Lauder fantastical lipstick portable#

So that women will want one for morning, one for evening, one for special occasions-all suitable for refills with whatever different colors they prefer.” While refillable lipsticks existed previously, the way Futurama was advertised suggested a totally new frontier. Makes them feel the beauty touching their lips…I don't want just one case, but a whole line. That has such fashion magic it transmits right through the lipstick and onto the faces of women. Can you see what I mean? I want a case that glows with fashion. I want to see luxury, fashion, expensive jewelry.

This is too much like the others, refillable perhaps, but not elegant enough. You have to make it different from this one. Revson explained what he had in mind: “I want a case, a refillable case. Copp was Chief Operation Officer for Risdon Manufacturing Company, which had been making Revlon’s cases since 1947. and less than a month later, on January 13, 1954, summoned Earl F. My dinner partner's remark kept goading me-‘I would not have expected an American man to be so interested in a lipstick.’ Of course not! All that an American man ever saw was one of those undistinguished brass bullets!” 2 Revson took a similar case back to the U.S. And because the lipstick was contained in its own cylinder, removal of it was not only easy, but smudge-proof. What really caught my eye, though, was that the lipstick could be removed with a single click-in, click-out action in just one section. My eyes returned to it again and again, until finally, with an amused smile, she handed it to me saying, ‘I would not have expected an American man to be so interested in a lipstick.’ The beauty of the case, hand-engraved and diamond-bedecked, was one outstanding feature. What interested me most about my dinner partner was not her beauty but a small object she had taken out of her purse. “The candlelit room, the elegant service, the fine furnishings bespoke good taste and an appreciation of beauty. As he explains in the book Business Secrets That Changed Our Lives, Revson was inspired by a business trip to Paris. The concept for the design is a fascinating story. There were two key factors that Revlon advertised as the differentiators: design and price point. So what was new and special about Revlon's Futurama cases?

Jewelry designers Ciner and Paul Flato also had their own compact and lipstick combinations in the late '40s and early '50s.īy and large, compacts and lipstick cases were already perceived as another item of jewelry thanks to companies like Van Cleef and Arpels leading the way. The notion of makeup as an additional accessory was reinforced by the fact that many compacts were sold in jewelry stores in addition to the jewelry section at department stores, with custom engraving and monogramming available.

Lauder fantastical lipstick portable#

In 1933 Van Cleef and Arpels invented and patented the minaudière, a new variation of the portable vanity case. At the turn of the 20th century artisans were creating pendants and bracelets that held powder and lip color, and by the 1920s high-end jewelers were producing vanity cases made out of precious materials. The concept of makeup-as-jewelry has a longer history, with 'etuis' produced in the 1700s. Every last scrap was needed the country couldn't afford to have women wasting a used lipstick tube.

Refillable lipsticks had been on the market since the 1920s and became more widespread in the '40s as a way to save metal during wartime. But how did the collaboration between Revlon and Van Cleef happen? Who was responsible for the design? What is Futurama's significance in makeup history? I can't say I have answers to all of these questions, but I'll do my best.įirst, a quick background. The line was introduced in 1955 with much fanfare, especially its debut on the popular game show the $64,000 Question. Futurama was a collection of refillable lipstick cases designed by famed jewelers Van Cleef and Arpels for Revlon. But I promise it's very interesting! There didn't seem to be a comprehensive history of Revlon's Futurama line so I thought I'd take a stab at it. Makes them feel the beauty touching their lips.' - Charles Revson, January 13, 1954.