5 Beauty Uses for Johnson’s Baby Oil Circa 1974

Posted May 18, 2015 by finnfemme & filed under Beauty, Daily Life, Fashion, Frugal Living, Vintage.

I love this great Johnson’s Baby Oil ad from 1974 for the mere fact that it looks very current, like something you’d see on a beauty blog or Pinterest. In the 70s, Johnson & Johnson was on a real kick, marketing their baby products to teens and adults. Since there was no internet, we teenaged girls relied on teen and fashion magazines to show us what was hip and trendy. The ads were particularly informative and direct. They also were in print so they hung around a lot longer (hey, I still have the original ads 41 years later). The ad says that Johnson’s Baby Oil always was, and still is, a baby oil. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be good for other things. Like: #1) Eye Makeup Remover – “removes eye makeup in seconds.” #2) Bath Oil – “Pour a little in your bath. You’ll feel soft and smooth all over.” #3) Moisturizer – ” Use it after shaving legs to make them soft. Helps prevent dryness.” #4) After-Sun Oil – “After the sun dries your skin, it makes it smooth and soft again.” #5) Softener – “For elbows, heels and knees. It makes all the rough spots soft spots.”

The interesting thing about baby oil is that it is highly refined and purified mineral oil with a little fragrance added. It is regulated by the FDA, and has been proven completely safe to use. It is safe, effective and inexpensive, and is recommended by skin care professionals quite regularly. While the tips in this 1974 ad ring true today, I would add to stay out of the sun in the first place (#4). There are some beauty tips that can be improved upon in 2015. 🙂

~Marilyn

Yardley’s ‘You’re the Fire’ Skin Inscents 1974

Posted May 17, 2015 by finnfemme & filed under Beauty, Fashion, Vintage.

I came across these two Yardley of London ads from 1974 issues of Mademoiselle magazine for You’re the Fire skin ‘inscents’. I admit that I was a bit horrified because #1) I don’t remember this product AT ALL, #2) the ads are rather frightening, and #3) it shows how Yardley was completely changing its marketing contributing to its demise. Long gone were their romantic, mod ads of the late 60s and early 70s, with cool Glimmerick and Pot o’ Gloss makeup, and the glorious Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, Olivia Hussey and Patsy Sullivan as models. You’re the Fire was a skin inscent. Since you need real fire to burn regular incense, this way YOU can be the fire by letting the heat of your body release the scent. “Because no fire’s as exciting as the one within you. Unless it’s the one you light within him. Go ahead, light it.” The model has actual fire in her eyes, so it must work? 😀 We’re getting down to serious business in this ad. Apparently the sultry redheaded model is a victim of spontaneous human combustion as she is engulfed in flames. No doubt caused by applying said product. Why anyone would want to be so hot is beyond me, but I’ve always been the cooler Nordic sort!

Needless to say, this ad and product campaign had a limited run and probably limited success, with good reason. You can’t take an extremely popular and much beloved cosmetics company like Yardley of London, and completely turn it on its ear. Its devotees were cute and pretty teens, not sultry sex goddesses.

~Marilyn

Growing in the Gray…or Taupe…or Pewter…

Posted May 5, 2015 by finnfemme & filed under Beauty, Daily Life, Fashion, Health.

I turn 60 on June 1st. Gosh, it’s rather startling seeing that in print! But over the past year or so, I have been making peace with growing older. I’ve become a lot more accepting of the inevitable changes that are taking place, and my latest realization is that I’m sick of coloring my hair. I am going to grow out my natural hair color, no matter what that may be.

A couple years ago I had gone through a similar phase, thinking I wanted to grow it out. But my heart wasn’t really in it and I started coloring my hair again. This time it seems more organic, like it’s something I deeply feel I need to do. Plus, turning 60 triggers a kind of liberation, not caring if I look 10 or 20 years younger anymore. It’s all about mental, emotional, and physical health at this stage.

I last colored my hair on January 31, 2015, and my roots are growing in a sort of taupe color in the back and lighter in the front around the hairline. Not really gray or silver, but kind of a pewter. I am a natural-born redhead, and I’ve heard that redheads really don’t go gray but develop a rather burnished tone. So we shall see. After 15 years of coloring my hair, it will be cool to discover the natural hair hue that Mother Nature intends for me at this stage of my life!

Update: Okay, I guess I would be remiss if I didn’t at least include a photo of my ‘progress’! I took this pic today, May 6th, 2015. As you can see, my hair is quite a light golden blonde from coloring. My roots have grown in almost 2 inches; a sort of light pewter color. So far it’s not incredibly noticeable, but I will post updates to let you know it’s going. 🙂

~Marilyn

The ‘Old Lady’ Spring 2015 Walmart Beauty Box

Posted May 2, 2015 by finnfemme & filed under Beauty, Daily Life, Fashion, Frugal Living.

I finally decided to jump ship from Birchbox after over two years of monthly beauty samples. While I loved all the unique and fun Birchbox beauty samples, it just got to be a bit much. I have a huge stack of the really cool boxes that I can’t bear to throw away! So I dropped my subscription and headed on over to Walmart’s site, where they have a quarterly beauty box. It’s actually ‘free’, but they charge $5.00 for shipping.

I finally got the Walmart box today, and it’s actually pretty cool, but I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t get any makeup products. From my understanding of other beauty ‘unboxers’, Walmart has two types of boxes based on age (over 30, and under 30). I guess the under-30 crowd gets the fun stuff like lipstick, mascara, and eye shadow; whereas the over-30 ‘old lady’ crowd gets the wrinkle creams, serums and restoring shampoos.

Welp, after opening my box it was clear that I am definitely in the geriatric crowd. Not a speck of makeup to be found, and I am a total makeup freak. Yes, I am almost 60 but old ladies like to wear makeup too! Nonetheless, the box had some pretty neat stuff that I will likely use. Here’s what I got:

L’Oreal Total Repair 5 Restoring Shampoo (1.7 oz) and Conditioner (1.7 oz) ~ Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula (1.7 oz) ~ Jergens BB Body Cream (1 oz) ~ Ken Paves Smoothing Shampoo, Conditioner, and Conditioning mask (foil packets) ~ Lady Gaga Fame Black Fluid Perfume (sample spray bottle) ~ Burt’s Bees Renewal Intensive Firming Serum (foil packet) ~ Garnier Ultra-Lift Miracle Sleeping Cream (foil packet).

Worth the price, most definitely, but is it too much too ask for a lipstick in my summer box? A mauve pink color will do quite nicely, thank you. 🙂

~Marilyn

Clotheslines and Forget-Me-Nots

Posted April 26, 2015 by finnfemme & filed under Daily Life, Fashion, Frugal Living, Vintage.

Spring has been springing forth thoroughly for several months now in the Pacific Northwest, and more so in the last week. My backyard is going absolutely berserk with growth. The pretty little blue forget-me-nots seem to be all over the place about a month ahead of normal bloom time. They’ve positioned themselves right under my backyard clothesline to lend a lovely touch to the air-drying laundry.

Since my clothesline is on the north side of the house, it never really gets an optimum amount of sun except in summertime. But what I noticed today, while hanging laundry, is that more than half of the line is in the sun. Woo hoo! It’s all about the simple thrills, my friends. 🙂

~Marilyn

Vintage 1971 Alley Cat by Betsey Johnson ‘Happy People’ Dresses

Posted April 12, 2015 by finnfemme & filed under Fashion, Vintage.

Designer Betsey Johnson was all the rage in 1971. Her bright, bold designs for Alley Cat were spectacular, and her knitwear was especially unique. While her ‘Flock of Birds’ dress has received almost iconic status, other of her lesser-known designs were also completely fabulous. Case in point: these wonderful ‘Happy People’ Dresses from the April 1971 issue of Glamour magazine! The Happy ‘people’ dress (above photo) is from Alley Cat by Betsey Johnson, of Dacron and cotton knit, $40 (in 1971). Bright multicolor ‘people’ knitted into these clothes are just the beginning of their appeal. A whole spectrum of brilliant colors – neon yellow, red, pink, light them up and give them a happy essence.The short sweater (above photo) with brightly-colored ‘people’ is worn here with a bright jacquard skirt. Both Alley Cat by Betsey Johnson of Dacron and cotton knit. Sweater, $20; skirt, $32 (in 1971). Here’s to the whimsically unique designs of Betsey Johnson! May she forever reign. 🙂

~Marilyn