Established 2008

Friday Fun: heady times in beauty ads

Helena Rubinstein ad, 1958
I thought today would be appropriate to share some over the top headwear in makeup ads since the upcoming Easter holiday reminded me of Easter bonnets.  I was also inspired by the recently released MAC/Philip Treacy collection, which I'll get to shortly.  I invite you check out some strange forms of headwear in beauty ads, both vintage and contemporary.  Because I'm still a little wiped out from a short but jam-packed trip to Rome, I won't be providing very much commentary nor will I explore the significance of crazy head adornments in advertising, but I hope you enjoy these regardless.  🙂

First up:  flowers.  Obviously, featuring florals in a cosmetics ad isn't too out of left field, but there are definitely some more avant-garde ads out there that go way beyond a basic floral crown or one bloom tucked behind the model's ear. 

Revlon ad, 1948
(image from flickr.com)

Chen Yu ad, 1955
(image from hprints.com)

I found it hilarious that this ad is for "natural" looking makeup because, you know, nothing goes better with a natural look than an overly elaborate floral arrangement sitting on your head.  Too funny.

Max Factor Creme Puff ad, 1958
(image from amodelrecommends.com)

Tussy ad, 1959
(image from etsy.com)

Ponds-angel-face-early60s
(image from ebay.com)

This one is actually fruit and not flowers but I thought it was worth including.  Mmm…tasty plum crown.

Peggy Sage ad, 1961
(image from hprints.com)

You might remember this one from last year's spring exhibition.

Avon ad, 1962
(image from flickr.com)

Dior ad, 1976
(image from hprints.com)

MAC spring 2002 ad
(image from temptalia.com)

Lancome spring 2010 ad
(image from beautyeditor.ca)

MAC spring 2011 ad
(image from temptalia.com)

Lise Watier spring 2013 ad
(image from macnunu.blogspot.com)

Shu Uemura spring 2013 ad
(image from chicprofile.com)

Dior spring 2014 ad

Now let's get into the slightly weirder ones, shall we?  From feathers to birds' nests to lampshades, marketing directors seem to love putting random stuff on ladies' heads to sell cosmetics.

Cutex ad, 1958
(image from flickr.com)

Max Factor ad, 1958

Pond's Angel Face ad, 1959
(image from vintage-ads.livejournal.com)

Harriet Hubbard Ayer ad, 1960
(image from hprints.com)

Helena Rubinstein ad, 1960
(image from hprints.com)

Charles of the Ritz ad, 1962
(image from pinterest.com)

Aziza ad, 1965
(image from popsugar.com)

Covergirl-mad-mad-mixers
(image from pinterest.com)

Elizabeth Arden ad, 1968
(image from hprints.com)

L'Oreal ad, 1980s
(image from bellazon.com)

Dior fall beauty ad, mid 1990s
(image from pinterest.com)

NARS ad, mid to late 1990s

Physicians Formula ad, early 2000s?
(images from bellazon.com)

MAC Naturally Eccentric collection ad, fall 2005
(image from asianmodelsblog.blogspot.com)

MAC Chill collection ad, 2008
(image from nitrolicious.com)

MAC Apres Chic collection ad, 2013
(image from nitrolicious.com)

Illamasqua liked these bizarre diamond-paneled caps so much they used them in 2 campaigns.

Illamasqua spring 2014 ad
(image from makeup4all.com)

Illamasqua fall 2014 ad
(image from chicprofile.com)

Which one is your favorite?  For me, Dior's spring 2014 ad is pretty spectacular, but in terms of sheer weirdness, the Charles of the Ritz ad with all those poofs takes the cake in my opinion.

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