If you're a make-up aficionado like myself the drug store may be the last place you'd find yourself trolling for make-up. Stores like Sephora, Ulta, and the MAC counter are bright and vibrant and fun (with great sales people for all that fabulous free advice!) but Mid-century American women had no choice but to buy their cosmetics at drug stores or the occasional department store. Revlon has been around since make-up was first packaged and sold and believe it or not the same colors mid-century women chose are still available today! As soon as I saw this diagram I picked up a tube of Fire and Ice on my last grocery trip. I love knowing that I am wearing an authentic 1950s lip color with my anachronistic ensembles. So far I am very happy with the color, a pretty pinkish-red that glows on my lips. The color is moist and subtly wearable. The packaging leaves something to be desired, and I had to spend several minutes peeling off the unattractive price label. Also the lipstick has wear issues, I'm used to expensive lipsticks with high pigment content that last until lunch and leave a stain all day. I found that layering is key with the Revlon lipstick: use a liner to fill in lips, apply lipstick, press powder onto lipstick, re-apply lipstick. Repeat after lunch.
Overall I am happy with my purchase and plan on collecting all the colors in the chart above to achieve a retro lipstick collection. At $5 a tube I really can't pass these up even if they do need a little more work to last. After this little experiment I am more interested in trying Besame cosmetics...if I can get the same authentic retro colors with a higher pigment content, more durability and that gorgeous golden lipstick bullet? I'd happily pay the $22. In the meantime enjoy some matching nails and tips ads from Revlon featuring some of the colors above for inspiration.
I have a few of the retro color nail polishes but might try out one of the lipsticks now too. Ive been a Besame convert for a few years, but have an old vintage Mother of pearl lipstick case I've been trying to match the color in and replace with something new. Hot Coral or Blase Apricot look like possible matches so I'm going to check out my local drug store and see what I can dig up after reading this!
ReplyDeleteYeah, there's probably going to be a tube of Besame in my cart for my next Vivcore order. I love the idea of mashing a new lipstick into a vintage case, I'm obsessed with finding the perfect lipstick holder like this one:
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How fab would that be on my vanity? I would store my favorite and most-often used colors in it!
That one is awesome! I bought this one a while back http://quaintrellelife.blogspot.com/2010/12/lipstick-holder.html it's great because the "tulips" are springy so i can get bigger lipsticks in it, but i want to own so many more!!!! I bought the Revlon Fire and Ice today and can't wait to try it out :)
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