Beauty problems we didn't have in the 80's

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

*Pores- no one fussed about open pores,in fact the only place you read about them was in a science paper at school.

*Cellulite- it was just 'dimply legs' if you were a bit fat,then suddenly magazines made it a 'thing!'

• The right colour foundation- there were only about 3 shades back then and no one made a fuss if you had the wrong one as everyone did
  
  
• No one cared about the damage Sun In and lemon juice did to your hair
  
  
• No one waxed their eye brows,we all went at them like crazy with a pair of tweezers!
  
  
• 99% of people had pubes!
  
  
  
  I was contemplating this around Tesco earlier

[CakeThat]

Young people in the 80s were content with the budget brands like Rimmel and Constance Carroll. there was nothing like Urban Decay or Mac because parents then wouldn't have been stupid enough to buy such expensive stuff.

[KitKats28]

I found some pictures the other day from our youth club disco round about 1987. It was the (only) social event of the week in our village. There was so much hair (boys and girls). Almost everyone was thin, but I don't remember it being a "thing". Everyone was dressed in their best gear.

Only having three lipsticks to choose from (Twilight Teaser, Heather Shimmer and BonBon) made life easier! Being "blessed" with frizzy/wavy/curly hair was great. I had a friend with flat hair that no amount of Silvikrin would help. By the 90s, she was smug while we spent a fortune on FrizzEase.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Cake

Teens now- I want a Mac lipstick ,I HAVE to have it!

Mum- oh yes,I'll get it for you at once!

80's response- Err, not on your nelly you jumped up little madam!

[BusterGonad]

St school everyone obsessed over The Body Shop Dewberry fragrance, it was the 80s though, but the early 90s. The Body Shop was so trendy then. What happened to them???

[BusterGonad]

At school...

[BusterGonad]

Ffs. I mean it wasn't the 80s. I need more coffee! 😂

[Floisme]

I can hear myself sounding like my Great Auntie Winnie so I'm starting a list of things that were worse:

Sunbeds. They were evil.
Errm...

[228agreenend]

Your hair was either dry, greasy, normal (never really understood was this was), or horrors of horrors, had dandruff.

We used used Timotei shampoo.

Perms!

Did anyone else have a book by Maggie Philburn on beauty etc(?). Actually, can't fully remeber what it was on but it was one of the first books I can recall seeing as a teen on advising girls in beauty etc.

[Eolian]

I only have 2 lipsticks, have had my nails done once in my life for my wedding, use Rimmel BB cream, don't wax anything (but do shave legs and pits) and think HD brows look hilarious. No modern beauty problems for me. I clearly still live in the 80s! As for pubes trends .

[poppym12]

Aapri face scrub, Anne french cleanser and a blob of my mom's oil of ULAY.

Blocks of eyeliner that you had to dampen spit on and apply with a scratchy brush, then came the kohl pencil and white eyeliner on the inside rim.

Waiting for pay day every Friday to see what new wonderfulness I could buy in Chelsea girl.

I was very embarrassed about my thighs as they had a gap at the top so didn't meet in the middle .

Wafts of patchouli oil on various people, usually males with leather jackets or denims with band badges sewn on.

Dewberry from the body shop ( late 80s for me)

Pearl drops and red toothpaste to try to combat the yellowing glow cast by various pearly, shimmery lipsticks.

Hair gel. Big pots of the gloopy stuff to dig your hand in to secure the big blow dry before adding hairspray, followed by the appearance of hair mousse which was also added to the cardboard hair. Surprised ot didn't bloody snap.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Aapri was like Brillo pads for the face!!

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

I lusted after Arabian Glow from Avon buy it was a fiver so too expensive for me.

[burnishedsilver]

I dont remember anyone being particularly overweight.

[BusterGonad]

The Body Shop satsuma shower gel minis and chocolate scented lipgloss also The Body Shop in my stocking at Christmas.

[poppym12]

I had some dame. Most of it ended up on my bedroom carpet as it was an arse to get out. Powder pot with a shaker on the top.

I recall using a green tinted moisturiser from boots on my red cheeks too. Boots no 7 colour correcting cream. It disappeared for decades and I was highly amused to see the reinvention of these miraculous 'new' colour correcting products recently.

Also, boots 'barely there stocking cream'. Bloody loved it.

I obviously really helped to keep boots and Chelsea girl afloat during the 80s

[BusterGonad]

No7 stocking cream, my sister had that. It was amazing!

[PollyPerky]

I recognise very little of this! Maybe it's because in the mid-late 80s I was juggling two young kids. Perhaps all the anecdotes here are from people who were teens in the 80s? So it's a bit inaccurate ? By the mid 80s I was 30-ish and using brands like Clinique, Eliz Arden, Lancome....

The only things that really strike me is that there was more of a boundary between formal and informal clothes. Nowadays many people turn up in jeans for anything (even work) whereas in the 80s you had 'work clothes' and 'best clothes' without so much overlap.

[Deathraystare]

Thanks Dame Diazepam - this is a great thread!

Should I hang my head in shame for wearing that Dewberry stuff from Body shop?

Poppym - yes I had the Boots green cream (which cast a gray colour) on my red cheeks. I no longer use green anything on my cheeks. I can't help feeling that if the rain washed off my make up I would be left with green cheeks.

Now I am grown up I use Bare Minerals neutralizing primer.

[Tessticklesyourfancy]

Buying Constance Carroll makeup from the makeup stall on the Saturday market, plus a Toyah clllection that had a rainbow of colours. Smitty, It and Charleyperfumes, Impulse
. No 17 skin tint applied to my blue legs with judge chunks of cotton wool,
Big hair, shoulder pads, matching shoes and handbags. Being happy, laughing with friends
Not taking photos unless it was a special event like a birthday
Never taking 36 photos of myself, taking the film to Boots, going back three days later to collect said film then going round to friends houses to show them all 36 photos of me pouting and expecting everyone to tell me I'm gorgeous

[PollyPerky]

This has become more about fashion trends for teens in the 80s than beauty products and procedures :)

[Floisme]

I was 30 in the mid 80s Polly but single, no kids so yes probably just different memories.
Agree there was a much clearer distinction between work and leisure - not just the clothes, no-one would dream of contacting you on your hols (or maybe I just wasn't high enough up the food chain).
Another thing that was worse then - even if you didn't smoke, all your clothes stank. People would smoke at their desks - disgusting.

[crystalchef]

The smoking! I remember going for a job interview and the guy interviewing me was sitting on his side of the desk smoking while interviewing me.

We all had white musk from the body shop (late 80's).

I also remember no one caring about brands, loads of my clothes came from one of the catalogues (which all had different names but were the same inside).

[StormyLovesOdd]

I used to love my pink and black rah-rah skirt teamed with pixie boots.