If you're curious about how our grandmothers and decades of women before us kept their skin beautiful, look no further than your local drugstore or Amazon! There are so many tried and true products that are still on the market and many haven't changed after all this time! Here are just a few vintage skin care products that you can still buy. Do you use any of these in your beauty regimen already?
I have been an avid Clean and Clear facial cleanser user since my teen years. I always have a bottle of it next to my bathroom sink. Its not too drying but maintains my troublesome combination skin and keeps breakouts under control. I love the way it smells and the simple translucent orange is cheery. I've tried some of their other cleansers but I always go back to the classic. At less than $5, its always been a trusty product when I was a teen who bought my own skin care to my life now as a stay at home mom on a budget. I only wish it still came in the adorable pink bottle!
For over 100 years, Nivea has been a staple for both men and women of all backgrounds. When my husband was a roofer and came home with chapped, dry skin from the harsh wind whipping him on the roof all day, the solution from my makeup drawer was a little blue tin of Nivea. As a housewife without a dishwasher, I keep some by my kitchen sink when my hands turn dry as parchment in the winter.
Noxzema was one beauty product that I never could like. As a teen when I had a breakout at my dad's house over the weekend, he busted out a tall jar of this eucalyptus scented heavy cream and suggested that I smear it all over the affected area. After my devotion to light and fresh Clean and Clear cleanser, I decided against Noxzema. Noxzema was originally marketed for vacationers after a sunburn and it is still widely used for that purpose today as the cream moisturizes and the camphor relieves pain. I've never personally used it as a sunburn relief but I'm curious to hear if any of you have!
When I first became interested in vintage fashion and beauty, I bought a jar of Ponds cold cream to try it out. I loved it for my dry forehead but it ended up being bad news for my oily areas. I did like the light floral perfumed scent and the ritual of dipping into and removing my makeup with the whipped white cream. When my kids were little, they loved to break into my makeup drawer and smash lipsticks and smear concealers. Thank goodness for Ponds cold cream because I was able to easily clean up the mess from their delicate skin without too much scrubbing or harsh soap.
Frownies facial patches
Frownies were invented in 1889 by a mother for her daughter, Alice who was a pianist. Alice developed frown lines while focusing on her playing but after using her mother's patches, they vanished! Alice's mother, Margaret Kroesen launched her company and sold the miracle patches. Today the Frownies formula is unchanged and the company is still owned and operated by a woman.
The original pink beauty fluid was invented for a chemist's wife as an alternative to the thick, heavy creams of its time. Over the decades, Olay has remained a beauty staple for women of all ages in moisturizers, eye and night creams and targeted beauty treatments. My mom always had a jar of Olay and when I turned 30 and called mom and grandma for advice on what I should start using to keep my skin looking as incredible as theirs, they both recommended Olay. Although Olay has bloomed into a huge line of skin products, the original pink fluid is still a classic.
Thank you for this awesome post. I use many of the products listed. I wish beauty products still came in pink bottles and pretty glass jars!
ReplyDeleteI love this! I use Nivea on both my husband and me (just rubbed into my dry hands a few minutes ago), Ponds Cold Cream to remove eye makeup, Ponds Dry Skin Cream as my moisturizer during winter, Oil of Olay during the summer, and Noxema to wash my face at night (and, yes, it has soothed a sunburn or two of mine). I also still use Prell (which probably would horrify lots of hair stylists but my hair seems to love it).
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post. <3 I adore vintage adds, and wish they would make those charming old jars and bottles today. As mentioned on IG I use Nivea as a night cream for my dry skin. Before that I cleanse with a Victorian eggwhite soap and use rosewater as skintonic. I love to keep it simple. I have used Olay a lot too. I wish you would make a vintage makeup post like this too. Have a lovely day, dear. :)
ReplyDeleteNoxzema does work on sunburns! I won't use anything else because it doesn't work for me. I've been using Noxzema as a sunburn cure since I was a small child and as a make-up remover since high school. I tell all my friends to use Noxzema when they get a sunburn, they always think I'm crazy until they realize it works (better than Aloe Vera in my opinion.)!
ReplyDeleteHi Brittany, my Great Grandmother was born in 1888 and used Ponds Cold Cream until her passing at age 73. My Grandmother was born in 1909 and used Noxzema until Oil of Olay came out in the 50's. I was born in 1953 and from 7 years old until today, I have only used Noxzema. I love the smell and how smooth it makes my face feel. I love reading your blog it brings back so many memories. Vicky https://coralrosevintage.home.blog
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post! My grandmother born in 1918 always used Ponds before she would go to sleep at night.In the shower she would use Ivory soap.
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