BUYING LIPSTICKS

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 142, 18 June 1931, Page 4

BUYING LIPSTICKS

For every lipstick sold in, a London store ten years ago 1500 arc sold ioclay. For every eyebrow pencil sold then 450 are sold 'now. For every box of powder sold then there are 980 sold now. Ten years ago eyelash cosmetic and nail enamel were not on sale except in chemists' shops. ■ Wow one London store sells 500 bottles of nail enamel a day and 350 eye cosmetic outfits. These are the comparative figures which were given to tho "Sunday Express" by the perfumery buyer in a London store. "Twenty years ago wo had one typo of lipstick in the whole store," she said. "It whs -white, and we sold it for cracked lips. Ten years ago -we had three colours —white, rose, jand scarlet. To-day we have 400 varieties in about eight colours. Our stock must be renewed constantly to keep up with the demand. Twenty years ago a woman buying rouge called it 'pink powder' and hid it away quickly in her bag before anyone saw what it was. Ten years ago she looked round to see if there was anyone listening, but she did ask directly, for rouge. To-day she either insists upon mixing her own and experimenting with it in a good light, or takes at least five boxes openly to the window to make sure of the colour. Ten years ago a woman.buying conmetics came alone. To-day girls bring their fiancees to help them choose their trousseau rouge and powder, and grandmothers and granddaughters often come to buy lipstick together. In my department four tons of bath salts have been, sold in ii month. We sell £100 worth of perfume in a day. JChe woman of to-day conceals no detail of nor helps to Naturo except- her scent. That is the only thing most women come alone to buy, and in many cases they ask for the perfume to be decanted into a plain bottle so that friends who like the fragrance may not be able to copy it. Scent .buying and mixing is. becoming a competitive science among modern women. I have wealthy customers who will pay almost anything for the copyright qt a perfume which they consider suits their personality."