Monday, December 10

Heaven sent


110 years ago, Helena Rubinstein started a revolution in cosmetics on the other side of the planet with several jars. In Melbourne. It was not marketing, but plain truth. These are the jars - crème de la crème from a vast collection I have. All before 1912, signed by the various doctors / pharmacists like the one who made the first Valaze formulae. Written half Hungarian, half German. The original name was altered - "never allow the competition to import the same goods". The source must never be shared with others.
Some cosmetic products made today in Paris are pure invention ... other formulae have history and amazing properties. My collection contained once the special creams with Carpathian plants used to heal the wounds during the Balcanic wars. That's how the jars were discovered all together (these are just four from a huge selection). They were used to heal, not to embellish, not to sell "a dream in a jar". They were based on the very old science of healing combined with the medical tradition in Wien and Budapest. Parisian houses did not face the wars, they were better on design, but in the East a pharmacist and a doctor had a rather different job because wars took place under their nose. 
The problem today with formulae from Paris is that most of them are based on dreams, not on facts. And what is good in terms of research is destroyed by the ingredients added to make the cream last more than 24 months. In most cases what you buy is a label. It sells, but it doesn't really work. 
100 years ago a cream was efficient if it could rapidly cure the severe wounds of the skin during the various wars. On a symbolic level, these jars are Valaze formula II because first formula was used 10 years earlier. Cosmetic science starts with a war. But, since 1902 many things have changed, new ingredients are available. A good formula is always improved once its mechanism is understood. 
This is an original Valaze perfume order, among many other things I inherited. It is signed by Helena Rubinstein when she was in Paris. Formulae were not lost, they are just in a language hard to read in English.
Like perfumes, the real cosmetic formulae are never revealed. There is always a special last ingredient added to the batch when it is prepared. When perfumes and cosmetics are prepared by the same hand the beauty of a woman is heaven sent.

In 1912 Helena Rubinstein opened her Parisian Salon, not far from COCO. 
Recently, L'Oréal took a very bad decision about Helena Rubinstein products in France, their end.
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Fragrance is the 8th Art - Octavian Coifan - Le Parfum est le 8ème Art
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