It is nice to know a little back ground information about a particular item … that is part of the pleasure of collecting. One should always know something about their vintage treasures......... |
This is a vintage Max Factor Cream Puff makeup foundation in a "Translucent shade" c. 1970. It was manufactured by the famed Max Factor cosmetic company that was founded by the legendary Max Factor who was the makeup artist to the stars and the cosmetic manufacturer to the world.................. When Max Factor first came to America from Russia, he settled in St. Louis and opened a barber shop. Unfortunately, his wife passed away and he remarried quickly in order to have a mother to care for his children. His second marriage was an unhappy one and he divorced and remarried again. As a result of his previous unpleasant marriage life in St. Louis, he decided to move to Los Angeles, California with his new wife and children to create a fresh start. In 1908, he established a barber shop in Los Angeles and later sold it and opened a store that was devoted to selling hair-goods, wigs and hair-pieces. He eventually moved to a better location and continued to sell his hair-goods, but added hair dyes, shampoos, brushes, combs and a line of German theatrical cosmetics called L. Leichner cosmetics and an American line by the M. Stein Company in New York.............................In the same year that Max Factor arrived in Los Angeles, Thomas Edison was starting to chase away the early film companies from the east coast by forming his Motion Picture Patents Company to protect his patents and to try and control the newly developing American motion picture industry that was quickly growing in New York and New Jersey and charging a fee for his patents use. At first a few independent film companies decided to move to California which was far away and difficult during that time period for Edison’s detectives to find and stop them from filming unless they paid fees to Edison. Eventually more and more film companies moved to California, as word spread of its many desirable advantages over the east coast and away from Edison’s Trust detective’s and Edison’s fees. One day Max Factor contacted the director Cecil B. De Mille and offered to sell him his wigs for a new western film that De Mille was going to film near-by. Cecil De Mille stated that he did not have the money in his production budget to buy his wigs, but Max offered to rent them in order to not lose the needed business and De Mille agreed. As the movie industry grew, so did Max’s business of renting and selling his wigs and makeup to the new film companies that were moving to California each year to establish a studio. Besides selling the L. Leichner and M. Steins cosmetic lines to local film and stage actors, he also sold them to traveling road show’s and anyone who desired to purchase his goods.....................Max Factor stated that he created his own line of flexible grease-paint makeup in 1914 and had only used it on a few of his personal clients in order to not compete with his supplier’s products that he was selling. But in 1923, he decided to sell it to anyone due to being snubbed by his Leichner cosmetic supplier, after he had visited their offices in Germany. His flexible grease paint was a big success with actors because it permitted the wearer to show more natural facial expressions and would not crack since it was not needed to be applied as thickly as the other brands were. His flexible grease-paint was his first big commercially successful cosmetic product that he sold............................ A few years later in 1924, Max released a small line of what he called “society cosmetics” for the local public to purchase. In 1927 he had managed to have his cosmetic products sold in a few stores in major cities like Chicago and New York. Also in 1927, the major film studios started to use a newly developed Panchromatic film stock, but they soon realized that it had a few issues. The film had a sensitivity to not only the blue end of the color spectrum but it extended far into the yellow and red areas too. And the noisy arc lights that were used for lighting the films posed a problem too, especially with the invention of sound movies that were referred to as “the talkies.” To help solve these problems, the movie studios switched to the new General Electric incandescent lights which were quieter and produced light across the full spectrum. Max Factor had to create a new makeup that was compatible with the new sensitive Panchromatic film. After much trial and era, he and his staff, along with the testing that was done at the Warner Bros. Film Studios, he managed to create a cosmetic product that was compatible with the new Panchromatic film. Panchromatic film, incandescent lighting and Max Factors new Panchromatic grease-paint became the industry norm by 1928. As a result of the movie industry’s appreciation for his creating his makeup that was compatible with Panchromatic film, he was presented in 1929 with a special Honorary Academy Award for his contributions to the film industry. This was his second great creation that was not only used by the Hollywood film Studios, but by 93% of the film studios around the world by 1933. .............................Shortly afterwards, Max was busy developing a new type of makeup for a new film stock called Technicolor film. Unfortunately, Max passed away and the new makeup was developed by his son, Frank Factor. It would be called Pan Cake makeup (due to it being in a pan and in a cake form.) Pan Cake makeup was first commercially used in the 1937 film “Vogues of 1938.” Again, it was another extremely important product that was produced by the Max Factor Company. Also, Pan Cake makeup was the start of cosmetics becoming more closely related to modern-day type makeup and away from the old-fashioned style grease-paint makeup that was first created in the 1870s. Grease-paint makeup was messy and time consuming to apply. Once Pan Cake makeup was released to the public in 1939 it was a huge success and sold millions of containers to the various film studios and public.......................Eight years later in 1947, after 26 months of development by Frank Factor (now legally named Max Factor, Jr., due to keeping the brands name alive after Max Factor had passed,) the Max Factor Company released a new product that it referred to as "Pan-Stik" makeup. It was a cream make-up presented in a solid stick form in a swivel up case. It was specifically designed to take advantage of the latest changes in studio lighting and film stock. This product was a revolutionary new type of makeup, it was quick to apply as well as being non-greasy, non-drying, and it gave a glowing satin appearance to the skin. It too was commercially successful and the Max Factor Company sold millions of Pan Stik makeup items to the film and television industry as well as to the public.......................On June 25, 1953, six years after creating Pan Stik makeup, the Max Factor Company introduced Cream Puff makeup. It was the first all-in-one blend of a creamy makeup base and powder. It was applied with a powder puff. It was very unique because it was applied like a powder but it stayed on the skin like a cream product and it had a smoother look than powder or cream. Like the rest of the Max Factor Company’s important creations, it too sold millions of products too...................Each vintage cosmetic has a unique and interesting story of its own........................This vintage item was previously part of the personal makeup collection of famed Hollywood makeup artist Ben Lane. Mr. Lane was the former Director of the Makeup Department for R.K.O. Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, and Warner Brothers Pictures and Warner Brothers Television. He was a makeup artist on a variety of classic films such as: The Good Earth, Gunga Din, Show Boat, and countless other films of the Golden Era of Hollywood. His last film before his retirement was the 1981 lovable classic film “Annie.” He was one of the original founders of the Motion Picture Makeup Artists Association (MPMAA,) which later in 1937 became the IATSE - Local 706, Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Guild in Hollywood (the Film and Television union.) He was also a member of the Society of Makeup Artists (referred to as SMA on screen credits,) and an Honorary Lifetime Member of the International Society of Makeup Artists (also referred to as ISOMA – it is an International Association of Makeup Artists.) See the ISOMA Internet website: http://isomacosmetics.com/honors.htm to see pictures of Mr. Lane working and to read more about Mr. Lanes career under the heading on the left titled: ISOMA Honors..........................Mr. Lane had a large unique collection of vintage Max Factor, Miners, Leichner, Steins, Chass. D. Hess, Zauder Bros, Warner Brothers, Westmore's of Hollywood, Chesebrough-Ponds, Colgate, Cutex, DeVilbliss, Don Juan, Dorothy Gray, Edna Wallace Hopper, Harriet Hubbard Ayers, Kurlash, Charles of the Ritz, Lady Ester, Lilly Dache, Marie Earle, Llouis Philippe, Luxor, Naylon by La Cross, Nu Masca, Park & Tilford, Ruth Rogers, Krypolan, Ben Nye, Bob Kelly, Hazel Bishop, Revlon, Maybelline, Shiseido, Mark Traynor, Makeup Center, Custom Color Cosmetics, ISOMA Cosmetics, and many more............................Many of the items in Mr. Lane's rare cosmetic collection were related to the beauty and film industry, they were from his many years of working as a makeup artist in the entertainment industry of Hollywood ... such as face foundations from the 1935 Elizabeth Arden “Screen & Stage” Cosmetic line. Few people today know that this line even existed after Elizabeth Arden had spent millions of dollars manufacturing and promoting it, in. her quest to be the new Max Factor of Hollywood .... or the Elizabeth Arden of Hollywood. Ben Lane was one of Hollywood’s premier makeup artists during the Golden Age of Hollywood movie making.......................This is a nice addition for the vintage collector of cosmetic products and for the vintage collector of cosmetic movie memorabilia or for those that love items from a bygone era............. If vintage cosmetics could talk ... they would reveal amazing secrets and stories.
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