Taking a look at classic Maybelline eye make-up products

✯ Day 314 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

Veering away, generally speaking, from the usual order in which most people apply their make-up, once my moisturizer (and primer, if using) are applied, I head straight for my eyes.

It's always been that way, for as far back as I can remember (and given that I was 14 going on 15 when I was permitted to start wearing makeup, I can recall those early days of high school cosmetics pretty well). Before foundation, powder, highlighter, blush (which, to be honest, given the natural rosiness of my cheeks I don't wear all that often), or anything to do with my lips I attend to my eye make-up routine first.

I begin with my brows (plucking any stray hairs and filling them in, as they've always been naturally sparse), curl my eyelashes, do my eye shadow followed by eyeliner, and lastly mascara. At the point, though I do like a "full face" (as my mom and I have always called it), I feel sufficiently made up enough so that if I suddenly had to answer the door or bolt out at the spur of the moment, I'd feel like I had my war paint (so to speak) on.

In fact (assuming I had a good moisturizer already), if you made me pick just three make-up items to take with me to a desert island, without giving it a second thought, I'd reach for black eyeliner and mascara, paired with a tube of MAC's Russian Red lipstick.

Perhaps it's because we get to use our lids like tiny artist's canvases that I start on that part of my face here first. Sure, one can play around with their lips, but rarely (sans costume make-up) does a person wear more than one distinct colour on their lips at the same time.

With our eyes we can play it safe and stick with classic neutral shades or create whole rainbows of multi-coloured shadow or liner, if so desired. We can fatten our lashes, or even apply false one's if what nature and the cosmetics counter provided us with just isn't doing the trick.

I'm a big fan of make-up brushes, especially for eye make-up (though having one each specifically for foundation and powder is very great, too), and while the ones I use are modern, they really haven't changed all that much of the past few decades.

Take for example the lovely vintage Maybelline ad from 1960 pictured below. Here one sees a selection of make-up products and applicators that (excluding perhaps cream mascara and its accompanying brush - though these can still be found and are really quite fun to work with if you get the opportunity) still appears in most of our cosmetic bags today.

{So very chic and beautifully elegant, the makeup products in this wonderful vintage Maybelline ad will never go out of style. Image via CapricornOneVintage on Flick.}

 

Like many gals, I enjoy playing with make-up and have a range of products in my trusty (train style) case, but at the end of the day (or more accurately, the start of the day), I do generally reach for the same beloved items that help give me my beloved 1940s/50s looks in a flash, every one of which appears (albeit in more modern packaging) in this charming vintage ad.

Whether you're also a fan of starting with your eyes, or work your way up there a little later on during your routine, it's hard not to enjoy timeless images like this that show you exactly what the ladies whose looks we so admire and emulate were lining their vanity tops with during the most glamorous years of the twentieth century.

Hearty 1940s Sausage Macaroni Casserole recipe

✯ Day 313 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

There's an undeniable chill in the air these days. Perhaps not quite bone-shatteringly cold like the brutal arctic winds that rattle much of Canada throughout the winter, but enough of a bite so that one firmly knows summer and even the milder days of fall are well behind us.

During these mid-Novembers days as the world outside begins to slip from autumn to winter, and the possibility of snow is ever-near, I take a certain distinct joy in once again being able to keep my oven on for hours without it heating up our apartment to the point of it feeling like Death Valley.

There's comfort - timeless as the return of night time frost - to the act of creating hearty, filling, wonderful means on the stovetop and inside the oven once more.

From pots of bubbling soup and stew, to roast root vegetables, whole chickens and fragrant sweet nut and fruit breads turning perfectly golden brown, the return of nippy weather brings with it the desire - and need - to feed your family with the sort of dense, stick-to-your-ribs dishes that are rarely seen during the sizzling months of summer.

Though a handful of eyebrow-raising recipes over the years has given the given the word "casserole" a certain less desire connotation, the fact of the matter is that casseroles are a fantastic, handy, scrumptious one dish way to serve up a filling, nutritious meal (especially if you're heavy-handed with the veggies and lean protein).

I've always enjoyed casseroles a lot, be they rich, elaborate Italian cheese-topped numbers or simpler fare tossed together from store cupboard staples. Today's vintage recipe for Sausage Macaroni Casserole (which first appeared in Woman's Home Companion magazine and comes by way of curly-wurly on Flickr) hails from 1947 and speak of the culinary tastes of the decade, yet is still in keeping with many modern day baked pasta dishes.

 

As with most casseroles, this one has the added benefit of being adapted to high heaven. You could swap the sausage for lean ground beef, chicken, or turkey (or use soy crumbles instead); nix the American cheese and add a smoky gouda, mild havarti, or beautifully aged cheddar. In addition to (or instead of) the green pepper, why not try some broccoli florets, corn kernels, or sundried tomatoes?

On the table in under an hour, this creamy, crowd-pleasing macaroni casserole is precisely the kind of dish one yearns for the moment the mercury starts plunging, and is a great vintage recipe to whip up all through the freezing cold fall and winter night have returned once more.

Greetings from the Grand Canyon

✯ Day 312 of Vintage 365 ✯

{Engagingly lovely vintage Grand Canyon postcard by way of Shook Photos on Flickr.}

 

On the list of truly iconic natural wonders in the world, the Grand Canyon ranks as high up as the lofty vantage points it offers. At 277 miles long and as much as 18 miles wide ins some spots, it's immensely easy to see why this marvelous of mother earth has been attracting visitors and settlers (to it's surrounding areas) for thousands of years (beginning with Native American Peoples many centuries before Europeans ever set foot near this incredible location).

Though the Canyon was first visited by Spanish explorers as early as 1540, it wasn't until centuries later that that Americans really began to investigate the awe-inspiring, majestic wonders that this fascinating  spot on the Arizona landscape has to offer.

While Theodore Roosevelt showed considerable interest in the Grand Canyon at the start of the 20th century, it was President Woodrow Wilson who, in 1919, established it as the 17th U.S. National Park by an Act of Congress. In the decades since tourism to this awe-inspiring corner of America has continued to grow, and today the Canyon sees more than five million annual visitors.

Two of whom, this year, just happen to be my mom and step-dad. Currently on a road trip through parts of the US, my parents recently spent time visiting the Grand Canyon for the first time in either of their lives.

I know that this had been a spot they'd both been greatly interested in seeing for a very long time, and while I haven't had a chance yet to hear about all their adventures there, I do know that they got a chance to venture out onto the famous Sky Walk and take in the panoramic view standing far above the the canyon floor.

I'm elated that my parents are getting a chance to get away from the daily grind (this is their first vacation in several years, and goodness, do they deserve it!), and to explore such stunning locations. I'd definitely like a chance to follow in their footsteps one day and take in the amazing splendours of the Grand Canyon myself, too.

 

 

In the meantime though, I can have fun as an arm chair traveler by enjoying the wonderful vintage travel video of the Grand Canyon (from 1958), above.

I really hope you enjoy this informative 8.5 minute travel film, too, whether you've been to this impressive natural landmark ten times before or, like my parents recently did, will be making your first pilgrimage ever to the Grand Canyon sometime  in the future.