Whether you’ve gone fully down the vintage style rabbit hole of everyday dress or you need a faceplan for an impending costume party, today we’re going to share with you our discoveries concerning vintage repro and still-being-made-today makeup products.
We’ve selected and tested a number of different products from lipsticks to face powders. Each of these is either a modern historical reproduction (like Besame) or an item that has survived the sands of time and is still being made and sold today (like Coty Airspun and Max Factor Pan-Stik). So without further ado, here are the Pro’s, Con’s, and Where-to-Buy’s of vintage makeup:
Max Factor Pan-Stik Foundation
Introduced in 1948.
A very thick foundation in a variety of colors, in stick form.
Pros: Easy to apply. Very good coverage. Many colors available. Matte finish. This stuff is serious stage-and-screen business.
Cons: Can look a bit weird in certain artificial lights. Can clog pores. Needs powdering throughout the day – feels a bit greasy after day-long wear.
Where to Buy: Amazon
Coty Airspun Face Powder
Since 1935.
A translucent powder and a lot of it. Comes in a plastic box with a large powder puff.
Pros: Definitely does the job. Powder on with the enormous powder puff after applying foundation. Keeps things matte and lovely. The packaging is attractive and reminiscent of the original cardboard box.
Cons: Smells like granny, and maybe not in a good way. The smell is definitely “vintage,” and thankfully fades off quickly.
Where to Buy: CVS (if you’re lucky), Amazon
Besame Brightening Face Powders
Repro
Vanilla and violet face powders for post-foundation setting. Also work for setting lipstick and generally brightening the complexion.
Pros: Smells wonderful. Does the job. Works great over foundation and concealer or just on its own. It does appear to brighten the skin up a touch. Comes in cute packaging that is easy to carry with you. Plus this company is a small business manufacturing in the USA.
Cons: The powderpuff is a bit insubstantial. Not a lot of powder for your money.
Where to Buy: Besame.com, Amazon
Tangee Blush
Early 1920s.
One blush to rule them all – the formula changes to the perfect shade for every complexion. Magic.
Pros: It really works. A little goes a long way. Beautiful flush without looking like a clown. Works for all skin tones. No smell.
Cons: A little goes a long way. We mean it! Only available from one vendor.
Where to Buy: Vermont Country Store and Nowhere Else
Besame Lipsticks
Repro
A large selection of colors made according to original colors by decade – authentic shades for the 1920s through the 1970s, each researched and reproduced faithfully.
Pros: Authentic, repro colors for each time period in highly-pigmented formulas that go on and stay on. They also smell wonderful. True reds available for warm and cool skin tones with help choosing your shades on the Besame website.
Cons: Variations in formulas color-to-color mean some lispticks are creamy while others are very dry. It can hurt to put the very dry ones on. The shape of the bullet makes applying from the tube very difficult. The bullet is quite short – you don’t get a lot of lipstick for your money, but they do last a long time because of how pigmented they are.
Where to Buy: Besame.com
Tangee Lipstick
Early 1920s.
A novel lipstick that changes according to the wearer’s skin tone. Always produces the perfect shade of pink for each individual.
Pros: Easy to apply – creamy formula acts more like a lip gloss than a traditional lipstick and goes on smoothly. Good shape to the bullet. Stays on and is “no fuss” with choosing the right color.
Cons: THE SMELL/TASTE OF THIS STUFF IS DIABOLICAL. Sorry to put that in all caps, but consider that your warning! I wanted to love Tangee and wear it constantly but the odor was so strong it made it unwearable for both me and Abby. The perfume is a mega-strong chemical floral scent that assaults the nostrils all day long and causes a weird feeling in the mouth (yes, you’re tasting what you’re smelling). Yum.
Where to Buy: Vermont Country Store and Nowhere Else
Besame Cake Mascara
Repro
The old-fashioned cake + brush of the 1920s – get it wet and apply the wax formula.
Pros: Despite being water soluble, this mascara stays on very well. Easier to use than appears. Comes with a brush and pretty packaging. Can also be used for eyebrows Isn’t heavy but isn’t invisible – build it up in layers.
Cons: Water soluble. Yes, it’s got staying power…but don’t cry or go swimming. The brush is alright but a spooly style might be easier to use. Let the cake dry before folding the paper back over it or else the paper will stick to it.
Where to Buy: Besame.com, Amazon
To hear more of Lauren and Abby’s musings….possibly too much musing…50 minutes of musing….on these products, check out our video below (we shot this live some time ago, so while it is no longer live, it does contain all the shenanigans of a completely improvised show. You’ve been warned):
**This post originally appeared on the American Duchess blog in December 2016**
