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Retro beauty products anyone?

(106 Posts)
Urmstongran Tue 20-Feb-18 23:16:19

My latest lovely find whilst waiting in my small independent chemist is ‘Anne French’ cleansing milk. Same iconic blue & white triangular shaped bottle. It’s so light, non greasy, (I’d forgotten how great it is!) it smells heavenly and after cleansing with it using cotton pads, I don’t use toner afterwards as the light milk is a semi moisturiser, ideal when going to bed after make up removal. My skin is looking marvellous & best of all it only costs around £3! I would thoroughly (re)recommend this old favourite product to fellow GN’s! Has anyone else found similar ‘old loves’ that we may have forgotten about?

lovebeigecardigans1955 Thu 22-Feb-18 11:36:44

Unsure if it's retro - I've never found a moisturiser as good as the original Oil of Olay Beauty Fluid - so light and soothing.
I love the smell of Ambre Solaire - it reminds me of a French beach. Love L'aimant scent - reminds me of Mum.
As a teenager I used Angel Face foundation which came in a tube. Sadly my sister's boyfriend sat on my handbag and flattened it - it went everywhere!
Also loved Suki Pearl lipstick.
As a teenager I was enchanted by Rimmel (I think) sets of teeny-weeny bottles of perfume which we got at Woolies - it came in Lily of the Valley and other florals. also Californian Poppy and Apple Blossom.

Tessa101 Thu 22-Feb-18 11:17:21

Omg I used to use that all the time urmstrongran I thought it was discontinued. Google here I come. Thank you for info.

pen50 Thu 22-Feb-18 11:15:44

I use Lipcote to hold my lipstick in place and it does a pretty good job. My perfume is Chanel no 19, lighter and fresher than no 5. Crabtree & Evelyn's hand creams are good for me, and I've stuck with an Estee Lauder powder foundation for the last twenty years or so. On the other hand I use makeup from new(er) manufacturers such as Sleek, MAC, and Urban Decay, and I'm still searching for the perfect dark circle concealer sad.

auntbett Thu 22-Feb-18 11:14:41

Thanks for the memory LesleyC. I've still got (empty) bottles for Madame Rochas and Femme and a sniff takes me back to a very happy time when my late husband and I first got together. He travelled with his job all over Europe and these were the first two perfumes he brought back for me.

LesleyC Thu 22-Feb-18 10:59:19

Pond's Cold Cream for me too, but as a cleanser. Unfortunately they have halved the size of the pot and put the price up. I remember using 2nd Debut too. I used those whitening eye drops too!

I used to love Madame Rochas and Femme perfume, but they have changed formulation.

inishowen Thu 22-Feb-18 10:46:42

I used to put blue eye drops in my eyes as a teenager. It made the whites of my eyes extra white! I don't think they make the drops now, probably deadly! I still use Nivea on my lips and as an eye make up remove.

glammanana Thu 22-Feb-18 10:41:01

I used to love Gordon Moores cosmetic toothpaste it made your teeth look super white by staining your gums red,you had to use your normal toothpaste first of course,my mum used to go mad as it left red stains in the bathroom sink when I was in a rush to go out.

David1968 Thu 22-Feb-18 10:36:23

Vaseline! Wonderful stuff.

cheneslieges132 Thu 22-Feb-18 10:26:22

Many of the once-favourite perfumes are now nothing like their original formulations ... thanks to silly EU mandates - in particular Chanel No. 5 is a totally different formulation now, because several of the key ingredients which "made" that wonderful scent are now banned by the EU (Oakmoss, for instance, and Limonene etc). The only way is to buy (at huge expense) one of the "pre Barcode" packs of this iconic perfume from 30+ years ago, which certain perfume specialists still sell on eBay. My own favourite is Balmain's "le Dix" - Years ago I bought several packs of this and I am eke-ing it out on special occasions!! Anyone finding that their once-favourite perfume no longer smells "right" ought to read this: www.fragrantica.com/board/viewtopic.php?id=106409

Scribbles Wed 21-Feb-18 21:04:40

The Aqua Manda you can buy on Amazon isn't the original. Somebody bought the rights to the name and attempted to recreate the perfume. I'm told by someone who tried it that it's horrible.

lemongrove Wed 21-Feb-18 20:54:42

Me too Emma I loved the blue glittery one.?

emmasnan Wed 21-Feb-18 20:49:59

The block mascara that you had to wet and then use the tiny brush that came with it.
I can also remember using glittery/ shiny, blue, silver or green eye shadow that came in a case like lipstick.
Not sure if it was a good look, though I probably thought it was at the time!

Blinko Wed 21-Feb-18 20:39:48

My Gran always used Coty L'Aimant.

Jalima1108 Wed 21-Feb-18 19:58:35

Anne French was the very first cleansing product I used!
DM always used Pond's cold cream and had lovely skin.

Daddima I remember buying 2nd Debut for my SisIL as a present when I was a teenager - she must have been about 26 at the time. I blush to remember that blush

Daddima Wed 21-Feb-18 19:15:15

Oooh, 4711 was my granny’s smell!

Body Shop White Musk was my mother’s.

Estee Lauder’s Youth Dew was my friend’s mum’s (she of the 2nd Debut!)

lemongrove Wed 21-Feb-18 19:07:37

Sometimes it’s not the actual product that I like but the scent brings back happy recollections.
Coty L’Aimant was the first thing that my boyfriend, then fiance then DH ( same man!) ever bought me.
There used to be a lipstick I used when around 18 that I loved because of it’s scent ( forgotten the name of the colour) but it was a Yardley, and they all had a wonderful
scent.
When I was about 14 and first had a boyfriend, he bought me a bottle of 4711 cologne, so that would bring back
memories, of going to the cinema and then to a coffee bar.

BBbevan Wed 21-Feb-18 17:48:26

I was a great fan of Aqua Manda emmasnan You can still get it on AmazonI think.
My sister liked Avon Topaz in a pot .

Daddima Wed 21-Feb-18 17:06:42

emmasnan, I remember them both, but wasn’t a fan of Aquamanda, and I preferred Avon’s ‘ Here’s My Heart’ ( blue pot with cream coloured curly lid!)

We spent a lot of time many moons ago searching for Dorothy Gray’s ‘ Midnight’ perfume for my friend, and for her mum’s ‘ 2nd Debut ‘ face cream. Her mum did have fantastic skin!

Lindylou51 Wed 21-Feb-18 16:56:12

I too love Anne French and I STILL use Ponds Cold Cream!

emmasnan Wed 21-Feb-18 16:45:46

I remember an Avon cream perfume called Somewhere, loved it. Does anyone remember Aqua Manda in the brown bottle?

Willow500 Wed 21-Feb-18 16:38:35

My aunt used Ponds cold cream all her life - her skin was always beautiful even in her late 70's

OldMeg Wed 21-Feb-18 09:29:06

Love Anne French too Urnstongran

Teetime Wed 21-Feb-18 09:06:11

Can't beat Chanel No 5 - still my favourite perfume.

MesMopTop Wed 21-Feb-18 03:13:11

I live Coty’s L’Aimant in the creamy skin perfume. Comes in a little black bottle with a “dipstick”. Sadly it has been discontinued but have seen some remaining bottles being sold on eBay for ridiculous prices. I’ve got one and s half bottles left which I use on special occasions.

Ailsa43 Wed 21-Feb-18 02:26:48

I often used Avon Occur cream perfume in the little tiny Black pot when I was a teen . I know Avon discontinued it a long time ago , but I wish I could find another perfume in solid or cream that smells the same.