My Walmart Spring 2016 Beauty Box Review

Posted by & filed under Beauty, Health.

FINNFEMME: Walmart Spring 2016 Beauty Box ReviewI’ve been subscribed to Walmart’s Beauty Box for about a year now, and I’ve always been pleased with their health and beauty offerings. Well, maybe not that one time when there was not one makeup item to be had, but I digress. Walmart beauty boxes come seasonally, four times per year. At $5.00 per pop, it is just the right amount. The monthly $10 Birchbox subscription that I had for two years got to be a bit much for me.

My Spring 2016 Walmart box came last week, and I am quite pleased with it. Like most of Walmart’s boxes it is heavy on the health/skin care side, rather than the makeup/beauty side. It did come with a Neutrogena Moisture Smooth color stick in Almond Nude. I thought it would be dry and colorless, but it turned out to be very moist and glossy with a nice hue. Score one for the makeup department!

There was a 1.25 oz tube of Colgate’s Optic White Express White, which is a generous amount. But I will not be trying this as I am on a very specific toothpaste/rinse routine for my teeth. I’ll pass this on to someone who is game to try it.

The other samples were all skin care: Dove Dry Oil Moisture Body Wash, Banana Boat Sun Comfort 30 SPF Sunscreen, Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser, Jergens Wet Skin Moisturizer, and ROC Chest, Neck and Face Cream. Good choices, and I’ll be using all of them.

~Marilyn

 

1940s Yardley English Lavender Flower Child

Posted by & filed under Beauty, Fashion, Vintage.

FINNFEMME: 1940s Yardley English Lavender Flower Child, vintage 1946 adWith Yardley of London hitting its heyday in the 1960s and ’70s British Mod explosion, it’s easy to forget that Yardley has been around for a long time. We are talking a really loooong time; since 1770. Yardley’s signature scent – English Lavender – was launched in 1873, and is still popular today.

This is such a lovely ad from the August 1946 issue of Ladies’ Home Journal magazine. The delicate English Rose model is dressed in pastel green and is posing in a carriage. The thing that struck me the most is the lovely wreath of flowers circling her head. It seems very ahead of its time, kind of like the hippie boho “flower child” advertising that Yardley did in the early 1970s. More unusual in that England was suffering from postwar hardship in 1946. It paints a rather surreal portrait, but advertising was never meant to be realistic.

Yardley has had a long association with the British Royal Family, and supplied several British monarchs with toiletries. At this time it had “By Appointment-Perfumers to H. M. Queen Mary-Yardley London” seal. Long Live the Queen! And long live Yardley’s English Lavender!

~Marilyn

Scrub Your Man’s Infectious Dandruff Away With Listerine!

Posted by & filed under Daily Life, Fashion, Health, Vintage.

FINNFEMME: Scrub Your Man's Infectious Dandriff Away With Listerine! 1946 adMamma does Poppa a Great Big Favor… Infectious Dandruff? Listerine Antiseptic – Quick!

Yikes! Even though it is April Fool’s Day, this ad from 1946 is no joke. 😀

Apparently in the 1940s men were incapable of grooming themselves, especially in dealing with that troublesome, so contagious infectious dandruff. So hey, when there is a handy wife around, why not make her do the dastardly deed of scrubbing Listerine in your scalp to get rid of it?

~Marilyn

Prell Shampoo: Fabulous in the 1950s, Fabulous Now!

Posted by & filed under Beauty, Fashion, Frugal Living, Health, Vintage.

FINNFEMME: Prell Shampoo ad vintage 1955Prell shampoo, with its distinctive green color, has been around since 1947 and is still around today.  This great ad from 1955 touts the fact that ‘extra rich’ liquid Prell creates “Radiantly Alive Hair”. It says that some shampoos are too thin, watery, messy and hard-to-use. Some shampoos are too heavy, with cloudy ingredients that leaves hair with a dulling film. Whereas Prell has a smooth, “just right” consistency that won’t run, and it never leaves a dulling film.

What’s funny is that I just started using Prell again, after not using it since the 1970s. I saw the Prell “Classic Clean” 13.5 oz. bottle on the shelf at my local Walmart for about $3.00 (it’s still green), and decided to give it a go. I’ve been feeling that all the modern ‘color protection’ shampoos that I’ve been using are not really getting my hair clean. In fact most seem to not rinse off well, and leave a filmy coating that builds up on my hair and scalp.

Prell is water-based and alcohol-free, and is now touted as a ‘Thick, Rich Formula For Clean, Healthy Hair”. What I’ve found is it leaves my hair and scalp incredibly clean without feeling stripped dry. My hair seems a lot thicker and fluffier, not being weighed down by all those newfangled silicone-formula shampoos that I hate. I color my hair, and it doesn’t seem to affect the color except to brighten it. I wash my hair two times a week, and I find that Prell keeps it cleaner longer between washings. Probably because it is getting my hair clean in the first place.

Prell is still made in the USA; which is good since it is a classic American product. Some things, when they are excellent to begin with, never change. And I am glad for that!

~Marilyn

 

 

Pretty in Woodbury Dream Stuff, 1955

Posted by & filed under Beauty, Fashion, Vintage.

FINNFEMME: Pretty in Woodbury Dream Stuff, Vintage 1955Woodbury Dream Stuff: When you’ve just got to be beautiful in nothing flat…

Such a pretty ad from the August 1955 issue of Woman’s Home Companion! I love the gorgeous model in flowers and pastels – so feminine.

Dream Stuff was a sheer, clinging foundation-and-powder in compact form. It was intended for the busy modern woman who must look lovely in nothing flat. Slide the velvety consistency on the puff from nose to cheekbone. It leaves a clear path of beauty! The stunning new ivory-and-gold mirrored compact cost $1.00. The blue-and-gold box cost 49 cents.

I rarely see women use compacts anymore, but they were a really useful and handy beauty tool.

~Marilyn

Vintage 1955 Wonder-Power Pink Dreft Washes Everything!

Posted by & filed under Daily Life, Fashion, Frugal Living, Vintage.

Finnfemme: Vintage 50s Wonder-Power Pink Dreft Washes Everything!Could anything be more vintage 1955 than this swell dishwashing detergent? Presenting the amazing Wonder-Power Pink Dreft! What’s cool is that it came in granular form, which apparently made water feel like a lotion, while the wonder-soft suds dissolved grease the fastest way possible. Plus it is pink. PINK, people! (I love pink, if you haven’t noticed).

But what gets my laundress heart racing is that you could use pink Dreft to wash your laundry too. Be still my heart! It washed everything from diapers to precious underthings, from fine woolens to new miracle fabrics. Plus your dishes. And had the Good Housekeeping seal to boot.  If I could score some of this fine stuff, I’d be a most happy camper.

~Marilyn