Ever since I was a little girl growing up in the 1970's in Clifton, Kansas, I have loved looking at vintage beauty things. It is directly because of a little dime store called The Golden Banner, a variety store run by the Banner family. I always went there after checking out books at the library, after swimming, or after school. The shop still had items of stock from the 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's, lined up neatly on the shelves.
I loved seeing all the pretty makeup compacts from the golden era of Hollywood, and even bought a few with my meager babysitting and weed-pulling income. Once while there, I saw a wooden boar bristle brush for the first time in my life, and bought it. How I loved it! One of my favorite makeups from that store was a little red plastic slider box of 1960's Cake Mascara from Maybelline. It was so neat because it was mixed with water and applied with a little brush. Another favorite was a shiny brass compact in the shape of an octagon with filigree decoration on the lid. It held cream rouge, which was a bright, red waxy substance, unuseable and hardened by time. Another favorite was a Max Factor lipstick and powder compact from the 40's. It was very small and came with a tiny little booklet showing how to get the makeup looks that Merle Oberon, Lana Turner, Olivia de Havilland, Rita Hayworth, and others wore. It was so fascinating to me to see how they all had unique skin tones and how their lip colors and makeup enhanced their individual beauty. See a similar example of the pages right here .
Another favorite keepsake was from our elderly neighbors, who gave my sister and me some of their childhood things. From the lady we were given a silver and blue art deco 1930's lipstick and powder compact, still with some of each of the makeup intact. I once tried on the lipstick, a deep crimson, but it smelled funny and was very thick and hard to apply. I tried the powder, a pale, pinkish, dusty product. I was much lighter than my skin tone. I put them away for safe keeping, and took them all out occasionally to study them and daydream about the past. I kept those things until my Dad had a heart attack. I sold them to help my folks out financially with that devastating expense. How I wish I had some photos of them all to share with you!
Instead, today, I will share just a few hairpins from my growing collection.
such as these great Gayle brand hairpins. They are very sturdy pins!
This next pin bundle is also a Gayle product.
They are heavy gauge wire and had a very good price at 10 cents!
I love these Dolly Mason pins! they are in such a cute round container.
These are Rolpins, a funny but useful design to hold curlers.
This was the most unusual item I have found lately.
They are called Fabupins, which is a pincushion
much like a pot scrubber filled with stick-type roller pins.
In my next blog post, I will display a few vintage salon advertising combs.
Thanks for joining me!
Sincerely, Cynthia