Things your mother used…

Scotch Hair-Set Tape: a roll of pink cloth tape with pinked edges made for, yes, setting your hair. It was expensive for dimestore stuff so she would save all the little pieces and stick them to her makeup mirror for future use.

[quote]And some type of gelatin supplement drink for her nails.

Knox gelatine, my mother used it as well.

My mom used a V bar, you’d squeeze it between your hands or thighs for a resistance workout. It was so loud. It was a precursor to the Suzanne Sommer’s Thigh Master.

She had a lot of weird things.

She had this jewelry cleaning thing. You dumped your jewelry in it. There was some type of soapy liquid in it. You turned it on and it vibrated and voila: clean jewelry.

My mom used that too, r1. She used Dippity-do with it.

DDT powder to rid the cats of fleas!

DD!

with a linen handkerchief

Those discs that she would stand on and twist back and forth for exercise.

The chocolate liquid diet stuff in a can, can't remember the name of it, this was before Slim-fast. Metracal? You were supposed to drink it for breakfast and lunch and then eat a healthy supper.

r10, there was also...SEGO.

Kerchief which she wore after setting her hair with bobby pins. Yes, that was the 50s.

Fels-Naptha Laundry Detergent Bar for grass stains on our jeans. Just gooled it; it's still around!

Lee's Press-On Nails for special occasions.

Foam hair curlers

A wig made from her own hair.

Noxzema. Great for sunburns.

Pedro, the pool guy.

Swiffer dry cloths as tampons.

R6. My mother, the hard-core birdwatcher and overall nature lover bragging that she got the last of the available DDT and coated the exterior with is.

Dr. Pepper flavored Lipsmackers. I'm not joking.

AYDS weight loss candies.

Some kind of tooth whitening powder that came in a white plastic jar maybe two inches high and six inches in diameter. It had a screw top lid also made of white plastic. It looked like Comet but smelled like mint.

The stuff may have predated yours truly by several years so it could've been a 1970s only product; Mom didn't need much of it to keep the nicotine stains at bay.

Those plastic foldable rain bonnets that were kept in a purse. She would don that thing at the merest hint of a drop of rain while out running errands and it embarrassed me to no end.

Albolene. I discovered it made a great lube for alone time.

Uban coffee crystals, Made with hot water from the faucet.

She bought a lot of Avon products in fancy bottles that would be worth money some day.

R25 In high school, my friend’s dad had a porno movie with Ron Jeremy where he used Albolene as anal lube.

It's Yuban, r26.

^^ can be used as at-home abortion kit…

I can't imagine wanting to watch Ron Jeremy fuck someone in the ass. Heteros are very strange.

R21 Dr Pepper flavored lipsmackers — brings back a very dear memory . It was 1975. I was working at the UCLA French dept in Haines Hall. I guess the story will give away I’m a woman.

Every morning i sat at my desk, drank coffee, and put on my makeup. I had this ginormous Dr Pepper lipsmacker — a lovely translucent reddish berry tone, it lasted forever .

When the chairman went to Paris he gave me a metro map which hangs on my wall today . Thanks for sparking this precious memory; I never imagined at the time I would remember it so fondly

Whenever company came she’d drag out the old coffee percolator.

Dippity doo

And the ceramic cigarette holder. It was a white rectangular box. The lid had a raised design with an eagle. It was one of my jobs to fill the box. I guess it could hold roughly two packs of cigarettes.

And then there were all the special food items we weren’t supposed to touch because she was “watching her figure.” Now it strikes me as an odd phrase; it was normal to me then.

The items? Melba toast, Tab, Fresca, Stella D’oro biscuits (they were hard and dry as fuck but not bad dunked in coffee)

The neighbor's wives for company. She was always visiting. I guess she was bored being alone in the house during the day.

Joselito, her Filipino houseboy.

She would peel the grapes before adding them to the jello.

Reading glasses. Reading glasses everywhere. I used to think she was crazy, but now....

Pond's Cold Cream

Estee Lauder makeup

She joined a gym that had a machine she stood on, somewhat like a treadmill. She then put a belt-like thing around her butt with the two ends of the belt attached to the machine in front of her, and stood there while it jiggled her.

[quote]r40 = She would peel the grapes before adding them to the jello.

Was her name Beulah?

My mother had a an exercise contraption that was a set of ropes with loops for your arms and feet and you attached it to a door and lay on your back while pulling your arms and legs back and forth.

I loved playing with it as a kid but honestly it seems now like a sex device.

R10 it was Sego. My mom drank it too. When she deep fried stuff, she used Fluffo, which was like Cisco dyed yellow.

Avon. She had a collection of the cute and gaudy ceramics the cosmetics came in but tossed them out unexpectedly. I hid a body lotion decanter shaped like corn on the cob, for no reason I can ascertain, but it was 'corny' so I had it in my bookcase for awhile until one of my roommates used it as a weapon against my other roommate in college.

R48, don’t lie. I know why you kept that corn cob-shaped Avon bottle.

Jean Naté après le bain splash.

Basically an "elegant" tall bottle of lemon-scented alcohol that a fancy lady would use after she climbed out of the tub. Naturally I "splashed" myself après le bain with drama and conviction.

My mother had, just once, small guest soaps that were single-use puffs. I was so impressed by them that I never forgot. I asked her recently about them; she said she saw them in a department store, bought them, and never found them for sale again. Does anyone know what they were?

Gloria Marshall Figure Salon membership.

Tussy deodorant

Aqua Net

Skin So Soft

Sanka

Certs and Tic Tacs

Dolls. Many dolls. Many, many, many, MANY dolls.

Pert Plus shampoo and L’eggs pantyhose.

Tubes of Cucumber Cooler moisturizing mask. It was a gelatinous substance that would dry into what appeared to be a slightly green-tinted second layer of skin. I had great fun using it to make fake wounds for pranks and Halloween.

Lorate medicinal powder

Kotex belts

They still sell single use "soap sheets". They look like paper and dissolve instantly. They are not "puffy", however.

Tried & True

Figurines wafer bars, Leggs pantyhose, Dentyne and Sen Sen. Mom would save the eggs all year and then, use them at Easter for our backyard hunts. They were stuffed with cash.

Little rose-shaped guest soaps in three or four shades. We had two bathrooms in our house - one pink, one blue and each had a title plastic tray for the soaps. I thought they were incredibly glamorous and used them all the time.

Helene Curtis, Prell or White Rain shampoo, a contraption that you would put your face over and then steam your face (the kids loved it). Also, Lilt, which I loved the smell of.

[quote]Also, Lilt, which I loved the smell of.

You're definitely in the minority, r65.

r49, you may be crazy enough to put a corn in the cob glass dispenser up your booty hole but I'm not the one. The lotion inside of it did provide as an excellent lube though.

Caress soap, used exclusively - on face and body, for face - after Ponds cold cream. Later she switched to Albolene. She had a big box of Cie dusting powder in her bathroom that lasted for years and years.

She loved General Foods International Coffees and Tasters Choice coffee crystals. She had a steam iron with a handmade cabinet for the ironing board that had a formica countertop, on wheels that rolled around. It had a little compartment inside for the starch or fabric sizing. I wish I still had it!

She used those little green tooth flosser things. Nectasweet saccharine tablets, everywhere in the house. Tons of office supplies. I never saw so many paperclips and folders, rubberbands, hole punchers, tape, you name it. This was longer after she had retired. Had a beige AT & T phone from the 80s with a super long cord and never replaced it.

General Foods International Coffees!!! Yes!

Sucrets lozenges in the tin. An empty Sucrets tin was in her sewing basket for loose buttons.

My mother used this stuff every time we had a cut or scrape. It hurt like hell. She used the same bottle for 15 years, and always called it 'Metholade'.

We had Mercurochrome.

Brazil nuts.

Adorn Hairspray which is largely forgotten.

What were thsoe pastel colored mint wafers in a dish called?

potpourri on the mantel. It only got changed when it got rancid

She kept one of those tins on the stove labeled "Grease" into which she poured any unused grease from the supper frying. I guess it was a leftover habit from The Depression. God knows what was in that rancid fat.

Reeds peppermints

Laudanum.

Darvon

Dry Idea

L’Eggs stockings that were packaged in plastic eggs.

She slathered her face in cold cream, like 1/4 inch thick.

My mom had the tin grease thing on the stove too. But the knob on top of the lid was missing so there was a hole there that anything could just crawl into. I save bacon grease in a jar in the fridge. She made us save used Christmas wrap and bows too for corns sake. That is the cheapest thing you can buy every year at a dollar store. Ridiculous. We ate her Metracal cookies because we were always hungry and never had fun kid stuff to eat ourselves.

Roundup* on weeds. Now she has cancer. Coincidence?

R64, you just reminded me. Yes, we brought a pitcher out from under the bathroom sink, filled it with those “roses”.

But I don’t think they got used by guests often. And my mother threatened me with an even worse punishment.

My dick

Oil of Olay, a pale pink moisturizer now simply called Olay.

I find that jarring.

Bonnie Bell astringent and toner.

We had Bactine.

Ponds cold cream.

My first dildo.

A bonnet hair dryer.

5-Day Deodorant Pads™. Also MUM™ deodorant( "MUM's the word, keep it under your arms!")

Spic 'N Span™, the greenish powder type.

Jubilee Kitchen Wax™, for all the white enameled appliances.

Playtex™ girdles. She wouldn't dare go out of the house without one.

Wyman's™ canned blueberries. She used to make the best blueberry muffins(and sometimes pancakes) using the recipe right on the can. This handy little product made it possible to have muffins year round. All we had BITD was whatever NJ could produce, and the season was over very quickly.

Hard white asparagus spears. 🤮

[quote] And then there were all the special food items we weren’t supposed to touch because she was “watching her figure.” Now it strikes me as an odd phrase; it was normal to me then. The items? Melba toast, Tab, Fresca, Stella D’oro biscuits (they were hard and dry as fuck but not bad dunked in coffee)

I increasingly realise our mothers and grandmothers weren’t naturally thin because of the lack of fast food; they were actively starving themselves.

Most of the women in my paternal family had what we now recognise as eating disorders. They were also control freaks.

R75 Vip. One mint had the strength of two large martinis.

Carob-coated fruit and nuts. It's just like candy!

No, mom, it fucking isn't - not even close.

Oh well then, would you like some ice milk? SMH

Carob tasted horrible. Nobody, today, eats carob.

[quote]because she was “watching her figure.” Now it strikes me as an odd phrase

If you don't watch your figure, nobody else will.

Brim.

Non-fat evaporated milk. All you had to do was add water. Nothing killed Special K quicker than that shit. Cheerios lasted a little longer; Shredded Wheat lasted the longest when using that shit. Guess that's why Mom at Grape Nuts.

[quote]because she was “watching her figure.” Now it strikes me as an odd phrase

Here is a fabulous Adorn commercial from 1968. The girl looks so chick and so Warholesque while she's spraying her giant side curls but when you see the finished product her 1965 hairstyle looks so dated by 1968.

My mother used a cream called Esoterica on the backs of her hands to get rid of liver spots.

Seabreeze astringent

Flex shampoo

A snood

My mother was a Breck girl.

Tickle Roll-on antiperspirant

R80, my parents were always on Darvon. I hadn’t thought about it until a few months ago when I started taking Celebrex… I’ve accidentally called it Darvon at least a dozen times.

pink & gray

Celebrex doesn't give you any type of buzz, though, does it?

I remember my friend's (HS) parents having Darvon. Her parents had lots of pills that she'd steal and bring to school for us to use.

Anacin

An 18 inch rubber dildo.

I know ssome of you used the Flowbee as children.

I have one now.

Rogaine and Viagra

My mom had a hose that she connected to the hot-water bottle. I don't know what she used it for.

silver hair claw clips. Boy they were strong.

Spoolies hair curlers.

The posts about hair spray and rollers and such are reminding me that Mom also had special pillow cases. I doubt they were real silk but they were very silky. Meant to protect her hairdo.

[quote]silver hair claw clips. Boy they were strong.

You want defined waves, r119? You *have* to use Goody clips!

I bought her Yves Rochernatural skincare--seaweed bath gel, apple toothpaste, arnica bruise cream--which she liked but she swore her undying allegiance to yenta Adrienne Arpel. Some of the Arpel things in the beginning were good but the line went to hell. Was surprised to see that Rocher is still around.

Saw that Rocher has gone to hell, too. Her favorite products were the Elizabeth Arden cleansing grains, which she had me use along with Queen Helene for zits, the Adrienne Arpel honey almond scrub and coconut cleansing cream, and that cheap but reliable Coty face powder that's still sold at Walgreens. Ponds was always there for eyemakeup which she was not great at removing.

Dannon Ice Milk dessert.

R118 Enema

Brillo or SOS?

Brillo

*

Comet or Ajax?

Comet

Dorothy Gray Orange Flower Water. Don't you love these old duennas of makeup, most of whose brands are gone, gone, gone. Alexandra de Markoff skincare and Germaine Monteil foundation. On the cheap side, Hazel Bishop matte lipstick which would outlast a nuclear war. Revlon Love Pat powder foundation. Skinny sticks of iridescent purple eye with Mon's mascara smears all over them. The false eyelashes caked in mascara that I would wash for her when I couldn't stand anymore. There was a drycleaning fluid type of cleaner. Her granddaughters loved rummaging rhough her makeup and jewelry case and she didn't mind. .

Omg, R125! Ice milk! Yes, that was another of Mom’s untouchable foods. But that wasn’t a problem. It tasted nothing like ice cream.

That was a zillion years ago but I don’t believe Mom’s brand was Dannon. IIRC, it was Sealtest. That ring a bell for any of you fellow ancient gays?

On the topic of food items Mom bought that we COULD eat, if it came in a can, she loved it. (If she used a can opener, she felt she had been cooking.)

We had the full complement of Beefaroni, Spaghetti-Os, and so on. If it was made by Chef-Boy-R-Dee, we ate it.

Not mom, but grandmother : some nasty-ass Tea Rose perfume that was somewhat realistic, but nauseatingly intense.

Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion in the large pump bottle. Then, St. Ives lotion in the large pump bottle, which I liked.

Canned asparagus. IIRC, Del Monte brand.

R132 All of that still exists.

Excuses

[quote]The posts about hair spray and rollers and such are reminding me that Mom also had special pillow cases. I doubt they were real silk but they were very silky. Meant to protect her hairdo.

My mom used them also. I'm pretty sure hers were made of satin.

R135, mine did, too. They had a satin finish but were not silk satin, which would have required careful hand-washing or dry cleaning. They were polyester, probably.

A while back, I bought some silk satin pillowcases on a lark. They look luxuriously lustrous and feel great - always smooth and cool against your face - but the washing was a pain in the ass.

Guerlain Terracotta powder, 1980s. Then in the 90s some of the fancy elder queens I would meet (I was still young..ish) were obviously using Terracotta as well.

Has Tussy deodorant been mentioned?

Passion by Elizabeth Taylor, but only rarely and because my father liked it.

Her signature fragrance was Replique.

How many cancers were caused by the daily use of talcum powder?

R13 My grandmother used that but I can't remember what for. She swore by it.

A whip and a strap-on if the John paid her enough.

Early on my mom used the face cream with the three little faces on it. Can’t remember the brand but she loved it.

We still have those foam pink rollers, too, my mom used them on me and voila! Perfect corkscrew curls every time.

I always wanted the flavored Lip Smackers but I never got any. Too expensive, I guess.

I remember most of what has been mentioned here. 🥹

Prell shampoo, witch hazel, Nivea cream which I still use.

When she was a child my grandma used to make her brush her hair with 200 strokes, which took forever.

R145 Witch Hazel is great for insect bites.

100 strokes is the norm, r146.

After Eight mints and Russell Stover candies. Both still around, but pure nostalgia for me

Fuller’s Earth (whatever that was) and witch hazel: a very primitive facial.

After Eight mints and Viennetta ice cream were strictly for dinner parties and were the height of sophistication for me.

Single-serve frozen yogurt trapezoids in blueberry and strawberry hidden behind frozen peas

Bath pearls

Oatmeal/Lavender soap

L’Oreal #64 Ash Brown

Judas H Priest as a “cuss word.”

Dry up: as a shut-up phrase. 3 below.

I am pretty sure Andrea's Eye-Qs are still around but hard to find.

Apple cider vinegar for sunburn.

Vibrators

Glass hard candies

Fullers earth aka Multani Mitti is similar to bentonite and kaolin, common ingredients in clay face masks. FE is also used in kitty litter. Buy cosmetics grade from a place that sells cosmetic ingredients. FE can also refer to a mix of clays

Your mother was ahead of her time.