It’s sort of ironic how utterly excited I was to receive this ad booklet when I’m disappointed to see modern ones in my mailbox. I guess ad pamphlets also age like fine wine. Let’s start off with the obvious, I do not own the rights to this book and am not claiming to, I only wish to spread historical knowledge with people. Now that that boring stuff is out of the way lets dive in and hope to not get a cease and desist! (Also I apologize for lack of image quality, I didn’t want to risk the pages getting ripped in my scanner, as I would have had to take apart the book for my particular one.)
The first two pages are exclusively about hair care and let me just say, in my humblest opinion the 1950s had the best hair yet, so will I take tips and tricks? Yes please! It starts off offering advice on the frequency between washes, suggesting a wash just as often as your hair loses it’s sheen. They even go on to demonstrate the best way to wash it.
“First brush your hair to loosen dust, then drench it with warm water. Pour a little shampoo into your palms and rub them together to distribute the shampoo. Now work the shampoo into your hair. When you’ve whipped up as much lather as you can (it won’t be much the first time), rinse your hair. Lather again and watch the billows of white suds. Start your final rinse with warm water and finish with cool.” – Beauty On A Budget, 1955, The Gillette Co.
Creme rinse is the next recommended product. It’s described similar to conditioner as it has detangling abilities and is also said to make pin curling easier! No hair care regime is complete however without bending over right at the waist and brushing your hair at least 100 strokes. Follow this with a daily head massage starting at your nape moving up in circular motions. I did learn however that their is actually some claim behind brushing your hair this way. It’s said it promotes growth and helps distribute the oils better. Oh and don’t forget, if your hair is greasy you should cover your brush in gauze to soak some of those oils up!
As we stand bent over brushing our hair, lets plan how we’ll style it! The book touches briefly on perms but is more so an advertisement for a certain brand of them and doesn’t actually tell much about the benefits or how to use them for styling. Luckily for us it does go into a little more depth with some setting patterns on the next two pages and also near the end!
Can you talk about hair goals? I’ve not quite got down my hair setting technique or signature style just yet so this will surely help! If you try any of these please tag me on Instagram or leave a comment with how it went! I’m personally very excited to try “Confetti” and “Celebrity”!
If you’re anything like me and kind of helpless when it comes to pin curls your in luck! It has a handy dandy little guide a little farther in but for the sake of context I think it will fit perfectly here right after all these setting patterns.
Now that our hair is perfected with evenly distributed oils, 100 strokes, and the perfect set lets move onto our makeup! We’ll start with lipstick as that’s one of the most telling signs of the decade’s face. Lipstick starts off with the boys and how it effects them. They say boys much prefer the look a brightly colored lips as opposed to sickly pale ones. Soft Touch is the lipstick of choice in this pamphlet, said to be a much higher quality that won’t slide off your face like others. In terms of application, you’re advised to use a soft hand and not over line unless your lips are very uneven. After fully coloring in your lips you’re to wait 20 minutes then lightly blot it. Now this may seem easy but before you go thinking you can just wear any old lipstick you need to know what color to pick! Luckily they have you covered there too.
- Red and dark red are said to go with grays, blacks, navies, and whites.
- Pink and rose go with pinks, blues, and violets.
- Coral and light red compliment browns, yellows, and greens.
- The daytime is for lighter colors
- The night is for dark, more sultry colors
Ending off the makeup sections they shake their heads at blush unless you’re pale and even elude to it as outdated. Lastly in the realm of makeup they recommend a matte foundation with a powered top coat to avoid looking oily.
Ending off the book we have a little on our skin. Lotion is recommended to keep your hands looking fresh and young; apply every night and after getting your hands wet. For your face experts recommend washing with soap and water as well as a “lotion cleanser”. If you’re suffering from acne they then suggest that you check that you have a healthy, balanced diet and are getting plenty of sleep and exercise!
Overall, most of the tips in this book seem to be relatively normal and applicable to todays woman. Did anything shock you? If so leave a comment!
Grandmas Inspiration 