For all my readers that are fans of Art Deco design and the fashion 1920s and 30s, I have several boards full of my favourite visual collections over at Pinterest that I add to on a daily basis. You are welcome to follow me there also. Enjoy 
I am a graphic designer by profession and my love of 20s and 30s design has always influenced my own work. I have admired and collected design examples from this time period since my college days studying design and art history and am always adding to my digital collection. Broders, Schmidt, Rodchenko, Schlutz-Neudamm, Loupot, Kiesler, Falcucci, Carboni, Bouchard, Cassandre, Kuhn and Ansieau – just to name a few – are some of my favourite designers of the day. Sometimes I forget about all the things I have stored away in files and am excited when I come across them again and just want to share. So, please enjoy these vintage lovelies from the 20s and 30s.
Categories: Cosmetics, Hair, In Magazines
Tagged: 1920s ads, 1920s cosmetics, 1920s perfume ads, 1930s ads, 1930s cosmetics, 1930s perfume ads
I have always loved these gorgeous ads from 1930s Japan. Such stylised, beautiful ladies and a wonderful use of colour and design. The girl with the red hair bow is stunning and I adore the green hat in the second poster.
Vintage compacts…don’t you just love them!! Each one distinctly different from the other – the style revealing a little something about the previous owner. Historically the compact had a slightly shady past. They were originally only used by ‘less desirable’ women such as ladies of the night and actresses. As time moved on, the wearing of make-up became more acceptable and compacts finally came out of the shadows to become a mainstream fashion accessory and were finally used in public without disgrace.
I have a tidy little collection of my own vintage compacts and am always on the lookout for more Art Deco lovelies. They really did come in all shapes and sizes and were made from a variety of materials. My favourite is my ‘Volupte’ case which has a puff, lipstick and place for cigarettes/coins, all carried in a little grosgrain purse (similar example below). Here are some fabulous compacts that are available on Etsy.
To see an another cool collection of compacts for sale, check out .
* All items are linked back to their original Etsy source.
As promised, the backstage hair and makeup shots from the ready-to-wear show. In a few shots you can see they used facelift tape to lift the models’ brows, just like they did in the couture show. And nice shots showing how they curled the models’ hair, and the false betty bangs. The colour match on most of the bangs is fantastic, only one or two of the blondes are a little mismatched, but I love the look. High pigment, bright block colours seem to be the go for eyeshadows this season. Lovely to see the black eyeliner kitten flicks over the top. Some nice colour inspiration here, perhaps I will branch out a little more. Galliano’s shows always inspire me to be more theatrical.
Backstage shots of hair and makeup at the show, fantastico! You can see, to give the models that haughty, high cheek-boned and highly arched brow look of Rene Gruau’s fashion illustrations in the 1950s, they used Face Lift Tape! Apparently it’s common in the fashion world and the entertainment industry, I had no idea!
WHAT a gorgeous line of makeup! I think I’ll have to buy some of these products after I start working again in October. Seems like MUFE is very aware that lots of ladies have an inner showgirl that is dying to be made up.
The story goes that Dani Sanz, the creator of MUFE, has collaborated with Janet Pharaoh, the ballet mistress from Moulin Rouge, to create this beautiful collection inspired by the colors of the famous cabaret. Don’t you just love it?! If you’d like to buy these products, head over to Sephora.
MOULIN ROUGE CRYSTAL GEMS
Swarovski crystals in red, black and white to spice up your eye looks and make them sparkle.
FALSE LASHES
These long and dramatic lashes have a shiny red sequin band that looks like eyeliner on your eyes. They’ll definitely get them noticed.
ROUGE ARTIST LIPSTICK
Available in Moulin Rouge, a blazing red shade.
GLOSSY FULL COULEUR LIPGLOSS
Available in Moulin Rouge, a bright shiny red.
I haven’t found much information on this line, but from the looks of things, this was only available in Europe. Did anyone see this in the States?
So a little run down on these products which are named after the legendary show Le Crazy Horse in Paris, France.
1. Pasties in the signature shape of lips 2. False Eyelashes 3. Makeup bag in the shape of the famous sofa used on tables and designed by Dali 4. Stunning Red Lipstick 5. An iridescent powder for the eyes and body; and 7. a small vibrating duck with a cap (removable of course!), nod most famous painting in the show!
Dior Spring-Summer 2010 Women’s Ad Campaign
“The luxe collection will roll out at the beginning of February at Saks’ Beverly Hills and Fifth Avenue stores, with colors inspired by vivid blues from the Mediterranean, the dark burgundy shade of (Gabbana’s favorite flower), and gold and black from Stromboli. As for the packaging, it captures Dolce & Gabbana’s deluxe style with shiny gold tones and curved edges. A long time coming, Dolce & Gabbana Makeup will feature rose-scented lipstick ($30) at the heart of the line, along with a peppery mascara ($28). Besides bronzing powder, lip gloss, eye and lip pencils, and blush, expect to see eye shadow duos ($36), nail lacquer ($20), and powder foundation ($59), too.”
Categories: Celebrities, Cosmetics
Chanel Rouge Allure Laque, already in stores, in shade Dragon. It is a high impact, bold red color with high gloss shine.
I’m a sucker for a great collaborative project, so, having long been a fan of Manhattan’s Neue Galerie dedicated to early twentieth-century German and Austrian art and design, I was over the moon when I got word that Estée Lauder had created two limited-edition Bauhaus-inspired products centered around the work of artist Otto Dix–a crimson called Berlin Red and a complementary compact–whose exhibit will debut at the museum in March. As a refresher, the Neue Galerie was co-founded by Ronald S. Lauder (of the namesake beauty giant), so it was just a matter of time before his two passions would meld. Some of Dix’s most noted works, including Portrait of the Dancer Anita Berber (1925) and reclining Woman on Leopard Skin (1927) center around female figures with bold red lips, so the choice of the crimson pigment (housed in a bullet-shaped case) was au natural. The lipstick and compact will be sold exclusively in the museum’s design shop. If these aren’t enough to get you uptown, hopefully Dix’s exhibit–the first-ever one-man show on American soil devoted to the German artist–will.
Lipstick ($30) and compact ($55) available at Neue Galerie, 212-628-6200
Man Snob has great taste in lipstick and an eye for design. I think the compact and lipstick are beautifully designed.
Categories: Cosmetics
We love chocolate and know we’re not alone in this. Luckily for us, chocolate is softening on the skin and smells delectable, which is why we stir white chocolate and dark chocolate into each batch of Chox Away. We scent this soap with the mouth-watering sweet orange, vanilla, chocolate and peppermint fragrance from our Honey Trap lip balm. So if it’s chocolate you love, lather up with Chox Away; it will satisfy your cravings and won’t increase your waist size!
We love chocolate and know we’re not alone in this. Luckily for us, chocolate is softening on the skin and smells delectable, which is why we stir white chocolate and dark chocolate into each batch of Chox Away. We scent this soap with the mouth-watering sweet orange, vanilla, chocolate and peppermint fragrance from our Honey Trap lip balm. So if it’s chocolate you love, lather up with Chox Away; it will satisfy your cravings and won’t increase your waist size!
I’ve heard good things about LUSH. Has any one of our readers used their product before? Their soaps look delicious!
Categories: Cosmetics
Caron Paris produces gorgeous old-fashioned powder puffs with real swan down. Aren’t they divine? The photo directly below is from Dita Von Teese’s dressing table, as Caron Paris created a powder puff in crimson red in honor of Dita and her show “Lazy” at the Crazy Horse Paris this year. The puff is now known as the “Dita”.
Being a vintage gal is a pretty demanding kind of thing. Curling and styling your hair, the anything-but-natural makeup, hunting out rare vintage styles and sometimes wearing clothes that are 80 years old, not to mention the ordeals of garters, stockings, high heels, corsets, jewelery, hats – there’s a lot involved!
Now imagine, that on top of all that, you weren’t only going to style your hair, do your makeup, and wear uber-feminine vintage style clothing, but you were going to do all that whilst swing dancing… for four hours straight… sweating and spinning and twisting and getting tossed around, sometimes upside down, by your partners – it’s a whole different affair!
When it comes to makeup, it can be really hard to find anything that stays, but here are two products I use. I guess, even if you’re not a Lindy Hopper, then at least you know these products have passed the ultimate durability test!
Firstly, my dance partner Juan would kill me if I got lipstick on his shirt, and I’m not a fan of re-applying lipstick every ten minutes (or lipstick on my teeth, for that matter), so I use Cover Girl Outlast All Day Lipcolor, in “Ever Red-dy” (#507). It seriously doesn’t come off – you need a special remover to get it off at the end of the night. I like this one because the color is a real fire-engine red, and it doesn’t flake off like some other so-called “everlast” brands. I’ve stopped trying to find it in stores (it’s usually the first color to go), so now I just buy it online on Amazon:
I kiss my boyfriend, eat a meal, drink and dance all night long, and it stays on. I just pray they don’t discontinue it!!
Secondly, we have MAC Liquidlast Liner – yep, waterproof black liquid liner. Again, this stuff SERIOUSLY stays, you’ll need a special remover to get it off, although I find my moisturizer on a cottonbud works too. I think anything oil-based would get it off. But sweat doesn’t budge it, and you don’t have to worry about rubbing your eyes either. You can get it anywhere they sell MAC, I got mine at Sephora.
Categories: Cosmetics
