Manolo for the Beauty

There is no racial diversity in these ads from the early 1900’s, but I still find them fascinating. It wasn’t until around the turn of the century that beauty and hygiene ads went from a laundry list of ingredients and their effects to the picture-based, aspirational ones we still see today.

I love this. “Fate cannot harm you!” That is some powerful stuff.

“Used by those you admire” and served by children (cherubs?) with no underpants. Classy.

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Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid, or Iman to you, is a Somali-born model.  It took Wikipedia for me to find that her father was a former Somali ambassador to Saudi Arabia and her mother was a doctor.  She was discovered by a fashion photographer while attending university in Kenya.  The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

Iman is on my personal list of the five most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. 

Aside from her gorgeousness, she is an accomplished businesswoman who founded her own makeup line, and is well known for her charity work on behalf of her native country and the Children’s Defense Fund. 

Oh yeah, and she’s married to some singer.  David whatshisface.

Not just for lips any more!  I’m always a big fan of beauty products that can multi-task, and this product, which has been around in commercial form since 1870, fits the bill nicely.  Women have been using it as a cosmetic aid for at least a century.

And just for clarification, I’m talking about the product that is 100% pure petroleum jelly. Which could technically be another brand other than Vaseline, but let’s face it, Vaseline is the most famous.

Vaseline can be used for:

• Removing eye makeup.
• Moisturizing the face, including the eye area.
• Eyelashes in lieu of mascara.
• Some people swear that if they apply Vaseline to their lashes at night, it makes them grow thicker.  Haven’t tried this one.
• A brow-tamer.
• Mixing with pigments or eye shadows to give them a nice sheen.
• Moisturizing and strengthening nails and cuticles.
• Softening feet.
• Keeping elbows and knees from looking dry and ashy.
• Mixing with a lipstick for an instant blush.
• Making split ends not look quite as split, although nothing cures split ends except cutting them off.
• Mixing with sugar to make a scrub.
• A natural looking eye enhancer when used alone on the lid.
• Mixing with your regular lotion to make it last a bit longer.

Now you know why it is sold in such a big tub!

Did I miss any?

Believe it or not, I was actually going to do this post last week, but couldn’t find the time to squeeze it in.

And now, of course, the sad news today of her passing.

I honestly believe that Elizabeth Taylor was one of the most stunning women to ever walk the planet, period.  And when I say stunning, I mean jaw-droppingly, hear-stoppingly so.  Much is made of her gorgeous eyes, and did she ever know how to make them stand out even more by having some of the best-shaped eyebrows I have ever seen.  If there was ever an argument to bring back thick, shapely eyebrows, Elizabeth Taylor is it.

But, enough of my words, her face speaks for itself.

It takes a certain personality, does it not, to pull off red hair? 

I don’t think I could do it convincingly.

Here are some famous ladies and their red locks, ranging from strawberry blonde to deep red.  The color may or may not be their “natural” color, but I’m including them if they are well known for their hair, regardless of the dye bottle. Did I manage to include your favorite?

Julianne Moore

Rihanna

Lucille Ball

Christina Hendricks

Bryce Dallas Howard

Amy Adams

Lindsay Lohan

Molly Ringwald

SWINTON

Nicole Kidman

More redheads after the jump… (more…)

It was sometime in the late 1970’s.

I was a young girl who was forbidden by my parents to wear makeup.  Except for Halloween, when I would be a Gypsy, as politically incorrect as that was, and get to wear blue eyeshadow and blush and lots of necklaces.

But to a lassie such as myself, one night a year just wasn’t good enough.  I yearned for cosmetics, but my parents and their iron fist (not to mention the Catholic nuns who would certainly inform my parents if I showed up at school looking like a harlot with makeup on) kept me from them.

So in a distant second place finish, I was allowed to wear Rachel Perry Lip Lover.  Oh, it didn’t color your lips, but it did have a wonderful texture, lasted for ages, and have I mentioned the smell? So many different to choose from, all of them great.  My favorite was the cantaloupe, and it was heady stuff indeed.  It was the kind of lip balm where you would deliberately pucker your lips under your nose all day in order to get the full scent, rather than take a chance that at whatever wafted randomly.

It was all natural and therefore parent-approved, but I didn’t even care.  The smell was what kept me coming back for more.

I thought about Lip Lover the other week, and decided to go online and see if it was even being made lo these thirty or so years later.

Alack and alas!  It seems I am too late.

Discontinued!  And only last year!

Damn.  I hate it when that happens.

She began her career in silent films, and became famous for her acting skills as well as her beauty.  Her even more famous hairstyle was dubbed “the Brooks Bob” and it became the 1920’s version of the Rachel.  I would argue that her hairstyle was even more iconic, as we all instantly equate that particular type of bob with flappers.   Wikipedia says Louise was known for her use of salty language and her sexual liberation.  Sounds like my kind of gal.  Louise embodies what I like to call  “flapper chic.”

So salacious for the 1920’s!

Gorgeous, and I would kill for those earrings.

This picture would not look out of place in the Vogue magazine of today.

Lovely.

I adore the dark hair/dark lip combo with the white dress.

A photo from early in her career, note the extreme cupid’s bow lip, which she later toned down.

A rare photo in which she is smiling. 

She looks so stunning, I almost want to cut my hair!

Last week I wanted to know the state of your nails, and 55% of you said they were au naturel.  17% admitted to some upkeep issues, and 16% bravely told the world their nails were kind of frightening.  I applaud your honesty!  Then along came a smug 10% who said their nails were perfect.  Fine, rub it in.

After reading this article, who quotes a woman who says “she prefers the V-Steam to the harshness of a douche and thinks of it as a “facial” for her private area,”  I can’t resist, I HAVE to ask you!

Apparently, the whole “youth” thing isn’t really all that new, is it?

I don’t know whose definition of “fresh” or “alive” this ad fits, but it sure doesn’t fit mine.  Our friend here looks about ready to eat someone.