What if there were a cream that smelled like almond extract, went on thicker than artisanal cream cheese, absorbed quickly into skin (leaving a sheen just where you want it), and was all-natural? You'd probably be sold immediately. On those words alone, I’d be prepared to start shelling out...and keep shelling—a “tell-me-when-to-stop' kind of shelling. But we've all lucked out, because this review is of a product where there's no need for heavy shelling. It’s only $12.
Weleda Skin Food is an “I’ll save up for this” product at a “Hey, maybe I’ll try this stuff” price. The label suggests putting it on desperate spots—hands, feet, elbows—but on the face, it’s like a natural La Mer.
—Trace Barnhill

And, as far as I was able to ascertain, dermatologists agree with Trace Barnhill- it as good as La Mer for your skin and works as well.  This information blew my mind.  In case you haven't heard about the La Mer craze, let me give you a little update.  It is the miracle cream that has been sweeping the beauty business and Hollywood elite for over a decade.  It is like manna for the skin and several celebrities and beautiful people swear by it.  It is also $200 for an ounce.  No, you didn't read that wrong. 
So to hear that Weleda Skin Food can be used like La Mer had me very intrigued.  I will get into more detail about how Weleda Skin food performed in the "How did these products work?" part of the series, but I will admit that I have already tried using it as a deep moisturizing mask-before starting my vintage face care regime- as soon as I read these articles.  I was terrified that it would make my already not happy skin break out even more.  It didn't.  So I am curious to how this will work for more than one application.   However, if it does work like La Mer, it may be one of the best frugal tips that I have ever given.

Frownies

This might be the most embarrassing of the beauty products for, at least, a couple of reasons. But it is also one that seems to have genuine support behind it - both with dermatologists and people that use them.  This was NOT used by my great grandmother - I don't think she squinted as much as me, but I need it, so there ya go.
Okay, so here's the history of Frownies - they were invented in 1889 by Margaret Kroesen.  Why were they invented you may ask?  Well because her daughter, Alice, who was a concert pianist, had developed "unsightly" wrinkles and frown lines.  Well!  For a Victorian lady this would never do!  And Margaret created Frownies.  The truly amazing thing is that they genuinely seem to work - when used correctly.

Here is the science behind it - wrinkles are not just caused by your skin aging.  Often, wrinkles are because of expressions we make day after day, year after year.  These repetitive motions that we make all the time, every day, form creases in the skin and wrinkles are born.  And these tend to be the deep wrinkles that we find so embarrassing.  (Even if you call them expression lines rather than wrinkles.)  Frownies work on the premise that you are training the muscles under your skin to go back to being smooth and also prevent new lines from forming.
Which makes me wonder why these things aren't more popular and expensive.  They were a secret beauty weapon for the Hollywood elite for decades - Olivia de Havilland was a user.

A young Olivia.  And no elevensies in sight.

Middle aged and still looking pretty good.

Here she is at 102 years old.  There are elevensies but - still she looks good for being over a century old, and that skin looks pretty darn good.

Gloria Swanson literally wore them in a scene in the movie Sunset Boulevard.

I couldn't find a close up pictures, but you can see them on her forehead.  I know they wanted to make her attempts to remain youthful in appearance look desperate and sad, and they used these as a visual tool to promote that image of age grasping for the youth of beauty, but it doesn't mean that they didn't work.
Which brings us to the embarrassing parts.
1.  They were invented to upkeep antiquated ideas about beauty and how young women should not express emotions - creating creases and wrinkles on their faces.  Ummmmmm.......Okay.
2.  You have to wear them for at least three hours or, preferably, overnight, until the muscles under your skin get trained and then you only have to wear them a few times a week rather than every day.  This is fine if you are living alone, but if you have a husband or boyfriend or lover that sleeps over with you.... this is not a look that you want to promote.
It actually makes me appreciate the ridiculous lengths that Mrs. Maisel went through so that her husband would not know the hoops she jumped through to be "naturally" beautiful.  If you haven't seen the show, first things first, watch it, its hilarious and heart warming, secondly she would go to bed with her make-up and hair done and wait til her husband fell asleep and only then would she do her night time beauty regime.  She would also position the curtain so that the sun shone in her eyes in the morning, before his alarm clock went off, so that she could remove all the evidence and appear "naturally refreshed" when he woke up and saw her.  (You find out in later episodes that her mother does the same thing and has been for decades.)

I'm not gonna sugar coat it here folks -vintage beauty looks great when it is the final product, but getting there is, well, not glamorous  - and could effect your love life.  So, although I oppose this ridiculous routine of hers in theory (her husband should love all of her and she shouldn't hide herself from him), and could never actually do it myself - because I am not a morning person and my husband wakes up before me, another part of me understands.  Its bad enough that my husband sees me at least once a week in pillow curlers - to add Frownies is just......  I have no words.  But if it works........
We shall see.  But it is a conundrum.

Even cartoon vixens don't want their romantic interest to see them in their nightly beauty maintenance.

Smith's Rosebud Salve

This is another one that could be found in my great grandmother's cabinet AND in my grandmother's.  So I think I can safely say that both of them used this product as young women. 

My grandmothers used the larger size - the one that was the "New Product".  I distinctly remember that being in the medicine cabinet - although I couldn't tell you what they used it for.

And this item has pedigree y'all.
Don't believe me?  How many other beauty products can be found in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History? 

This a picture of the actual tin found in the Smithsonian.

The tin looks virtually the same as the ones on sale today- except for the price (darn).
This product has gained a cult status in the beauty industry - if you see a make-up artist, they probably have this in their bag or list it as one of their must have items.
And it is pretty wonderful.
Created in 1892 it can, arguably, be called one of the first media start-up companies.  Using mail orders to get information about their product out to the people this product started as a little at-home business and is still around today.

One of their early advertisements.  Look at the Frenchie and weep at his cuteness!!!!

Although this balm has been a part of my life since birth, I can only remember ever using the small tin as a lip balm.  It smells wonderful, works well, and doesn't taste horrible, so I have used it off and on since childhood.  So imagine my surprise when I found out it can also be used for "chapped face and hands, minor burns, bites and stings of non-poisonous insects and all other conditions for which a soothing salve is useful."
Huh.  Maybe that's why the grandmas had the big tin and it wasn't in the make-up drawer but was in the first aid cabinet.  I also found out, in my research, that this balm can be used to moisturize your cuticles, so I will add one more duty to its evening responsibilities.  (I love a product that can multi-task.)

Bourbon French Kus Kus Body Butter

First the disclaimer:
Okay, so this one is not a national or international product.  You probably have never heard of it if you have never been to New Orleans.  And, even if you have been, you may still not have heard it.  But this product, and the place that it comes from, is one of my favorite things in the world.
It also can be argued, quite rightly, that this is not a frugal product and you can buy more cost effective body lotions that have been around for quite some time.  Skin So Soft Body Lotion by Avon comes to mind (and the more I think about it, the more I want to purchase some bath oil).  But this is one of my luxury "treat" purchases and - as it lasts for a very long time, - even when slathering it nightly over the body- I wanted to include it on this list because I am already using it and it is vintage.......  Or at least the scent is vintage, I can't vouch for the base of the lotion/butter.
Now that that unpleasantness is passed, lets get on to the information.
Kus Kus perfume was created in 1843 by August Doussan, New Orlean's first full-time parfumeur. 

Picture of August Doussan copied from French Bourbon's website.

The store can be found on Royal Street in New Orleans and has been around for over 170 years.  That is true vintage!  The store is delightful and, along with carrying perfume and decorative perfume bottles, you can also get a genuine wool powder puff there.   (Oh the decadence!  How 30s Hollywood glam is that?!?!?!)
And, I am certain, if my grandmothers had known about it they would have worn one of their fantastic smelling perfumes, from which there are several to choose.  Although I do, on occasion, wear Kus Kus perfume, I prefer to use it as a body lotion/butter.  The reason for this?  Kus Kus is a soft, powdery (the web site also says spicy) scent that helps sooth me to sleep while it softens my skin overnight.  I also find that it works as a great "base" with my perfumes when I put them on in the morning - adding to their scents rather than detracting  or distracting from them. I guess that's called layering your scents.
I won't lie, the packaging can be a little plain, but that can easily be fixed by transferring the body butter to a pretty vintage jar.  (Which is what I do and is much prettier on a vanity or night stand.)
If you can't make it to New Orleans, you can order their products online.
https://www.neworleansperfume.com
They are worth checking out if you haven't already experienced them.

Gif from Tex Avery's Little Tinker.  I don't remember this cartoon, but now I want to find it.

The Application

Nope.  Not for this blog, that will come in another  future post.

 I hope you found this post interesting and enjoyed seeing pictures of the beautiful ladies in my immediate family.
In the next post, I will let y'all know the items I selected for the daytime part of the beauty regime including their history and why I selected them.  Following that I will tell you whether it was a successful experiment or a total nightmare.  Sometime between that (or after that) I will show you how to do a vintage manicure.
And along with all that, I will be doing my usual Frugal Femme craft and recipe posts.  (Wooh! Wipes forehead of imaginary sweat) .  So stay posted I have alot of ideas coming your way.
Bye!