Anyone for Some SAMPLES?

Hello there!

I've talked quite a bit about my vintage-inspired perfume hobby/business on this blog.  Now, something exciting: Samples are available!  If you would like to try one or maybe a few of the perfumes I have made, you can order samples free of charge.  Just send me an email at eliza.fragrances@gmail.com or you can contact me on my Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eliza.fragrances.  If you like vintage looks, my perfumes might give you an idea of the scents of the past.

Lipstick Cravings!

Not sure what it is, but this year I have been struck with wild lipstick cravings.  I have bought so many new tubes this year!  I guess part of what fed this was when I bought a horrible Revlon mascara.  I love Revlon; if you dislike something, all you need to do is politely write them about it, and they will do their best to make it right.  Because I was so disappointed in this mascara, they sent me some coupons for their products.  I LOVE their lipsticks, which are not heavy and waxy like others.  They also contain aloe and vitamin E!  So much to love.  Well, I bought some new shades.  And some more new shades.  While some lipstick lines advertise being inspired by vintage-shades, there are lots out there not labeled as such that work for the vintage lady.  I'm planning to share these with you sometime soon!

I know...I keep promising more posts of vintage-friendly lipsticks and never seem to get around to it.  Once again, I apologize.  Guess it's something with the weather getting chilly, I procrastinate about going out in the cold sunshine to model lipstick.  Well, when I find my motivation, get ready!  There will be lots of lip color shades for you to try out for yourself.

♥

A Treasury of Vintage Perfumes

I don't know how many of you are interested in vintage perfumes, but I find them quite fascinating!  Since I model many of my handmade perfumes after vintage ones, I'm always trying to read up on perfumes of the past, from the 1920s through the 1940s, especially.  Therefore, when I found the blog Yesterday's Perfume, I was quite overjoyed.  What a gem!  Not only is there a list off to the side of specific perfumes with the date of their debut, but each one has a review, a bit of information on the creation of the perfume, what scents star in it, and--my favorite--vintage perfume advertisements!

This blog will be such a wonderful source of information and inspiration for my perfuming.  If you are a"vintage perfumaniac" like me, visit Yesterday's Perfume!

Halloween and Perfumes

Wow!  It has been a while.  Don't worry--I have lots of plans for more of those vintage-friendly lipstick posts!  It's just getting difficult, being autumn, to get out on an ideal sunny day to take photos when I'm not occupied with something else.

I have some news I am pretty excited about!  I finally have a website for my perfumes!  I supposed I ought to have gotten a website a while back, but I'm glad I at last seized the opportunity and created one.  Now maybe my business will pick up!  I still have a lot of photos to add, so it is a work in progress.  You can view it here: http://elizafragrances.webs.com/

As has become my yearly custom, I've been reading a lot of ghost stories over the last month or so!  This is just the perfect time of year to read them; it adds to the mysterious spookiness of the season.  People say you outgrow Halloween, but is that really so?  Can you really outgrow it if you have always loved it?  Halloween is one of my favorite "holidays."  Anyway, this year I have read some great ghost stories by E.F. Benson, particularly one called "The Room in the Tower."  I read another, "The Tower," by Marghanita Laski that left a lot to the imagination--and that's what it's all about!  Recently I found a book, The Haunted Looking Glass: Ghost Stories Chosen by Edward Gorey.

It is also illustrated by Edward Gorey, whose work I have learned to appreciate and enjoy, particularly in relation to the ghost story field.  In the above book, there unfortunately is no story entitled "The Haunted Looking Glass," but it is a nice collection, nevertheless.  My absolute favorite collection of supernatural tales is entitled Hauntings: Tales of the Supernatural, edited by Henry Mazzeo, also illustrated by Gorey.  I believe the book is out of print; I snatched it from a pile of books my grandmother planned to send off to Goodwill years ago.  :)

What are everyone's plans for Halloween?  Do many of you celebrate or do anything festive?  I would love to hear your plans and costume ideas, if you're dressing up.  I generally dress up and get together with friends every year that I'm able to.  This year I plan to dress as a gypsy.  I've gone as many things in the past, and I'm surprised to realize I've never dressed as a gypsy before.  I was once obsessed with their mystical culture as a child, and I suppose I've never really gotten over it.  ;)

Elgin American Compact Treasure!

Last month I went antique shopping for the first time in a long, long while.  I stumbled across a compact mirror with two leaping gazelles on it.  I really liked the design, even though I didn't decide to buy it until last-minute.  My guess would be late '40s, early '50s, but I'm no expert.  What do you think?

 

 It was only $2 because the mirror inside is cracked.  When I got it home, I found out that it is an Elgin American.  I'm having a bit of trouble finding information on the company; I've heard of Elgin Watch Company but I don't know if it is associated with the makers of the compacts.

 

The center is stamped "Elgin American" in elegant lettering.  The powder puff would go here...

And the powder goes here!

I was thinking about restoring it, and replacing the mirror.  But I like it so much, maybe it is best to just leave it the way it is.  Let me know what you think!

Cool Beauty for August

More 1930s advice for ladies from the book What Every Woman Should Know!

This article instructs you on how to be "complexion conscious" and practice proper facial care for the summer.  With different temperatures and humidity, the face requires different treatment than in winter.  After all, wearing your winter face cream and powder in the summer would be like "wearing a fur coat on a hot August day"!

Here are some tips on how to keep your face feeling cool and fresh through these hot days of late summer.

"To avoid clogging the pores should be our greatest concern."  Therefore, make-up should be renewed often; however, "it is a mistake at all times to put fresh cosmetics over old make-up."  Remove make up with a removal cream, and follow up by dabbing the face with an astringent or eau-de-Cologne.  Now fresh make-up is ready to be applied.  And--"remember to wash your powder-puff more frequently in the summer."

A tinted lotion is recommended for summer wear as a make-up base, so that only a "fine dusting of powder" is needed.  "Rouge, if used at all, should be put on most sparingly.  Be more delicate in tone."  Under lipstick, "dry lips may need a trace of oil"...use this method instead of using a "greasy" lipstick.

"For the fair English skin that cannot tan with safety, or for the cream and roses girl who wishes to remain her exquisite self, there is a new sun-proof cream that actually deflects the sunlight.  This can be used once or twice during the day as a powder foundation."  (Golly, sunscreen!)

Those girls who have "acquired the 'real thing' in tans needs little or no make-up...She looks best with her own glow of health--and so much cooler!  A dust of powder on the nose and a vivid lipstick...will be enough."

Protect your eyes!  "Eyes suffer in the heat.  They get strained and burned."  Don't forget your sunglasses, which not only protect, but are also fashionable.  Bathe the eyes in cold tea twice or three times a day.

"Eye make-up should be less exotic if we wish to be cool-looking."  As it is the 1930s, the popular "trace of oil on the lids and the brows" is recommended, along with a touch of mascara.  "If eye shadow is used let it be a shadow."

Another interesting tidbit which dates this article is the mention of "leg cosmetics," and treatments for the legs (either bleaching or bronzing was available, according to skin tones).  But what does apply today is that "legs must be smooth and evenly coloured."

Shampoo hair frequently, and "don't let your figure 'go' in the hot weather.  It needs support more than ever.  Wear the lightest type of belt and brassiere".  Also, it is advised to "take advantage of the fashion for linen shoes, sandals and fabric and organdi gloves."  Rest during the day, even for only a few moments.  "Relax completely, and keep the feet up."  When it comes to nail colors, if you aren't wearing your lovely gloves too often, during these warm spells, coral-tinted nails are considered "cooler-looking and are newer than blood red or exotic shades."

So, stay cool ( and "cool-looking"), ladies!

My grandmother, circa 1939.

 

 Kathryn Belle.

I wanted to share this photo of my lovely grandmother, who helped raise me, and who is the greatest inspiration when it comes to vintage looks.  This is her senior photo, and as she graduated in 1940, my guess would be that this was taken in late 1939.  I love that dress!

The photograph was torn when I found it, but I tried to repair it digitally.