What cosmetics did your mother use?

That made me smile, Ariadne. My mum thought fringes were common - you can guess what I did as soon as I was in control of my hair!

Cyclax - I had forgotten all about it until I saw this thread, and had to google it. It had a royal warrant - the then Princess Elizabeth used it, and that is probably why my mother wanted to! Loose powder, and a sort of foundation cream, and Lentheric "Tweed" perfume completed the set.

Yes, red lipstick, and red fingernails to match. But she wouldn't even try eye make up because it was "common". (Those of you who have been on GN a while will remember my mother's very idiosyncratic and peculiar ideas about what was "common"!)

Perfume was something by Dior usually. She went mad when I was eight and my father brought me home a bottle of Miss Dior as my present from the flight! He thought little girls must wear it too!

Charles of the Ritz facepowder.

Oil of Ulay always. And still does. I still can't bring myself to call it by its new name.

Bright red lipstick, I remember her saying it had to have a blue tinge, not a yellow one.

Mascara, I don't remember but it wasn't a block one. I bought some and she was horrified, she said that it would tempt me to spit in it!

She was forever trying out new eyeliners, she would get really annoyed if they didn't last the day. They would become my birthday present to her, I was doomed to spend years hunting out new ones for her to try.

My mum had steel curlers which she would place around the bottom lengths of her hair, leaving her with a fat sausage shaped roll of curls all the way round. Belair spray to fix it - wasn't that stuff sticky? Very 50s.

I don't ever remember seeing my Mum use any products when I was young, we didn't have a bathroom and she didn't have a mirror in her bedroom so I guess like Elegran she actually never used anything.. she cut her own hair and ours... I guess we must of been poorer than I realised at the time..
When she was in her 70/80's she did have a little face cream and a tiny bit of eye shadow..

Hair was shampooed and set with rollers every Friday, then curls gently teased into shape before a generous spray of lacquer. Rows of ladies sitting under driers reading Woman's Weekly, and having a ciggy. Faces bright red with heat from the driers. Finally cover hair with a chiffon scarf before going out, not forgetting a rain mate in case it was needed.

Max Factor Creme Puff liberally applied, red lipstick and Bourjois powder rouge. 4711 from a very small bottle.
She always did the front of her hair and applied lots of hair laquer but never did anything with the back!

Same as my mum Elegran. Quite unusual for her age though. She did/does wear a tiny bit of lipstick for a very special occasion but otherwise nothing at all. She has never been into makeup, perfume etc.

One of my 3 year old grandaughters watches her mum in the same way. When she stayed over here, I let her rummage through my makeup case and she enjoyed playing with creams and brushes. When I told my other daughter, she said both sons loved to play with her makeup, too. Funny to think what they'd be describing in the future - mum's makeup case looks like the beauty department at Selfridges!

4711 perfume

Red lipstick. When mum put her only make up product on, the red lipstick, we always knew she going out for a rare treat.

On special occasions, a smear of lipstick and a dab of powder. Otherwise, none. No moisturiser, no foundation, no mascara, no eyeliner, nothing.

Ponds or Nivea cream
Powder
lipstick

You have all brought back a buried memory of my Mum letting me. as a small child, smell her face when she had put on her pale pink face cream. It was Yardleys, in a round white pot with a pink lid embossed with a butterfly and smelt delicious. I can still recall the scent of it but not its name.

She didn't wear perfume and only an occasional bit of lipstick from a dried-up gold case. She had a peach coloured powder puff in a big box of face powder and used to whisk that over her nose.

Long forgotten memories until this thread - lovely to remember.

My mum favoured Yardley's Freesia which was strong enough to subdue an elephant! That strong scent is etched in my memory. She used Nivea cream, red Goya lipstick and her face powder was in a Stratton compact. We used to watch her apply her lipstick and a dab of powder and copy her, giggling.

What's new here? My mother used the same things as other mothers. My mother wore old clothes for housework but changed every afternoon and when we got home from school she was dressed and combed with lipstick on!

My mother used very little in the way of cosmetics and never perfume- said it gave her migraine. She dabbed a bit of Max Factor face powder and lipstick on for weddings and funerals. Lots o hair lacquer though for some reason.

Always the Pond's and then a solid powder type thing but I don't know the name. A touch of lipstick but never red and the regulation Yardley lavender.

How could I forget the Maybelline Cake Mascara? And blue eyeshadow of course for special occasions.

Never had long fingernails, nor painted her nails, and took off at me the first time I painted my toe nails .

Ponds cold creme
Maybelline cake mascara
Eyebrow pencil
Rouge
Face powder
Red lipstick (always blotted on a tissue)

I inherited her makeup gene

Ponds Cold Cream as cleanser and Ponds Moisturiser
Nivea creme
Revlon Moon Drops
Elizabeth Arden Blue Grass
Always lipstick (not necessarily red) and earrings.

Makes you think of all the extra unnecessary stuff that is "essential" nowadays ...

Red lipstick, liberally applied, then wiped with a ring finger and applied as rouge!

Ponds vanishing cream and powder from a compact.

I'd better not tell Mum how common her routine was!

Helena Rubenstein face powder
Pink lipstick (when I could coax her to wear it)
Blue Grass perfume

Powder from a compact
Red lipstick chosen by colour rather than brand
4711
Ponds face cream

I see a pattern developing here.

mosturiser
red lipstick very occasionally, or lipsil
Mum Rollette deodorant
face powder, a tiny amount on her nose where her glasses rubbed.