Secrets of the USSR: how Soviet women made beauty. Manicure in the USSR Acid and neon - what colors

In the Soviet Union, as in any other country, women wanted to be attractive. That's just half a century ago, only a few managed to "get" real cosmetics. Fashionistas got out of the situation as best they could. Ordinary colored pencils, beer, silver paint were used.

Ink spat in

Arrows came into fashion in the 1960s. Soviet women did not want to lag behind Western beauties and also carefully drew a "bird" for themselves. But instead of a cosmetic pencil, a regular one was used. A sharpened match was dipped into the lead, and the arrow is ready.

Ink was also impossible to find during the day with fire. A mixture of vaseline, burnt matches, and tar was used. Later, all the beauties of the Soviet Union unanimously spat into the factory box with mascara, and then separated the eyelashes with a needle.

Silver as a shadow

To make the eye shadow, again, children's pencils were used. The stylus of the desired shade was rubbed to the desired condition. Those who wanted to look completely irresistible used the "silver". Women dipped their fingers in a shiny powder and then applied it to their eyelids.

Curling beer

Curlers, like everything else, were “gotten” in the Soviet Union. And those who did not succeed did not get upset and twisted their hair around a newspaper and beer. A rope was laid on the newspaper, the sheet was folded, and a strand was wound onto the finished roll. The protruding ends of the rope were tied together. To fix the curls before curling, the hair was moistened with beer.

Nail polish

With nail polish, too, everything was not easy. In the USSR, colorless varnish was mainly sold. Then inventive fashionistas added blue pen paste to it, beaten Christmas decorations or the sheen of liquid from dissolved mother-of-pearl buttons.
You should not think that there were no cosmetics at all in the Soviet Union. In 1937, the first institute of cosmetics and hygiene appeared in Moscow, and on store shelves -

How did the manicure in the USSR.

Our mothers and grandmothers did not want to stay away from fashion and beauty and also looked after themselves in the conditions of that difficult time.

Perhaps you caught your mothers at home applying cheap Soviet nail polish to themselves and were afraid to touch anything so as not to leave a mark on their nails? And the smell of acetone, to whom he is not familiar. Perhaps there are no such people.

Beauty tips were regularly published in the Rabotnitsa magazine and Soviet books with fashionable recipes. Including manicure.

Manicure sets and tweezers for cutting cuticles have come into fashion. Now anyone could independently, without leaving home, put their nails in order.

For those who did not want to bother too much, Soviet hairdressers provided this service for 35 kopecks.

Craftswomen met clients in white coats. The trimming procedure was about the same as it is now. First, the hands were steamed in a bath with soapy water. Then they did a hand massage with cream. Many still remember a narrow range of creams of that time. The palette of varnishes also did not differ in variety and durability. Red lacquer was worn on special occasions solemn events. On the rest of the days, Soviet fashionistas preferred to limit themselves to pale pink or transparent colors.
Nevertheless, through speculators it was possible to purchase high-quality bright foreign varnish. Although they cheated in no time, so sometimes you could be left without money and without goods.
Sometimes in the capital's department stores appeared in limited quantities varnishes of well-known foreign companies. At such moments, the rule “who had time, he ate” was in effect. Or rather, he took it.

Pedicure was also in demand, although a little less. Therefore, in the manicure rooms at the hairdressers, they did the same edged pedicure. As abrasive substances for removing rough skin on the feet, metal graters, tweezers and scissors were used, and sometimes even razors.

Most Soviet women, nevertheless, preferred ordinary pumice to pedicure rooms. In the 70s and 80s, every bathroom had such a thing.

Even the youngest readers, whose mothers and grandmothers hunted for the same beauty treasures and kept the same scarce cosmetic gifts from abroad, can keep memories of cult cosmetics in the USSR. Times change, and since Lancôme powder has ceased to be amazing, we recall the harsh Soviet makeup products, many of which can still be found on the shelves.

Mascara "Leningradskaya" for eyebrows and eyelashes

The very mascara that should have been spit on (or soaked in other, more hygienic ways), scrape with a tiny toothbrush, and apply to the eyelashes. Until the 1950s, all mascaras were produced in this format: Rimmel, Maybelline, and the Svoboda factory had the so-called cake mascara. It had to be applied thickly and quickly, and skilled people really managed to create fluffy voluminous eyelashes with the help of compact mascara. Many, by the way, after the procedure also separated them with a needle for lack of a comb for eyelashes, and if the mascara got into the eyes, irritation was guaranteed. If you like pain, you can buy a copy of Leningradskaya in a variety of stores, and if you just like the vintage atmosphere, look for modern counterparts in conceptual brands: for example, Bésame Cosmetics produces such a nice solid mascara.

Foundation "Ballet"

58 rubles

Another bestseller of the Svoboda factory is the first Soviet Foundation. The name transparently hints at the ambitions of the product: it is practically makeup, very dense and stable. On the one hand, he really covered all the redness and pimples, on the other hand, he looked like a mask, could emphasize bumps, lay down in stripes and do many other things, because of which he created more problems than convenience. In addition, the cream was produced in only one shade,. "Ballet" can be bought to this day, but in three color options: beige, peach and natural. The tool has become lighter, retained 100% masking skills and can even suit people with unpretentious skin: it contains glycerin, lanolin, beeswax and other familiar ingredients.

Perfume "Red Moscow"

636 rubles

Today, most people will say about this floral chypre that it smells like a grandmother - "Red Moscow" could be found in almost every home on all dressing tables in the country. If we discard the stereotypes, wearing "Moscow" is possible and necessary: ​​it is a complex and bright fragrance, and it is better than many conventional evening scents from the mass market. Him rich story: originally named "The Empress's Favorite Bouquet" and dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, the fragrance has survived the revolution and change of power to become a true symbol of Soviet elegance. In the USSR, and even the Novaya Zarya factory itself had other perfumes, but Moskva easily overcame class differences and financial restrictions, and therefore became the main one.

Ruby Rose Eyeshadow Palette

450 rubles

A real flood of the market with cheap imported cosmetics happened in the 80s: crazy-colored nail polishes, mother-of-pearl lipsticks, powders with disgusting sponges in the kit. For those who preferred the one that creates a holiday on the face to basic cosmetics, the Ruby Rose multi-color palettes of shadows were the object of desire: sets of 12 or 18 colors existed, it seems, in all options. Of course, adjusted for fashion: basically everyone chose mother-of-pearl blue, white, purple, green shades or used brown. The shadows fell, lay unevenly, but in the 80s and 90s (especially for schoolgirls) they seemed no worse than unattainable luxury palettes - they could make perfect makeup for disco. The brand still exists.

Hairspray "Charm"

169 rubles

For the hairstyles of Soviet women were often responsible perm, hydrogen peroxide and other things of dubious benefit, and daily styling products were often homemade - for example, sugar syrup. Therefore, the very fact of the appearance of an affordable domestic hairspray in the 70s was perceived as an event, and the composition, texture properties and fragrances, and other trifles worried the consumer little. By the way, “Charm” varnishes cannot be called of poor quality: they are not very convenient to spray and easy to apply more than necessary, but they perfectly fix the hair. The era of bouffants has passed, and the Charm product line is replenished with a variety of new products and other formats.

Rose Powder Lancôme

2 873 rubles

Despite the fact that in almost every category of makeup or care products there was a domestic substitute for luxury, Soviet women dreamed of something else: powders, blushes and lipsticks of the famous expensive brands Lancome, Estée Lauder, Dior. Alas, Soviet lipsticks sometimes tasted like either soap or rubber, and the powders lay down in a thick layer. It was possible to get a French product with a pleasant texture and delicate fragrance by being born very rich, visiting the Beryozka store or catching dealers in the market. Not so much has changed: most people still prefer Lancôme powder today to domestic flower powder.

Kiki nail polish

79 rubles

Another herald of budgetary changes - multi-colored varnishes for Kiki nails, available in hundreds of textures and colors. Due to the relatively low price of consumables, manicures could be changed at least every day: they did not last long, however. Perhaps not even because of the properties of the varnish itself, but due to the fact that the base, fixative and top for manicure were then excesses - the nails easily deteriorated. Today, Kiki-branded nail polishes still come out, but times have changed, and even in their price range, you can find better and more interesting products, and shimmery blue nail polish or a shade of fuchsia are in store for time travel.

The office manicurists of the Soviet Union accepted clients exclusively in white coats. You could get a manicure (as well as a haircut, pedicure) by appointment or on a first-come, first-served basis.

USSR brand - Barbershop Charodeyka

Every Soviet woman dreamed of getting into the Charodeyka hairdressing salon, which was opened on Novy Arbat in Moscow in the 70s. Masters worked here only professional. Equipment and cosmetics were also used only the most progressive. Women were given haircuts, perms, manicures and pedicures. They also cut hair for children and men.

The women's and men's rooms were separated. Each room had a huge window overlooking the street. And both a cleaning lady from a school and a famous actress could get service here - the prices were from 5 kopecks to 5 rubles, depending on the type of service.

Outcome

Different eras made their own adjustments to nail art. But one thing has remained unchanged - that the women of the USSR, that the ladies of the digital 21st century take care of their nails and love to do manicures.

We have salons, they have hairdressers

No need to think that building the Great Socialist Union, Soviet women forgot about manicure. Even at that time, nail care was in the forefront of Soviet fashionistas and ordinary women. There were no nail salons in the modern sense in the USSR. There were hairdressing salons (which were called that), in which places for manicure were equipped in a separate room or on separate tables.

There was only one type of manicure in the USSR - edged. It was traditionally done by steaming the fingers in warm, soapy water and trimming off the excess skin with tongs. Women who had tools did manicures on their own, but also actively turned to masters in hairdressing salons.

The manicure procedure in the USSR, in addition to steaming and cutting the cuticles, also included a hand massage with Yantar, Lanolin or Velor creams.

Nail polishes, unfortunately, did not please our ancestors with variety. There were only reds, pinks, oranges and pale yellows. Soviet mistresses managed to mix varnishes different colors to get new shades.

Views: 1906

It feels like in Smolensk everyone is doing manicures all day long! - my metropolitan guest exclaimed irritably, calling two dozen salons.
- What else is that! In Soviet times it was even worse. It was impossible to get a manicure, - I consoled.
- Come on, in Soviet times, we didn’t even have a manicure, what kind of Smolensk is there!
I don’t know how it is in the capital, but, according to Olga Kaurova, a manicurist with twenty years of experience, manicure was very popular in Smolensk. Apparently, the Smolensk people devoted much more time to it than to what "there is no such thing in the Soviet Union."

GIVE MANICURE IN THE USSR!

I began to be interested in manicure in my early childhood, in the early eighties. For the first four years of my life, I simply admired my mother's nails, and then put the knowledge I gained into practice. I stealthily took my grandmother's "Lancome" from the foreign exchange store and "unmanicured" myself, dolls, hares ... I also did not ignore the wallpaper and new furniture. Grandpa's false teeth followed, but, fortunately, my father woke up in time.
“Well, mommy, bunnies want to be beautiful too,” I whimpered, hiding under the table.
A little later, my mother brought some kind of miracle of technology from a business trip. It was a bright red apparatus called "Echo" with many incomprehensible attachments. The name did not quite correspond to reality: the device made such sounds that not a single echo in the world can be compared. It was the great-grandmother of modern hardware manicure. I disliked the car from the first day: my mother paid too much attention to it. How "Echo" can contribute to the beauty of nails, I did not understand. However, I still have not been able to comprehend the secret of the "Soviet miracle".
“Mommy, why are you so cut? I asked every evening.
When mother finally got tired of the naive childish question, she threw the "Echo" away. A couple of weeks later, a certain aunt Masha came to visit us. She was clearly out of sorts and in a hurry.
- And what is this aunt? I asked as soon as Aunt Masha disappeared.
“That’s my manicurist,” Mom said proudly. It was the mid eighties outside.
“I have been doing manicures for twenty years,” says Olga, a manicure and pedicure specialist. “I remember very well how it all began. I was going to enter the physical institute, but it didn’t work out. I imagined what it was like. Some scissors, tongs. They didn’t explain anything to us, they just showed us. I returned to Smolensk and set to work. There were few salons, but there were many who wanted to. I will never forget my first visitor. She patiently waited an hour and a half, during which time I managed to cut nine fingers! My hands looked even worse than before the manicure ... Manicure was done then, mainly by the intelligentsia. All the pleasure cost ninety kopecks. Gradually, I learned everything, even became a laureate all-Russian competition. Queues began to form for me. Yes, yes, real queues, like for sausage!" The Soviet Union collapsed, a new era began. People were interested in more vital issues. Only a select few went for a manicure.

THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE ARTS IS...

“A real lady’s nails should be well-groomed and painted with red Lancome,” my mother uttered this phrase at every opportunity.
I understood why Vitalik from the parallel class did not pay attention to me, and complained to my mother. Mom made a decision: it's time.
So I first got to the "adult" edged manicure. The purpose of the means did not justify: Vitalik did not notice anything. Then I painted my nails black, orange, colorless ... until Vitalik didn’t like me. I was completely disappointed with the manicure. Then there was graduation, studying at the institute. Manicure became popular again. The fashion trend did not pass me by, and after a long break, I again went for a manicure. Red Lancome is out of fashion. Now they painted bizarre "Playboy bunnies" on the nails, decorated them with rhinestones, piercings. The nails became unimaginably long. I thought for a long time what to draw on them, and decided to leave everything as it is. It was the end of the nineties.

WIFE! IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO MANICURE!

professional advice

how to care for nails
- do not forget to smear your hands with a protective cream
- Do your homework with gloves
- regularly use homemade scrubs
- make hand masks, baths with sea salt
- in winter, do not leave the house without warm mittens
- Get a manicure at least once every two weeks.