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What cosmetics did your mother use?

(104 Posts)
mrsmopp Mon 09-Feb-15 07:13:42

Ponds Vanishing cream.
Bright red lipstick, brand unknown.
Face powder
O-do-ro-no deodorant.
Yardley Lavender perfume

CanadianGran Tue 10-Mar-20 22:48:39

I seem to remember powder in a compact, pink lipstick and Avon perfume, or sometimes a splash of my Dad's cologne (was it Aqua Velvet?) on a hot day.

I loved being in the bathroom when she was setting her hair, or afterwards, backcombing and spraying with a vengeance. The hairdo had to last the week until the next Saturday morning. Looked just like the Queen!

Deedaa Tue 10-Mar-20 20:18:47

My mother was strictly Max Factor. I can still remember the smell of it,

korol Mon 24-Feb-20 08:08:32

My mother is 70 years old. I don't even know what makeup she used when she was young. When I started earning I was buying her makeup. Perfume chanel brought her once a lot of emotions

mike28939 Sun 09-Feb-20 23:41:38

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fatgran57 Sun 09-Feb-20 23:12:24

Yes odd that this thread has been resurrected after 5 years!

Wonder how people find them and decide to comment, mustn't look at the date.

Mum used to use Ponds and also a vanishing cream can't remember the name, also a bit of lipstick if she went out. I won't go out unless I have my makeup on as I look dreadful without a bit of colour on my face.

M0nica Sat 08-Feb-20 08:36:17

Like almost everyone else's mother, Ponds cream, powder and lipstick. but not red lipstick, more a mid-pink.

Perfume varied through the years, I cannot remember the name of the first, but later she wore Blue Grass (that I still wear in the winter), Je reviens, then Youth Dew.

My mother was pretty and bubbly and was always beautifully dressed. My father was an arny officer so they had quite a busy and dressy social life, which she loved. I have just been and had a look at the photo taken at her 80th birthday party and she is wearing powder and lipstick and may be wearing very pale nail varnish and looking evrything I described her as, pretty bubbly and beautifully dressed

travelsafar Sat 08-Feb-20 08:31:31

Max factor Creme Puff and i remember block mascara too, oh and Astral face cream were my mum's go too products.

Nortsat46 Sat 08-Feb-20 07:49:09

Max Factor Creme Puff - Truly Fair. (I remember going to the Chemist, to buy it for her, as part of the ‘messages’ I had to run).
Ponds face cream
Bourjois rouge
4711 cologne.

Marydoll Sat 08-Feb-20 06:50:10

Yes, I noticed that too. How do posters manage to find and ressurect these old threads? ?

Anyway, while I'm here, my mother used Ponds cold cream and Max Factor, pressed powder in Candle Glow.

BlueBelle Sat 08-Feb-20 05:49:59

How strange this thread is 5 years old

vampirequeen Sat 08-Feb-20 00:07:00

My mam wears Max Factor and uses No7 make up remover and toner.

SalsaQueen Fri 07-Feb-20 22:50:04

My mum wore only a bit of make-up, but wore it every day -

a little bit of Astral cream
foundation, again, not a lot (Rimmel, I think)
compact face powder
pink lipstick, blotted with a tissue

I wear a full face, 5 or 6 days a week grin

Missadventurefalls Fri 07-Feb-20 21:30:03

Elizabeth arden moisturizer ,avon tinted moisturizer unknown bronzer and shimmer brick , unknown eyeshadow ,poundland liner , primark mascara , lipstick.

grannyactivist Thu 19-Feb-15 16:25:59

My mum wore Max Factor panstick foundation, face-powder, blue eyeshadow, brown eyebrow pencil, mascara and red lipstick. No perfume. She washed her hair with soap or more extravagantly for special occasions with a sachet of silvikrin shampoo. We used to put pincurls in her hair (kirbygrips) or more usually wind her hair around a hot poker and spray it with a very strong hairspray so that it didn't move at all. I always had burn marks and blisters on my fingers, we used to test the heat of the poker by spitting on our fingers and then touching the end of the poker. shock We coloured her hair with peroxide.

MissHaversham1 Thu 19-Feb-15 15:38:27

Max Factor panstick foundation
Coty L'Aimant perfume
Evening in Paris perfume
Lipstick
Eyebrow pencil
Another perfume in a small pointy red bottle (can't remember name)

mrsmopp Mon 16-Feb-15 22:24:14

Wasn't it called Nulon? I could be wrong, the name just came inti my head,

rosequartz Thu 12-Feb-15 19:43:17

The pink hand cream was Yardleys as far as I remember (or has someone already said that?)

Yes, my DM used that too.

Falconbird Thu 12-Feb-15 16:55:13

jinglbells - I think they still make it.

jinglbellsfrocks Thu 12-Feb-15 14:29:00

Rossetta Brun! I used that for years. Right from when I was a schoolgirl.

mrsmopp Thu 12-Feb-15 14:14:58

There was far less choice in those days which explains why most of our mothers used the same products, - vanishing cream, red lipstick, Creme Puff face powder. Our mums would be overwhelmed if we took them to a modern cosmetics store where there are thousands of products. We have a huge Boots store, and I find it overwhelming.

GingerSilk Thu 12-Feb-15 13:47:26

Actually, it was pink hand cream, not punk hand cream.

GingerSilk Thu 12-Feb-15 13:46:20

Nivea or Astral cream. Spit on mascara. Various Avon lipsticks. I used to buy her Youth Dew perfume, I'll have to sniff a bottle when I'm next in town to see if it brings back any memories.
Odd thing, when I read Mamardoits post about pink hand cream I suddenly "smelt" my Mum's punk hand cream. I'd totally forgotten about it, then suddenly I zoomed back 50 years and was a little girl sniffing the hand cream again.

I must say, these tales of minimal cosmetics sound so liberating, especially when I think of my own beauty routine and the expectation I feel to "Look young (ahem) and beautiful, it's my duty to be beautiful!".

absent Thu 12-Feb-15 06:02:13

When my mother got married in 1937 at the age of 26 after many years of courting, she applied a very pale pink polish to her nails before putting on her lace wedding dress and veil. When she walked down the stairs to meet her father before going to the church he said, "You cannot go into the house of God with painted nails," and told her to return to her bedroom and take it off. She did.

rubylady Thu 12-Feb-15 02:33:52

My mum used Ponds Vanishing Cream but she was always still there in the morning! Useless product! grin

She used Nivea, Blue Grass, L'aimant creamy skin perfum, and the cake mascara. I remember her spitting on the little brush although she seldom wore it as she got older, just a touch of lipstick.

I've just put some L'aimant in my Amazon wish list. My mum is now mostly confined to bed, but she can still smell nice. I haven't seen her for a while but I can still send it via a sibling. I will go and see her soon but she chain smokes and I am still having trouble breathing after giving up smoking. I am not heartless, there has been more hurt than I can ever explain.

Falconbird Wed 11-Feb-15 19:40:54

When I started using make up when I was about 14 my dear old dad said it was "gilding" the lily."

When I was small I used to cover my cheeks in mum's red lipstick and wash it off. I thought I looked lovely with a bright pink face.

Just remembered the name of the rouge mum used to use it was
Rosetta Brun and came in a cute little cardboard box with a small pad to dab it on the cheeks.

Mum used to stand in front of the mirror putting on her bright red lipstick before she went to work, I thought she was great. Not many of her friends went out to work - she was a good role model in that respect.