r/VintageCosmetics

The tiny nail mark in the grey is my fault! Got too excited when opening. $15 from my sweet friend Bill at the antique store

So I only recently learned that mascara used to come in a cake like this. The wand was invented by Helena Rubinstein in 1957 and I’m not sure when we collectively shifted to just using a wand. I believe this particular mascara is from the 1960s and I love it because it has never been used and you can still see the Maybelline imprint in the cake! I’m in love with it ❤️

My collection of vintage/antique cosmetics & beauty pieces, with a few other dodads you would find in a purse sometime in the past 100 years 💄💋

Anybody familiar with this? I’m curious when it was sold. My mom can’t remember when she got it, or if it was a gift or a hand me down etc. Google isn’t helping much tbh!

Either way I thought this little beauty might be appreciated on this subreddit.

Could someone help me recognize this compact? It has a build in music box

used two coats and a top coat but probably could have gone without tbh! it was shiny all on its own. i think its from the 1950s but not sure the exact year this was released

Okay so I would be lying if I said that I didn't see videos of other people trying vintage lipsticks to inspire this. I saw so many swatch tests of beautifully, deep staining lipsticks and wanted to get in on the action!

Today I tried Coty 24 in medium red. This specific lipstick I believe is from the late 50s/early 60s. The lipstick itself was unused deadstock and despite marks on the tube, there was little to no corrosion internally. The mechanism was stuck so I fixed it by taking a needle point applicator and applying a few drops of olive oil to it.

After fixing the mechanism I sanitized the outside of the lipstick and removed the top layer.

Despite being old, it applied very smoothly and melted into the lips great. This tube of lipstick smells ridiculously heavily perfumed, that vintage-y powder/musk smell which I happen to deeply dislike. The instructions on the side of the tube say to not blot and allow to set for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes the lipstick remained mostly unchanged and was still greasy, sticky, and sitting on top of the lips. There was a lot of transfer when tested as well. The feel of this lipstick is very heavy and emmolient feeling- you know its there.

I tried blotting the lips until no transfer remained. This stopped the transfer and kept the color on the lips and made it appear more matte. The perfumed smell remained extremely strong though.

After some time I expected the lipstick to have stained my lips. I removed it with a wipe and to my surprise there was no staining to my lips even though I had nothing on them before the lipstick was applied. I have to admit, I was super dissapointed by this part!!

Overall, I like how moisturizing the formula feels and how pigmented it was. I was dissapointed by the ridiculous amount of perfumed scent, the transfer, and that it didnt stain at all.

This specific formula is not for me and I give it a 4/10, my modern lipsticks are better than this one.

I have a few other brands coming in the mail from the same time period that I will be trying as well!