Toiletries of the Golden Era

[16_sparrows]

In listening to old vintage radio shows I notice a lot of advertisements from Lux soap. I recently found out that it is still being sold today and am curious if anyone has used Lux soap? Is it as wondrous as they say?

Another product golden era I've been curious about is White Shoulders perfume powder. Anyone a White Shoulders user?

I would love to hear of any vintage toiletries you gals have been curious about or have used.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

My sister used to wear White Shoulders. I recall it having a pleasant scent, but it is not one of my favorites.

I have never tried Lux soap, but you do see many ads for it in ladies' magazines of the 1930s-40s. I have, however, tried Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Soap (in liquid form)—it dates to the late 1940s—and can say that it is my favorite. The lavender smells heavenly, and the peppermint is incredibly refreshing!

 

[fortworthgal]

When I met my husband, Lux soap was all he would purchase! We used to find it at a grocery store not far from our old apartment. I don't remember it being particularly remarkable. I do have a couple of original bars of that, Palmolive, and Lifebuoy from the 1940s - still in the original wrappers. The Lifebuoy bar is in the original box, still wrapped in the wax paper inside! I also have a few bars of Sweetheart soap, which I thought was a 50s product, but a couple of my WWII dated women's magazines have advertisements for it, so obviously it was introduced earlier.

I use Pear's soap. It is quite mild and I like the scent. I find it at the local Dollar Tree. They also sell Breck shampoo, which my mother remembers her older sister using in the 40s and 50s. Tussy deodorant is another, as is Cashmere Bouquet soap (I believe Lizzie brought that one up in another thread). Emeraude perfume was introduced in 1921. I see that at Walgreen's for around $5/bottle.

Other vintage/golden era toiletry products I use: Coty Airspun powder (from the 20s I believe), Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask (1931), Pond's Cold Cream, Tangee lipstick, and Je Reviens perfume. That is all I can think of so far.

I have an original bottle of Chamberlain's hand lotion, and a couple of other items that still hold the contents inside. No way I'm going to try using them, though. (Although I did try using 60 year old Kolynos tooth powder once.)

Check your local dollar stores and smaller grocery stores in the older areas of town. Those are your best bets for finding golden era products.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Coty L'Origan (1905) is still available, and I wear it in the fall (this is the scent of their Airspun powder.) I've always wanted to try Muguet du Bois, the lily of the valley scent Coty released in 1941. I like Emeraude, but my mother tells me it does not smell the same as it did when she was a teen

Tabu perfume was launched by the House of Dana in 1932; you can still find it at Target. It's a bit strong, though not unpleasant.

One of my favorite perfumes is an inexpensive gardenia fragrance that dates to about 1950.

I am also a fan of Pond's Cold Cream and Queen Helene products. Jergens still sells their cold cream and hand lotion as well.

The item whose age actually surprised me a bit is Bonne Bell Ten-O-Six. I always remember the 1970s-ish packaging it had when I was a teen, but it was actually invented in 1936.

 

[colleency]

The Lux name is currently owned by Lever Brothers. I believe that they mostly sell the Lux brand outside of the U.S.

 

[BlancheDubois]

Pepsodent toothpaste and Ivory soap are both vintage products that are still readily available today.

 

[Lauren]

I'm pretty sure you can get a lot of the old soaps and such from the Vermont Country Store

 

[LizzieMaine]

Another golden-era product that's still easily available is Camay -- "The Soap of Beautiful Women." When I was five or six years old, I used to insist that my mother buy me Camay -- I'd seen the commercials on TV, and I was totally sold on it. I was convinced I had the best complexion in the entire first grade.

And I'm yet another of the gals here who swears by Coty Airspun powder -- I've been using it ever since I started wearing makeup, and have never found another brand as good.

I've got a couple bottles of original Woodbury's Hand Lotion, dating to the mid-forties, and have used it occasionally -- it's got a lovely texture, especially for being sixty years old!

 

[KAT]

how about face cream with bleach in it?
just had a 1934 sears catalog in my hands and saw it..i would try it...i wonder if they still sell it or something similar to it? [huh]
i would try it!

 

[fortworthgal]

how about face cream with bleach in it?
just had a 1934 sears catalog in my hands and saw it..i would try it...i wonder if they still sell it or something similar to it? [huh]
i would try it!

I've got an original bottle! Mine is Orchard Brand "White." I kid you not. It claims to "clear the skin of tan and freckles." It says it is 5% alcohol, but you also mix the contents (about half of which remain in my bottle) with lemon juice before slathering it on.

 

[fortworthgal]

The Lux name is currently owned by Lever Brothers. I believe that they mostly sell the Lux brand outside of the U.S.

If it is geared toward Mexico, check Dollar Tree. That is where Breck is most widely marketed, as well as Pears, apparently. Dollar Tree carries all that stuff. They also sell Yardley, which I know is an old brand. I'll have to look and see if they have Lux next time I'm in there!

 

[jitterbugdoll]

how about face cream with bleach in it?
just had a 1934 sears catalog in my hands and saw it..i would try it...i wonder if they still sell it or something similar to it?
i would try it!

Whitening creams are still available today, and are quite popular in Asian countries. Shiseido has an entire line for this purpose, but it is not sold in America.

Also, I believe there was a recipe for a bleaching solution in the Vintage Facebook. The ingriedients are not really safe, if I recall...

Here they are (and they are both potentially dangerous):

Vanishing Cream
1/8 ounce sodium carbonate (monohydrated) (baking soda)
1 ounce borax (sodium borate)
1 1/2 ounces glycerin
1 1/2 pints distilled (boiled) water
4 ounces stearic acid (powdered)
Make in a double boiler. Add sodium carbonate, borax, and glycerin to the distilled water and when the water in the boiler boils, add stearic acid slowly. Let dissolve and beat for one hour.

Face Bleach for Women of Color, Ciircs 1930s
Melt 30 grams lanolin, add 10 grams almond oil. Dissolve rca 1930s
2 grams borax in 30 grams of glycerin and 10 grams of rosewater. To this mixture add 5 grams of zinc oxide, 5 grams ointment of ammoniated mercury and 5 drops nitric acid.

 

[Tourbillion]

The vanishing cream is totally not dangerous, it also won't do anything to lighten your skin.

The other recipe is totally dangerous, but might lighten your skin.

There are a lot of fade creams out there. I don't know of any that were around in the golden era, but most are not really all that effective.

Using a sunscreen every day and covering up with clothes are much more likely to fade spots. I've been trying to even out my freckles for years. The Christian Dior whitening line helps a little, especially the mask, but it is pretty expensive.

As for vintage toiletries, I guess there is also Kiel's (also expensive).

 

[LizzieMaine]

Nitric acid??? Ammoniated mercury??? Yow!

I can remember ads on TV years ago for "Porcelana Medicated Fade Cream," which was an old-school product sold to elderly ladies for lightening age spots on the hands and such. Porcelana had been around for decades by that time, and there were quite a few other skin bleaches on the market in the '20s and '30s -- looking at the Fall 1939 Sears catalog, they have about a dozen different brands listed, including Golden Peacock Bleach Cream, Fan Tan, Othine Freckle Cream, Dermature, Nadionola, Stillman's Freckle Cream, and Kremola (which I think was eventually put out of business by the FDA -- probably one of those nitric acid preparations...)

 

[Etienne]

Ahhh, recipes! When I was a teen, my sisters and I used to bleach the hair on our arms (remember, I am a dark brunette!) with this recipe found in American Girl Magazine:

3 parts 20% hydrogen peroxide (the kind for bleaching your hair)
1 part household amonia
Ivory Soap Flakes, enough to whip the mixture into a froth!

We'd all walk around with this stuff slathered on whatever we wanted to bleach out and, voila! Blonde hair! (Which I, of course, then had to trim with sewing shears because my hairs were so long. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? But it worked!)

My esthetician prescribes Hydroquinone for skin bleaching. It takes a long time, but it works.

I think I saw Lux soap in India when I was there last year!

Has anyone ever smelled Bluegrass by Arden? Memorable!

 

[BonnieJean]

Another product golden era I've been curious about is White Shoulders perfume powder. Anyone a White Shoulders user?

I would love to hear of any vintage toiletries you gals have been curious about or have used.

I used to wear White Shoulders, and so did my mother and grandmother. Its a strong scent, but a little goes a long way. Its one of those scents that you'll either love it or not. And not being content with just one perfume, I've since tried others, but I'd love to try Arpege'. Has anyone here tried it? I see I can purchase it online at several places, but I'm hoping that a local department store might carry it so I can try it out.

This isn't a toiletry item but I only use Palmolive dish soap because its the only one that won't irritate my hands and it really does feel good. (Remember the commercial with Madge the beautician and how she would soak a lady's nails in it?) I see that it was introduced in 1898 and quickly became very popular.

Most of the time, the "old stand-by" products from years ago are much better in quality than the new-fangled stuff. If a product has been around since the 1930s or before, I'm more inclined to try it before some new item.

What were the main make-up lines available to consumers in the 1930s? I'm thinking maybe Max Factor and Coty?

 

[fortworthgal]

I know Max Factor was around. I have an original 1940s container (still sealed & full) of Max Factor Hollywood face powder - in the infamous "Rachel" shade of course.

I know Cutex is another old brand. Most of my old magazines have ads for Cutex nail polish.

 

[CherryRed]

I have used Lux soap in the past but I have not seen it recently, at least not at Walmart. I have a framed ad for it with Deanna Durbin hanging in my bathroom. I recently bought a package of Camay at WM wich I have always loved. It was on Clearance and when I went back for more it was gone. It is available at VCS though.
I also use Ponds Cold cream, Nivia cream (in the tiny tin) Coty powder, Emeraude and Nina Ricci's L'Air Du Temp which dates to the 40's. I belive Olay has been around for quite a while and I love their products.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I know Max Factor was around. I have an original 1940s container (still sealed & full) of Max Factor Hollywood face powder - in the infamous "Rachel" shade of course.

I have an unopened container of loose powder and a powder face brush, which looks like a hairbrush with soft bristles.

They don't offer their loose powder anymore, but you can still find the Pan-Cake (1937) and Pan-Stik makeups (1947).

I also use Maybelline brow pencil (in the red pencil, introduced around 1930.)

And Nivea cream is great

 

[16_sparrows]

And I'm yet another of the gals here who swears by Coty Airspun powder -- I've been using it ever since I started wearing makeup, and have never found another brand as good.

I remember my grandmother and mother both having the Coty powder on their vanity. I've been meaning to try it, but I'm not a big make-up girl to begin with.

I made the mistake of buying Bare Minerals loose powder. I was looking for something light but it's so heavy for a loose powder. You look "made-up" rather than natural. Anyway, that experience has made me weary of purchasing other powders.