How I changed into a teenage tart. That was the other title. Okay, I wasn't a tart as much as the other teens because I didn't wear as much makeup. My routine was pretty simple and come to think of it, I kind of wish I could think that simply again.
When I was a little girl, mom being mom would smear Johnson & Johnson's Baby Lotion on my face which I reluctantly gave in to in the mornings before I was off to elementary school. It did its job and I used it well into my teen years without any problems. This is what prepped my skin for makeup.
My first makeup products were drugstore products. Then, I remember my mom's friend introducing her to department store lines. Now, that is another story for another time. However, I can tell you it opened a new door for my mom!
Getting back to drugstore, the usual lines of Coty, Max Factor, Maybelline, Wet 'n Wild were available. I explored those lines especially Coty since my mom had one of those powder compacts which carried a lipstick along with it. Pretty cool and nifty.
Eyes
Again a habit being formed, I didn't go for the popular brands, I leaned towards the line, Aziza Cosmetics. It was owned by the Prince Matchebelli line, remember Windsong? (The song drove me nuts!) I always saw these ads and the one item which drew me in were the duochrome eyeshadows called Two Tone Lustre Shadow.
I think there were only two colors, a green that flashed gold and a blue that flashed pink or some other color. I chose the green gold or was it gold green. Whichever, duochrome shadows started me on my makeup addiction. Aziza had an array of eyeshadows from duos to trios to creams. I liked them because the advertisements were simple and just spoke to the teenage side of me. I think Bobbi Brown actually used Aziza eyeshadow palettes, the brown that you see in the above advert. She praised those.
I also loved the mascaras. One was called Aziza Mascara with Conditioner and the other was Aziza Mascara with Sealer. I really didn't see any difference between the two for both of them were great. They lengthened and thickened without one bit of irritation or dryness. I remember one time a friend of mine asked me what mascara I was wearing and I told her Aziza Mascara with Sealer. She said, "I heard that is a great non-smearing mascara." Then, she proceeded to run her finger across my lid and lashes to make sure it was true. This action caught me by surprise! And, you know what, it didn't flake or smear! I really miss those mascaras! Great ones since they were changed like only yearly if one remembered!
Blush
I was awful at wearing blush. I didn't have the defined cheeks, then again I was only a teenager. I did like Aziza Natural Glow Blush. It did look natural and subtle. It was also a creamy powder which I found different among the dry powders. Yes, I was taken in by the formula and gimmicks which brings me to Coty's Nature Blush.
Coty's Nature Blush touted itself like some magic makeup blush. At least, that is what it sounded to me; whatever color you should blush, that's the color it becomes. I think there was a choice between peach or pink. Or was that the lip balm? Either way I had fuchsia smeared across the cheeks. The blush reacted with the PH in the skin, nothing magical. The reincarnated versions exist today and really not much difference; not natural or subtle at all.
Lips
For lips, I preferred lip balm over any stick of major saturation of color. My lip balm of choice happened to be the Bonne Bell Lip Smackers.
Back then in the 1970's, the Lip Smackers were huge and cost an expensive $2.50 each. I thought they were expensive because it took me awhile to accumulate my allowance for one of these. Obviously, I wasn't good at budgeting because I had a HUGE collection of various flavors in a very large glass jar. What you see below in the ad, I had all those flavors.
My absolute favorite was the Dr. Pepper, nothing like the red color of a few years back. No this was my ultimate go-to lip color, the perfect sheer mauve/plum-brown. I could wear it all the time whether I was doing P.E. (Physical Education) or going to the school dance. I also loved the Tootsie Roll for its sheer brown color and not to mention the flavor. The one I hated the most was Good & Plenty because licorice just doesn't smell or taste good in a lip balm.
Then, there was Helena Rubinstein. Shockingly, in my time it turned into a drugstore line. The lip gloss was a greasy and faded within minutes but the packaging was very modern to me. At least there was a cute brush and mirror.
Nails
Finally, on my nails the only company I knew for nail polish was Cutex. The colors usually came in variations of red, pink, and coral. It took a hell of a time to dry, I remember sitting for a good 30 minutes and this is all without a base coat or top coat. Times were daring! I wore the polish until it just chipped off bit by bit.
In the end, I thought I looked good but I know I didn't. I was only a teen and it probably looked like disharmonious splotches of color on my face. I didn't care because I didn't know better.
Hope you enjoyed my journey. I know it lacks excitement but makeup was simpler and the look didn't consist of 4o steps to a perfect face. If you look at the ads, somehow those looks compared to today, look more refreshing!
Olivia
