Actually Wearing Vintage Makeup?

[clubwitsend]

So...I have a number of lovely blush/rouge containers that are pre-1940s...and a couple of them are still full of product. I tend to think that trying to actually use it would be a bad idea, but I'm still curious! Has anyone actually worn makeup this old???

I definitely wouldnt use a lipstick or foundation or anything liquid...but powder?

 

[KittyT]

I wouldn't. A lot of older cosmetics had lead and/or other chemicals in them that aren't deemed safe by today's standards.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

I wouldn't wear it just because of the "old" factor (not wanting to "desecrate" it )

The oldest I wear is makeup from the 80s that I STILL HAVE (eyeshadows!) I have no problems/irritations with it, but I still wouldn't wear 30s makeup. I wouldn't trust it. I'd hoard it, though.

 

[Antje]

I think I wouldn't also use it, I'm not sure with stuff they used back then, but there is not improvement for nothing

 

[23SkidooWithYou]

I have a little milk glass pot of Lashlux that still has quite a bit of product. There's no way I'd put it on my lashes, eyes are too sensitive to play around with.

I will admit, if I had a rouge or lipstick that was previously used, I would *possibly* try a little on but just for a few moments to see what it looked like. The temptation would be too great to resist.

Unsure if it's urban myth, but I have heard that some old time powders contained traces of arsenic. Soooo...maybe it's not a good idea. [huh]

 

[LizzieMaine]

I still have the last Coty 24 lipstick I ever bought before it was discontinued. It must be twelve years old, at least, and I tried it recently for old times' sake -- didn't seem to be anything wrong with it except for being a bit drier than I remembered. I would imagine, though, that lipsticks or anything with an oil/wax base would eventually go rancid.

I also have a bottle of Woodbury's Hand Lotion that probably dates to the mid-forties. A few weeks back I ran out of my regular hand lotion and was desperate for something -- so I shook up the bottle, opened it, dabbed out a little dab, just enough to moisten my hands, and it seemed to be fine. Whatever they put in it to make it keep, was still keeping after sixty-plus years.

I wouldn't go near vintage eye makeup, for just the reasons previously stated. My eyes are bad enough as it is, I don't need to do anything to make them worse.

 

[C-dot]

Modern makeup can go rancid within a few months - Can you imagine what kind of bacteria or degeneration has gone on in that makeup over decades?
Safety first, gals. If you have to question it, it's probably not a good idea.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Unsure if it's urban myth, but I have heard that some old time powders contained traces of arsenic. Soooo...maybe it's not a good idea. [huh]

Not makeup, but a beauty product from 1912 (a little before our "era", but what the hey...)

 

[Heather]

 

[23SkidooWithYou]

Amy J...you kill me! lol

I guess one would improve their pastey palor and slim down as they were being poisoned! Eeek!

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Modern makeup can go rancid within a few months - Can you imagine what kind of bacteria or degeneration has gone on in that makeup over decades?
Safety first, gals. If you have to question it, it's probably not a good idea.

Just my .02 cents - as medical authorities now say you should never share cosmetics, lotions, creams, lipsticks and medication, and destroy most medications due to deterioration & unknown possible side effects as chemical changes take place over time, I'd avoid it. Also, that old, you don't know who has touched it in the past and what other impurities may have worked their way into the product in the decades since manufacture. Avoid, avoid, avoid, avoid.

Also - health & personal product safety laws constantly change, and back then, regulation was pretty lax compared to current standards. As others have stated - things deteriorate and degrade, plus you don't know what now-harmful products may have been used, and what germs, bacteria and the like have worke dtheir way in.

 

[Paisley]

I don't wear other people's makeup--period.

 

[clubwitsend]

I think this thread successfully killed my curiosity LOL

I kept thinking, "oh, but its a powder blush! maybe its safe to just try once!"

Not anymore! I'll just appreciate the lovely containers

 

[LizzieMaine]

Her Complexion Woes Forever Solved

COMPLEXION CURE KILLS HER
Daughter of Albert T. Patrick's Brother-in-Law Dies in St. Louis.

Special to The New York Times.

Tuesday, May 23, 1911

ST. LOUIS, Mo., May 22. -- Complexion wafers containing arsenic were the immediate cause of the death of Miss Hildegarde Walton, daughter of Mrs. John T. Milliken, 1,150 Belt Avenue, this morning at her home. She was found unconscious in her bedroom yesterday morning by her mother.

Full Story Here.

 

[LaMedicine]

Some contained arsenic, there were others that contained lead, though I'm not sure until when.
In the past, there were lead poisonings from them.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

COMPLEXION CURE KILLS HER
Daughter of Albert T. Patrick's Brother-in-Law Dies in St. Louis.

Special to The New York Times.

Tuesday, May 23, 1911

ST. LOUIS, Mo., May 22. -- Complexion wafers containing arsenic were the immediate cause of the death of Miss Hildegarde Walton, daughter of Mrs. John T. Milliken, 1,150 Belt Avenue, this morning at her home. She was found unconscious in her bedroom yesterday morning by her mother.

Full Story Here.

I get excited when I read about vintage things that I live near -- in this case "Ogontz School" as Ogontz Ave isn't even 2 miles away from here

 

[clubwitsend]

this thread makes me wonder what they'll be saying about things like Botox in the future! Eeps!

 

[KittyT]

this thread makes me wonder what they'll be saying about things like Botox in the future! Eeps!

Well at least there are regulations in the modern cosmetic and medical industries. I say "medical" because Botox IS a medical treatment (as well as a cosmetic one) and as such has had to undergo extensive studies.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A great book to dig up and read is "100,000,000 Guinea Pigs: Dangers in Everyday Foods, Drugs and Cosmetics" by Arthur Kallet and F. J. Schlink, published in 1932. It's an indictment of lax enforcement of the pure-food laws, with case histories of really horrible things that happened to people as a result of unsafe drug-store goods.

Among the examples, a nationally-advertised, very popular toothpaste (Pebeco) which had the deadly poison potassium chlorate as one of its active ingredients. Swallow enough of it, and you were done for. And then there's several depilatory products made from thallium, which not only causes hair to fall out but also teeth and fingernails. And then there's -- well, you get the idea. Some very dangerous products were out there, especially in the teens and twenties, which seemed to be a golden era for this kind of quackery.

Arsenic Complexion Wafers come in for some discussion as well -- according to analysis such products were made up of arsenic and starch, and nothing else. Best not to try any if you come across them...

 

[Mr DP]

All of the aforementioned posts are plenty good reason to not wear your vintage makeup. But I'll add to these by saying the amount of bacteria and germs which have accumulated over time would be reason enough.
Actually, this is an opportunity to also say, any makeup you ladies have which is more than a year old, should be disposed of as soon as you can. Especially mascara's and eyeliners, after a time the high bacteria and germ content is easily enough to cause maladies such as conjunctivitis and eye infections. As well, did you know the bottom of your purses can contain more bacteria than a toilet seat? The truth!!! Clean your pocketbooks at least once a month and give a shot of lysol or something equally as germicidal. Never sit your purse on the floor at a restaurant or a restroom, they actually make purse hangers just for this very purpose. (And these small hangers are easily concealed within your purse.)
Btw, HELLO to everyone! This is my first post! Probably not the one I would have chosen to be my first posting, but it is important information. I am a stylist and in twenty+ years of having salons, I've had several clients who've experienced problems with eye infections and their dermatologists immediately recommended disposing of older makeup!
Here is a little something I found on the net for you....http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/beauty/makeup/lips/when-should-i-throw-my-old-cosmetics-out/