She's got Bette Davis -- er, burger eyes

Burger eyeshadow, from an international Burger King ad.

Lip Lickers designer heard from!

If you're retro-minded like me, you probably knew and loved the Lip Lickers lip balm cases, the little tins decorated with old-fashioned flowers and fruits, that came with sliding lids. (Some offered two flavors per tin.)

I posted about them in 2006, and just this week, one of the people who designed those beloved tins posted on PCJM! I'm quoting his comment here so it will be seen by more people.

Thank you, Joel! What a great peek inside the history of one of my favorite retro products!

"I was one of the two graphic designers who worked on the tin designs. Sadly, I left them for what seemed at the time a better opportunity. They were a great company in their diversity of products. When we changed our name to Minnetonka, Inc. is was to look like a much more diversified company as we gained product lines. One was Calvin Klein Cosmetics we purchased from him. He retained creative overview, but one product that became real famous that i designed the logo for was Obsession. Too bad I wasn't a freelancer at the time. I could have retired by the early 90's. I designed the logo in 1979 after Bob Taylor (President) came to me to see if I could come up with logo ideas for the brand, because Calvin wasn't excited about the New York effort he had been getting. It really didn't mean anything at the time, because it was at the product's inception without any correlating advertising. Yes I sure miss those days. 3 of us over lunch went to a local flower shop in Chaska, MN and just after we walked in the door the owner asked us if we worked at Minnetonka, Inc. We asked how he knew, and he said the smells from our clothes were so strong, he just knew. As time went by our art department grew with a plethora of great talent, who eventually all had to go our separate ways. It was a private company which eventually went public. Thanks for bringing back the great memories.


Joel LeGrande

Ashland, OR "

Dumb names for nail polish

UPDATED LINK! I really want this blog to start updating again.

My favorite nail polish currently is OPI Hearts and Tarts, a lovely light pink that works for French manicures or simple fresh coverage.

But that doesn't mean I don't secretly long to have a fulltime job making up random names for nail polish or paint colors.

Here's a great quote, from an entry about a polish color named "Cool As."

"Cool As? Cool As What? I don't know if I can handle the suspense! A refreshing mountain spring? The von Trapp child Maria forgot about and left in the Alps? That gum I keep seeing commercials for where everything suddenly becomes an ice cavern and for some reason you can then talk to women with ease? Damn it, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a thermometer!"
I also like this comment, on a color called "Princesses Rule!": "I'm pretty sure that, by definition, they don't."

Nailed it

365 nail designs in 365 days.

I love the sock monkeys.

Eyes have it

I'm intrigued by these Cover Girl Smoky ShadowBlast eyeshadow sticks.

The Beauty Alchemist seems to love 'em, and they look like the kind of eyeshadow I like, with good colors, so I may have to try one.

Nailed!

I beat up my nails so much that a professional manicure is pretty much a joke for me.

So I'm really interested in this Shellac, a soak-off gel polish that supposedly lasts super-long. Unfortunately, they have to be put on by a manicurist, not you at home. Interesting...

Kiss me deeeeeeadly

OMG, you guys, Kissing Potions, minus the "Maybelline," are back!

I should probably be posting this at GenXtinct.com, but had to share it here: Remember Maybelline Kissing Potions, clear, syrupy sweet lip gloss in funky-mod roller-ball dispensers? We lacquered it on as if our lips would fall off if we left even one sad centimeter exposed, but since we were too young for kisses, we ended up just pretty much eating the stuff ourselves anyway.

Anyway, that defender of old-school products, the Vermont Country Store, has it! In three flavors! Looks like Maybelline got dumped from the name so I'm not sure who makes it for them, but I just may have to order some.

Apparently this is a young Kim Basinger in their ads.

People at Retroland are sharing their Kissing Potion memories, and I am completely in agreement with the girl who said she had Farrah hair and if she went outside on a windy day wearing Kissing Potion, the wind would blow her hair across her face and it would get stuck on her greased-up lips. Sister, me too,

Monster lip balms

Boo Berry and Franken Berry lip balm!

Although I personally think Matt needs to find Count Chocula. He may not like Chocolate Chapstick, but I think it sounds like the best of the lot.

Oh, Maybelline! Why can't ya be true?

Maybelline mascara was named after the creator's sister, Mabel.

Actually it sounds like Mabel herself was the creator, he was just the marketer.

Nailed

Wow, OPI thinks that matte nail polish is back in fashion and even has a line of completely matte polishes out.

Scroll down for photos of the colors used on real nails. Wow, the white really does look exactly like you painted your nails with Wite-Out. And the matte brown just makes me shudder.

However, how much do I love that All Lacquered Up is a blog devoted to nail polish?

(Via Girlhacker.)

Hunting for the best black eyeliner

I'm a moron when it comes to putting on eyeliner, so I'm bookmarking Not Martha's thread asking for recommendations of great brands.

The no poo movement

I'm not at all sure about this "no shampoo" movement, but I'm oddly fascinated all the same.

One San Francisco woman is blogging about her life without shampoo. Apparently people use things like lemons and baking soda to wash their hair.

Smelling like cookies

I kind of love this Ask Metafilter question about someone asking how to smell like cookies for a job interview.

Putting aside the obvious weirdness of a delicious smell helping you get a job, I was fascinated to learn that Demeter has a marshmallow fragrance. Marshmallow is one of my favorite flavors in sweets, but I have never noticed that it actually has much of a scent. I'll be looking for a sample of this at Sephora next time I go.

Eye in the sky

I get a huge kick out of looking through this Retro Beauty ad photo set on Flickr.

The watercolor eye? Heck, I tried to do this for YEARS, pretty much...my standard was pink on the browline, purple on the lid, and light blue outlining the lid, then blend, blend, blend. I think we were trying to get our eyes to look like impressionist paintings, or maybe it was just the makeup industry trying to sell us 3700 different colors at once.  (I love the woman who comments on this ad, saying "This is why I always look like a transvestite when I wear makeup...I learned from these ads!")

And while the ad was hawking this as the hot look for 1972, I was doing it in 1985. Thirteen years behind the style times! Go, me!

I never managed quite the Martian look that this model has, though. And I never saw the ads that implied it was just like finger-painting. But this look might be the scariest. Yikes!

Sweet smell of success

Demeter now has a line of scents that smell like Jelly Belly recipes. Mango pineapple salsa?

Don't give me any of your lip

I'm not a big lip gloss fan...it feels sticky and weird, doesn't look colorful enough, and my hair always blows across it and sticks to my lips.

But if I did love lip gloss, I would adore this site, which describes various glosses so completely it makes me want to go shopping. The way oenophiles can wax endlessly about wine, so these folks can do about gloss. (Via my awesome friend Stephanie.)