WWII Perfume Recipes

I picked up this book at an antique store a couple weeks ago:

I bought it for some perfume recipes I noticed and some of the other general "how-to"'s. However after reading it more in depth I have decided it really should be called "How to poison yourself and your family". Holy cow are there a lot of toxic chemicals in these recipes! Formaldehyde should not be used in a skin cream!! Nor would I recommend mixing your own paint by combining lead and turpentine, using Hydrochloric acid to whiten your teeth, or making a hand-cleanser from ammonia and turpentine. I would also think making your own depilatory creams with Quicklime is probably not a good idea. Yikes!
(I also liked the suggestion of inhaling some Chloroform if you have a stuffy nose. Once again, not a good idea.)

I do have plans to try some of the non-toxic recipes in this book. I haven't tried any of the perfume blends yet, but here are a few that sound interesting. I am going to try them after I finish the Victorian blend I am currently using (the recipe can be found here. I quite like it but it has a very different smell). If anyone tries these out I would love to know the results!

Note: I have edited the recipes slightly. They all recommend being set in a base of alcohol, but I would recommend using an oil instead, such as grapeseed oil. The scent will have more staying power if you use an oil and it moisturises your skin at the same time! It is up to your personal preference what you use so I have only listed the essential oils required for each blend. THESE RECIPES ARE MEANT TO BE DILUTED! Do not use them full strength on your skin. The essential oils should be less than 10% of the final product.
(Also note citrus oils can make your skin more photosensitive so use caution if you are going to be out in the sun for a while)

Inexpensive Perfume
7 parts Bergamot essential oil
3 1/2 parts Lemon essential oil
3 1/2 parts Lavender essential oil

Verbena
16 parts Lemon essential oil
1/2 part Lemongrass essential oil
4 parts Orange essential oil

Simple Perfume #1
15 parts Orange essential oil
9 parts Neroli essential oil
5 parts Bergamot essential oil
3 parts Rosemary essential oil

Simple Perfume #7
3 parts Bergamot essential oil
1 part Lemon essential oil
1/4 part Lavender essential oil
1/4 part Clove essential oil
1/2 part Sandalwood

Anyone else love trying out vintage beauty recipes? I make most of my own beauty products and always find historical beauty recipes fascinating. (Not all of the recipes I come across are safe but the majority of them are). Does anyone else make their own beauty products? I would love some new recipes to try :)

That's All.

Fall Fashion (1905)

Hello everyone. I've been so swamped with work that I completely forgot to post anything last week. Actually I'm still drowning in school work so if I go MIA again that is why. I'm running on about 4 hours sleep so sorry if this is a bit incoherent. You have no idea how much I miss sleep.... Anyways...

As Autumn truly seems to be here, I thought I would post some fall fashion. These images are from 1905. I love taking detail from Victorian clothing and using it with slightly more modern clothing (for example adding a Victorian inspired collar on a blouse). Although, I would totally wear full Victorian outfits on a daily basis if I could. It has always been one of my favourite styles.

(As soon as I have access to my sewing machine I am starting on a Victorian style dress! I have a book of Victorian dress patterns that I am dying to test out. I figure I can wear it for Halloween next year if nothing else.)

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High Tea Outfit

I have been struggling to get any pictures for the blog. My room is in a basement and it is much too dark for photography. I tried to get a friend to take some outfit photos this week but he had to cancel, so that didn't work either. Luckily I found some old outfit shots I never posted. At the time I was a little disappointed with their quality, but something is better than nothing! This was my outfit for a high tea I went to in celebration of the Diamond Jubilee.

Close-up of my hat. This is one of my favourite vintage hats.

Another close-up of the hat and also of the neckline (which is a bit hard to see due to the colour of the velvet)

Outfit Details:
Dress: Made by me from an old velvet pantsuit of my mothers (it makes a much better dress!)
Hat: Vintage
Gloves: Vintage
Belt: Vintage
Shoes: Winners

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1920's Starlets

As I have been doing nothing other than school work for the past 2 weeks, I've been rather lacking in blog inspiration. It's my (hopefully) last term of school and things are rather hectic here. So as a result, I can think of nothing intelligent to post on my blog. Which means time for pretty pictures! (No brain work required!) These are from a 1925 issue of Photoplay.

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New typewriter

Well I've moved into a new place (again) and start classes tomorrow. This is (hopefully) my final term of university! Normally I move in the night before classes start, but for my last term I decided to take it easy and gave myself 2 full days to get settled. Which of course means I had time to go antique shopping today!

I was very good and only bought one thing. I have been longing for a portable typewriter for a while. I have a 1920's Underwood but I'm pretty sure it weighs more than I do! I saw this sweet Smith-Corona and knew I just had to have it. It was pretty cheap since the case is in poor condition. The typewriter itself works well though. I may give her a bit of oil so she runs more smoothly but so far she works better than I expected. I think she needs a name though. She looks like a Cordelia to me; what do you guys think?

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Knickers

I have just gotten back from a last minute trip up to the cottage. It was a lovely few days and the weather was cool enough to try out my new trousers. I altered a pair of my mothers old trousers and converted them into what my 1920's Sears Catalogue reprint calls "knickers". They are basically a short pant meant for sports. I am quite pleased with how they turned out. They are not overly flattering but they are so much fun to wear! I think I need to get some bright argyle knit socks to wear with them!

Inspiration Image

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Driving

Yikes! How has it been 10 days since I last posted?! Time has sure flown by very fast the last week or so. I've been very busy getting ready for school. I also completed my G2 driving test (and passed!). I now have almost a full license, although my interest in driving is almost zero. I just don't understand the appeal. But if I had an antique car....

While dreaming of owning an antique car, I came across this amusing little book on the internet archive. They are sort of nursery rhyme parodies about motor cars. Spoiler alert: a lot of the cars in the rhymes explode. It reminded me slightly of the Ghastlycrumb Tinies, although not quite as violent. The best part of the book is the illustrations. With a focus on the cars, here are a few of my favourites:

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"New" Skirt

As part of my sewing binge, I have been reworking many of the old pieces in my wardrobe. I had a black dress with a tube-top upper portion. It has never really fitted properly so I gathered points around the top and added a ruffle to hide the now rippled zipper. This may just be my new favourite skirt! I wore it when I accompanied my friend Britt to the hairdressers. Of course it was her hair being cut not mine. It is now a very adorable short bob which I have plans on waving/curling. (On a side note, I've decided to completely stop cutting my hair. I just want to know how long it can actually get. I wear it up 98% of the time so no one can really tell anyways.)  As always I didn't take photos until we got back so my skirt is super wrinkly.

Britt's new hair!

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

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