From 1958: When Mental Illness Manifests Itself Through Skincare Rituals

Jean is crazy...crazy about beautiful skin, that is!

From 1975: For Vintage-Minded Zitfaces

'Teen
March 1975

True story: I used to use Sea Breeze back in the day, 1983 or so. I actually burned my cheeks using it, the formula was so strong and harsh. I was happy to sport that burn. Man, my face was clean! It hurt like utter hell, but I was happy.

From 1966: Because "Vos Yeux Attendent d'Elizabeth Arden" Means "Behold, The Three-Headed Dame Behind The Red Door," Au Francais

L'officiel Magazine

1966

I like the Elizabeth Arden salon down on Camelback Road here in Phoenix. It is charmingly retro, as if you are stepping back in time to the days where women spent their days at "the beauty parlor," getting primped and primed and ready for another week of housewifery. It was a cherished, sacred date that was viewed as absolutely necessary by those women who could scrimp enough out of their budgets to afford it. There was also a more clinical feel to the whole operation. Even the "beauty operators" wore white lab-ish coats. A good example of this is the episode of I Love Lucy where Lucy is trying to get Ricky to "let" her try an Italian haircut.

I've had my nails done at Elizabeth Arden before, and I have also had a facial or two. Ten years ago, I used to go there to have my hair cut. As I said, it is charmingly retro, and I enjoy retro enough to overlook their prices, which are criminally high.

Unfortunately, what I find charming, others may find stolid, staid, and just plain old-fashioned. I may be able to justify the prices and the lack of what have become normal, ordinary spa procedures (like aromatherapy or cornmeal scrubs) by pretending that it's 1955, and I am spending the morning at the beauty parlor before having a three-martini lunch at The Colony with the girls before going to an afternoon trunk show at Bonwit Teller, but other potential patrons may not be as mentally ill as I am.

Back In The Eighties, Exfoliation Was So Hardcore, A Gal Could Basically Buy Dermabrasion In A Bottle From The Local Osco

This stuff was genius.  I say "was" because it is no longer available in the United States.  You can buy it in the UK, if you are across the pond.

Its exfoliating bits were crushed apricot seeds.  Allow me to tell you from personal experience that a daily wash with that stuff would literally strip all of the bad nasty stuff from your face, leaving you with clean, clear, fresh skin.  Aapri could easily take off a layer of skin with every scrub in the sink.

I've been wanting to return to England this year.  Would it be the very definition of "superficial" if the deciding factor for our trip is the possibility of buying this marvelous scrub? 

Mental note: contact British Airways.

April 5, 1982

People