From the Vintage Vault...

It's time again for me to dust off some of my vintage makeup from the 80s and 90s and give you a little blast from the past!

For this edition of From the Vintage Vault, I'm going to start with a few bottles of nail polish and then end with a Physicians Formula eyeshadow that truly brought back some memories for me.

First up, from Revlon:

Left to right: Revlon Top Speed in Cranberry, Revlon Top Speed in Juicy, Revlon Super Top Speed in Firecracker (circa 1999?)

Do you remember the Revlon Top Speed line? If my memory serves me correctly, I think this line was discontinued back in 2005 (in the US--I don't know about outside the US) but you can still find quite a few bottles on ebay, Amazon, eCrater, etc. I think I purchased these around 1999 but I'm not 100% sure. All I know is that I do remember that Juicy (the middle bottle) was part of a summer LE collection, and I think Firecracker (the red glitter on the right) was part of an LE collection as well. Also, notice how Firecracker is a SUPER Top Speed, not just a regular Top Speed. I seem to recall that Super Top Speed put out the first chrome polishes I had ever seen at the drugstore. Does anyone remember those?

Revlon Top Speed Juicy

Revlon Super Top Speed Firecracker

Next up, a polish from L'Oreal:

L'Oreal Nail Enamel in Sheer Bleu Twist (circa 1997)

Like I mentioned in my last edition of From the Vintage Vault, the trend of light blue lipsticks, lipglosses and nail colors seems to come and go quite frequently, and in the late 90s it was HUGE. I remember being in love with this bottle (which has certainly seen better days) because it was just so "cutting edge" for its time. Ha! I opened this bottle just to take a peek at the color (a pretty boring sheer, shimmery light blue for today's standards) and the smell of the formula TOTALLY brought me back to the late 90s again. The smell of drugstore polishes before they were Big Three Free, and especially L'Oreal polishes, had this distinct fragrance to them...I can't describe it but it's just so different than today's polishes.

Next up, does anyone remember this popular drugstore brand from the 80s and 90s?

Flame Glow Super Shine Nail Polish in Tattletale Pink Creme (circa 1990)

(If you look closely, you can see that this polish is completely dried up--it's pretty solid and crusty inside)

Oh Flame Glow! What happened to you? If you don't remember Flame Glow, this brand made nail polish and makeup and their products were quite popular in the drugstores in the 80s and 90s.

In fact, while doing some research for this post, I stumbled across an old drugstore industry makeup report from 1991 that ranked the top performers for drugstore makeup and it is QUITE a blast from the past (from findarticles.com):

Lip, eye cosmetics color '91 sales jump

Drug Store News, April 20, 1992

The strongest performers are still Cover Girl's Navy and Coty's Ex Cla Ma Tion, Lady Stetson, Emeraude and Sand & Sable.

At Kerr Drug, three mass brands, Sand & Sable, Jovan Musk and White Musk were strong this year. Johannes described Sand & Sable as "one of the best sellers in the South; Jovan Musk, I couldn't keep in stock, and White Musk sold through Christmas in October."

This year, Johannes saw movement in men's fragrances picking up again. Drakkar Noir, Eternity For Men, Stetson, and Jovan Musk For Men did the best.

On the West Coast, Shari Ralston, cosmetics and fragrances buyer for PayLess Drug Stores, reports that in the designer category, although Obsession and Eternity are hard to get, when PayLess has them, they sell.

Hottest new lipsticks

1. L'Oreal Cream Rich #302
2. Maybelline Revitalizing #375RL-01
3. L'Oreal L'Artiste Enduring Lip PRL #J028
4. Flame Glow Natural Glow Lipstick
5. Max Factor New Definition Frost
6. Flame Glow Natural Glow Roll-On Gloss
7. Revlon Color Look Lip Base
8. Flame Glow Natural Glow Gloss Stick
9. Revlon Super Lustrous Sheer Berry Bare
10. Revlon Super Lustrous Sheer Nude
11. Revlon Super Lustrous Sheer Clearly Coral
12. Revlon Super Lustrous Sheer Raspberry Revealed
13. Revlon Super Lustrous Sheer Red Translucent
14. Prestige Waterproof Lipstick
15. Revlon Super Lustrous Sheer Barely Pink

Hottest new mascaras

1. Revlon Long & Lustrous Mascara
2. Maybelline Perfectly Natural Mascara
3. Max Factor Splish Splash Mascara
4. Revlon Spring Waterproof Mascara
5. Flame Glow Waterproof Mascara
6. Flame Glow Natural Glow Long Mascara
7. Flame Glow Natural Glow Thick Mascara
8. Maxi Curly Mascara
9. Revlon Slim Mascara
Based on average monthly chain drug dollar volume for products
introduced into the drug and food trade classes between Feb. and July 1991.

Hottest new eye shadow makeups

1. Flame Glow Natural Glow 4-Pan Shadow
2. Flame Glow Natural Glow 3-Pan shadow
3. Max Factor Shadow Blocks
Based on average monthly chain drug dollar volume for products
introduced into the drug and food trade classes between Feb. and July 1991.

Do any of you remember Max Factor Splish Splash Mascara or Shadow Blocks eyeshadows?? Wow! Memories.

Speaking of memories, check out this eyeshadow single from Physicians Formula:

Physicians Formula Eye Color in Leopard (circa 2001)

Thanks to the label on the back of this shadow, I can confirm that this product was released in 2001. I only wish I could remember if it was part of an LE collection or if it was in the core collection. I just remember that they released several different animal print shadows and blushes and that leopard print was huge in the late 1999s/early 2000s. I remember just being mesmerized by this shadow. I HAD to have it!

That's it for this edition of From the Vintage Vault but, as always, I would love to hear from you if you remember any of these products!