Yardley Goes West: Prairie Slicker Lip and Nail Polish 1970

Yardley of London had so many incarnations of their makeup advertising; all in an attempt to get away from their British origins. I am of the mind that they should have stuck with the cool, romantic British Mod vibe that they had going on in the 60s, with Olivia Hussey, Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton and the like. But no, they had to get all American West on us in 1970.

Yardley rides again! From out of the past: the thundering look of Prairie Slicker. Here we have a masked Zorro-type cowboy on horseback embracing a Boho-clad maiden. The ad is for three very pretty shades of Slicker Lip and Nail Polish: daring and vividly alive shades as shimmery and fresh as the outdoors. The three pastel shades, Prairie Rose, Prairie Girl, and Prairie Gold, are lovely but hardly daring and vivid. In fact they look like the exact same shades that Olivia Hussey, as a romantic Juliet, advertised in the 60s.

I wonder if all this trying on other guises led to the demise of Yardley’s makeup line? As I’ve expressed many times before, I would love to see a return of Yardley of London cosmetics. Preferably going back to their English origins.

~Marilyn