On a recent expedition into the remoter regions of our garage, I came across my grandmother’s old sewing chest. In it, alongside tightly wound bundles of ribbon and boxes of safety pins, there was a little compact of Estée Lauder solid perfume. Odd to find it there (my grandmother was very organised: a perfume in her sewing box would have been most irregular); but one whiff of the still powerful scent marked it out as unmistakably hers: Youth Dew.
Anyone who likes vintage clothing as much as I do will be familiar with Youth Dew. It was ubiquitous in the late Fifties and Sixties, and as a result lingers on, in the linings of old handbags and the fraying threads of good woollen coats. It was one of the first mass-market fragrances that women bought by themselves, for themselves, which perhaps explains its popularity. You can still buy it: £22 for 28ml eau de parfum, at esteelauder.co.uk, a most unmodern concoction in its bevelled bottle, cinched at the waist with a gold bow.
Vintage is quite a trend in the beauty world. Cold cream, that old dressing table staple, has variously been repackaged and relaunched (Boots does a good one in its Traditional range, only £2.42), and 20th-century essentials such as Lipcote and Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream still sit front of counter. Meanwhile, brands with Victorian-sounding names, such as G Baldwin & Co and Mrs White, have been making their mark. Baldwin’s Orange Flower Water (£4.45; baldwins.co.uk), for example, smells exactly like the orange flower plants in my garden: an excellent and refreshing alternative to your ordinary toner.
As to Mrs White, she exists (if she exists at all) on roullierwhite.com, which stocks all sorts of recherché scents as well as some fantastic beauty products. My favourite is Mrs White’s Legs in The Air (£10, saucy), a cooling, faintly tinted emulsion that refreshes hot, tired extremities: ideal for the time of year. It comes in a 50ml bottle, too, so the battleaxe at airport security will have no excuse to confiscate it.
Kiehl’s has teamed up with Lily Allen to produce a special-edition beauty box in honour of her new vintage boutique, Lucy In Disguise. Fresh-tival Essentials contains all you’ll need for summer festivals (Ultra Facial Moisturizer SPF15, Amino Acid Shampoo, Creme de Corps, Lip Balm #1 and Grapefruit Body Cleanser, £35; kiehls.co.uk) as well as a bag to carry it all in. Small sizes too, so good for travelling.
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No retro look is complete without a set of false eyelashes: the Vintage Cosmetic Company (thevintagecosmeticcompany.co.uk) does a range of old-school eyelashes in various styles to suit all faces. I like Betty (£6.50), which are shorter towards the socket end of the eye and longer at the outer edges: perfect for creating an Audrey Hepburn sweep.
Finally, a scent that will bring back all kinds of memories: 4711, which rather sweetly relaunched on July 4. It’s a fruity little number, not one for perfume snobs, but worth £4.39 for the iconic packaging alone (boots.com).