Liberty Leading the People for Yardley of London, 1970

Yardley of London ad vintage 1970Yardley of London ad 1970 Next to NothingThis Yardley of London ad from May 1970 really caught my eye, as it seems quite a deviation from their other ads of the time. I think it was trying to be a more ‘women’s lib’ (as it was termed in 1970) approach.  The Freedom For Your Skin ad is for Yardley’s Next to Nothing skin care line of Skin Clean, Skin Fresh, and Skin Quench. Apparently most women were slaves to skin ritual, and these products were all about setting you free.

The ad features a model in a rather militant pose reenacting the painting Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix. The woman in the original painting personifies the concept and the goddess of Liberty leading the people forward over the bodies of the fallen, holding the flag of the French Revolution in one hand and brandishing a bayonetted musket in the other. The Yardley model has the French flag in one hand, but thankfully no musket in the other. I think they were wise to leave the gun and dead bodies out of the skin care ad, but that’s just me. 🙂

~Marilyn

Vintage Leopard Print Coat Love

Vintage leopard print coatI have a weakness for anything leopard print. I adore it, especially if it’s vintage from a thrift store. Leopard print coats are pretty hard to find though, and if I run across one I usually snap it up. I do have a short leopard print jacket from the ’50s that’s pretty cool. However, it is pretty dang tiny for me and if I wear it it’s a tight fit. It’s more of a collectible vintage piece that’s not meant to be worn on a regular basis.

So I was delighted when my sister, who lives in Canada, surprised me with a leopard print coat when she came down for Christmas. It is super plush and furry (faux fur, of course), and has a luxurious satin lining. Like me, she is a great thrift store shopper and got the coat for the amazing price of $2.00! It fits like a charm and I’ve been wearing the coat to holiday festivities. There is nothing like wrapping up in vintage leopard print to make a style statement. 😀

~Marilyn

Olivia Hussey For Yardley’s Oh! de London Christmas 1968

Yardley Oh! de London ad 1968 Olivia Hussey JulietThis is one of Yardley of London’s iconic ads for Oh! de London fragrance from December 1968. It features Olivia Hussey, star of the Franco Zeffirelli production of Romeo and Juliet which was an extremely popular movie at the time. I love the ad’s tie-in to the movie: Oh! Romeo, Romeo – Oh! Falling in Love – Oh! Happy Dizzy Wonderful World – Oh! Rapture – Oh! de London.

Olivia was the perfect Juliet, as well as being the perfect Yardley Girl model. She had that luminescent English beauty that was so glorious.  Oh! de London was a frisky-frilly London fragrance. Full of tender flowers, It was oh-so mod and romantic. I haven’t smelled it since probably 1968, but I can still recall its poignant and incredible scent.

~Marilyn

Vintage 1968 Yardley of London Christmas Gift Sets

Yardley of London ad vintage 1968 ChristmasYardley of London ad 1968Christmas 1968 was a peak time for Yardley of London must-have gift sets. Olivia Hussey was starring in Romeo and Juliet at the time, and was also an extremely popular Yardley model. It was just a magical, romantic period and Yardley seemed to capture its essence in their products and promotions. The Slicker Dolly Express (8 Slickers and Lipsticks), Slicker Block Lip Polish, and Oh! de London talc, cologne, bubble bath and spray mist were the grooviest products. Well, at least for 13 year old me at the time. I would have killed to have gotten any of these! The other sets were for Yardley’s signature English Lavender, Khadine, Springflowers, Red Roses, April Violets and White Lavender.

This ad, from the December 1968 issue of Seventeen magazine, is pretty interesting in that it compiles not only the gift sets available but also the prices. For comparison’s sake using the CPI Inflation Calculator, the Slicker Dolly Express at $3.95 in 1968 would cost $26.95 today. The Slicker Lip Polish at $1.65 would be $11.26 today. And the most expensive set, Khadine Harem Chest at $15.00 would be $102.34 today. I was making 50 cents an hour babysitting, so it puts into perspective why I wasn’t buying much Yardley and why I coveted it so!

~Marilyn

Yardley of London Goes Earth Child in 1971

Yardley of London vintage 1971 ad Earth Child EyesYardley of London ad 1971 Earth Child EyesYardley of London went all flower child earthy in 1971; a time when hippie daisy nature reigned. “Earth Child Eyes” was born, featuring ‘Something wild. Something mild. Always true-to-life Earth Child’. The model is a blond Bohemian glam hippie chick with a garland of daisies in her hair.

Earth Child Eyes, featuring Hue-the line with Easy Liner, Grow All Out with Lash-A-Lot, Stroke a Rainbow Above with Shadow Sheen, and Circle the Earth Below with Under-Eye Sheen were ‘Soft, Super-Sexy. Super-Luminous’. Basically they were the same Yardley makeup products from their British Romantic Mod ad campaigns of the late 60s, put to a different spin. Yardley of London was genius when it came to marketing in the late 60s/early 70s. I really miss their brilliant ad campaigns, but I’m glad I kept some of my old magazines to be able to reminisce on Yardley’s glory days.

~Marilyn

Designer Geoffrey Beene and Gold Listerine 1968

Vintage 1968 Listerine ad/Geoffrey Beene dress“You want to knock ’em dead – but not with your breath.” One of the most glamorous Listerine ads ever, from the December 1968 issue of Seventeen magazine. This was back when Listerine still came in only one flavor – the original gold that was (and still is) intensely strong. Listerine’s selling point was that yes, it tastes strong, but that’s because it’s a real germ-killer and it works for hours and hours.

To drive home the point, they showcased this mod model in an elaborately gold-sequined mini dress and sprouting gold corkscrews from her hair. The dress is designed by none other than the fabulous Geoffrey Beene.  Listerine and designer dresses may seem an odd juxtaposition in an ad, but it was a perfect example of the incredible marketing of the late 1960s. And the dress is killer!

~Marilyn