17 Vintage Cosmetics That Are Acquired Today For Quite High Prices

Perfume bottles, compact powders, lipstick tubes and even mascara can be more than ordinary cosmetics; may be collectors’ items. That’s why your grandma’s makeup box can be a real treasure chest.

We, from awesome.club, we love to look at old-fashioned trinkets, smell old fragrances, read about the history of cosmetics, and catch up on collectors’ auctions. We therefore decided to present you with some valuable items from the past, which may be stored in the back drawer of your family’s closet. At the end of the post, we’ll share some stories about how many of them can have great sentimental value for some people. Follow!

Any collector would be happy to add works by René Lalique to their collection. The original bottles by the French artist and packaging designer have already contained scents from around 60 perfume brands, including Coty and Guerlain. Some pieces could have technical effects, such as the satin or the opalescent glass🇧🇷 At famous auctions, prices for such bottles could be in the same range as his vases and other works of art.

But the design of one of the most famous bottles in the world — for Nina Ricci’s fragrance L’Air du Temps, with the two little doves kissing — was not created by Rene, but by his son, Marc. The “glass work” alone, without the iconic perfume inside, would cost around £1,000. Vintage bottles, released after 1950, would cost collectors at least £400.

The Soviet Brocar & Co invited many famous artists to produce glass containers for their aromas. The bottle for the fragrance North, for example, was created by the painter Kazimir Malevich. There was no intention of skimping on the first products: the manufacturers reproduced the difficult “cracking effect” in the iceberg-shaped bottle, as well as the uneven structure with concave facets and the image of a polar bear carved into the cap.

After the revolution, due to the continuous cheapening of production, the bottle was so transformed that specialists began to refer to it as the “beaver perfume”. Many collectors, lovers of original pieces and fans of the painter, would be willing to compete with each other to get this bottle in its original versions, with slight alterations in the structure. The models launched after the 50’s would only be interesting for those passionate about the fragrance.

We gave this perfume to my grandfather for his birthday, but he didn’t like the aroma and the bottle sat on the shelf for a long time, just as a decoration. The glass ended up breaking during a work, but I kept the bear’s head, which today is on top of my work table. © Замечательный Парень / Яндекс.Дзен

There is also a difference between the original bottle of the Soviet iconic fragrance Krasnaya Moscow and its later versions. The initial design was the work of Andrey Evseev, an artist at the Novaya Zarya factory. The embossed arch and packaging, both referring to the Kremlin wall, have undergone many changes over time. Therefore, while the first version can easily be sold for 200-500 euros, later models are much cheaper.

The first 1,500 bottles that held Salvador Dalí’s perfume were made of crystal, were numbered and personally signed by the great artist. The inspiration was one of his paintings, Apparition of the Face of Aphrodite of Cnidos. Later, the perfume was mass-produced and, although the structure was maintained, the signatures were stamped at the factory, not by hand.

In 1965, the American company Avon launched flasks of the most diverse formats. They started out as a shoe; then they moved on to female figures in ancient clothing, animals, and household items. Men’s fragrances often featured flacons shaped like cars from different brands, pipes, president torsos and even Adidas sneakers.

The company bet on the idea that people would not buy the products just for the aroma, but also for the bottles, which could later be used as children’s toys or decoration. Even if today many of them do not have high value, some rare models can still cost a fortune. All of them are listed in the Avon Collectors Encyclopedia book.

Some people collect bottles produced in Czechoslovakia and Poland. Many of them are not expensive, but the design is really special and interesting to leave on your bathroom cabinet or dressing table.

I have this bottle. It is made of porcelain with a golden brass lid and a flower design as decoration. There are similar versions, in glass, in different colors (blue, green, beige), often with metallic images in the design, thus creating a very unique and detailed pattern. Such flasks are also embellished with stones or jewels. The value can vary from 20 dollars to 40 dollars, depending on the condition and level of rarity. © Блошка Барахольщица / Яндекс. Дзен

It is believed that the minaudière, a kind of female case for storing small items, was created in 1932 by Charles Arpels, one of the founders of a famous jewelry store. Apparently, he saw a lady keep powder and lipstick in a small metal box and decided to make luxurious makeup cases with decorations.

Old models are distinguished from modern ones by the organization of the internal space. They were made of heavy materials with small compartments for miniature essentials, plus a mirror and space to store a few other accessories. These versions were made of valuable metals and decorated with precious stones. Today, such items are valued in the range of a thousand euros. Many collectors, however, would settle for more economical options.

This is a minaudière from the early 1920s. The smaller hole on the left is for blush; the larger one, for the face powder. The circles on the right hold 1 and 5 cent coins. © cecikierk / reddit

The “Holy Grail” of collectors: the “Bird in Hand” lipstick and powder case, designed by none other than Salvador Dalí. It is shaped like a bird and is coated with gold. On the bird’s head is the lipstick; on the open wings, the dust. The price for this unique vintage piece can easily exceed £5,000.

For centuries, makeup was considered a hallmark of whores. A respectable lady could only use it to “improve the color of the face”, and not at all in public. It was during this period that heavy powder palettes with light velvety sponges appeared. They were so successful at the time that it would be hard to find a woman who didn’t have such an item on her bedside table. The product was sold in cardboard boxes.

Everything changed in the 1920s. From then on, society started to “accept” that women correct their makeup in public and, soon after, pocket face powders appeared. The packages were small, as they had to fit in tiny bags, which the ladies took to theaters, bars or restaurants. The most common materials were silver, brass and enamel. Some models even had built-in music boxes.

Kigu has released two variations of the legendary “Flying Saucer” gold face powder, which include the ring of Saturn on the rim and a sapphire blue constellation in the center. Some pieces even had built-in music boxes. While the simplest models could cost £300-400, the ones with music would cost twice as much.

In the middle of the last century, after the Second World War, the desire for women to beautify themselves and have beautiful things began to increase. Powders have become brighter, flashier and more glamorous. Globes, masks, birds, teddy bears—the more irreverent the design, the more sought after the product. For example, Elsa Schiaparelli’s face powder in the shape of a dial telephone (by the way, Salvador Dalí also took part in its creation) can fetch for a collector from 200-300 pounds, depending on the condition of the piece.

Fashion historians argue to this day about when the first lipstick appeared and who invented it. Anyway, it is believed that, until 1923, when the mechanism to rotate the lipstick was created, people would have used a kind of lever to make the stick go up. That would have been the big difference between the rare and ancient lipsticks and the ones that appeared from the early 20’s onwards.

In the 1950s, the company Revlon (in collaboration with famous jewelers such as Van Cleef & Arpels) launched a collection of cases for Futurama lipstick. It can be said that a good number of vintage cosmetics collectors dream of owning one of these. And for them, price is not an issue: it starts from £100.

When it comes to mascara, there are also some temptations for collectors. Below, we see a box of mascara for eyelashes from Maybelline. In 1932, when it first appeared on the market, this paper case (with the bar and brush inside) cost just 10 cents. Today, that rarity would go for at least £50.

But the true treasure of mascara was the first automatic mascara, Matic Mascara, by Helena Rubinstein. For this simple tube, similar to a fine gold pen, people are willing to shell out around £3,000.

“My great-grandmother had some post Art Deco ones, but most of them were lost during the Civil War or World War II. Another part was confiscated by the government, as a ‘souvenir of capitalism’. In the 1980s, there were few left: they were practically unused and my mother managed to save only one, but she couldn’t remember where she had put it. Later, after almost 100 years, this powder was found! Today, I don’t even have the courage to clean it, as it is an item of great sentimental value to my entire family.” © TheGoldenSmartie / Reddit

“A few weeks ago, I updated my Facebook status saying I would like a vintage pressed powder. On my birthday, my dad threw this box on the kitchen table and nervously said, “I hope you like it. For me, they are worthless and useless things, but since you wrote on your Facebook that you wanted them, I found everything I could. Pick the one you like, and the rest you can throw away.’”

“What I found inside the box was a true and incredible gem, as shown in the photo below:”

“I was very moved by my father’s gesture. He must have spent a lot of time looking for these things. From what my stepmother said, he didn’t let go…