From the Vintage Vault (L'Oreal edition)

For this installment of From the Vintage Vault, I thought I'd share some older L'Oreal products from my stash. I've got some nail products and one of my all-time favorite lip products to show you today, so let's get started with this trip down memory lane.

 Take a peek inside the Vintage Vault, after the jump..

 Three old-school L'Oreal nail polishes:

regular formula (Cherie Cherry), Creme (Hot Pinque) and Wear Extraordinaire (Sangria)

 "Last Chance For This Item"

There's something about 80s/90s L'Oreal polish bottles that I find quite comforting. I don't know if its because I like the bottle shape more than the more modern style, or if these bottles just take me back to being a teen and painting my nails in my bedroom until all hours of the night (and waking up angry because I had sheet marks all over my nails).

The Wear Extraordinaire shade, Sangria, was one of the first vampy shades I remember finding at the drugstore and I remember being crushed to see that "Last Chance" sticker on this bottle. But wow, it sure was nice of brands to warn you like that when your favorite colors were about to be discontinued, huh? Now we usually have to watch for clearance sales to find out when something's been discontinued!

 Then and Now

 (Cherie Cherry, The Temptress' Power)

And to any one who thinks that the current L'Oreal brushes are too thin? Maybe you weren't around for THESE brushes:

It's hard to convey this in photos, but the brushes back in the 80s and 90s were so thin it seems almost laughable now. Here are some pics for perspective:

 

See how small the brush looks next to the opening of the bottle? Now look at the modern-day brush:

 

 

I'm telling you, those old brushes were TINY.

 

 Do any of you remember the short-lived Specialiste nail treatment line from L'Oreal?

 L'Oreal Shine Specialiste Ultra Gloss Top Coat

(circa 2000?)

Sorry, but this top coat sucked. I  think I used it twice and then never touched it again. But I did like the bottle!

And last but not least, one of my favorite glosses from L'Oreal:

 L'Oreal Glam Shine Dazzling Plumping Lip Colour in Siren

(circa 2003)

OK, Glam Shines aren't vintage, but I loved them so much that I wanted to add them here just as a little tribute.  

The Glam Shine line came out in 2003 and it had a nice, long run until it was discontinued in 2009. What I loved about Glam Shine glosses was that they weren't sticky, but they had amazing staying power. They were a bit thick, but they didn't feel heavy. They were more like a liquid lipstick, but they had the most brilliant sparkle to them:

And I could be wrong, but I think these were the first drugstore glosses to come with the "bent" applicator that seems to be so common now with drugstore glosses:

I opened this tube and, much to my surprise, it still smells exactly as I remember it: not like a regular L'Oreal lip product, but more like one of the old-school Shine Delice products (remember those?). It has a sweet, strawberry-citrusy, candy-like fragrance to it that I absolutely love.

Thanks so much for taking this stroll down memory lane with me. Do you remember any of these products from back in the day? Tell me all about it in the comments!