Best Toliet Soap “Record”, a poster circa 1970

As you know from the first article, the choice for perfumes and other toiletries really wasn’t there. However, the situation began to change from the mid1970s. The imports from the countries of the so-called socialist camp were entering the Soviet market. Every woman still remembers an excellent Polish perfume “May Be” – they were extremely popular! There were also imports of some middle-of-the-road make up from Poland, but they were still very sought after and outrageously expensive!

Perfume “Lilac Tree” poster.

Of course, Moscow had the best choice of all other cities. This is why those who got to visit the capital on business were considered to be very lucky: unlike many other cities, Moscow actually offered some shopping opportunities. Moreover, there were shops with an assortment of goods from the abovementioned socialist camp: Wanda, Vlasta, Leipzig, Yadran etc. Like, the “May Be” perfume and colourful eye shadows (oh, those horrors of our past!) were sold at the Polish Wanda. At the German Leipzig one could buy a face moisturiser by “Ponds” and the hair dye “Londacolour” of many hues. In comparison, the Soviet shops could only offer henna which gave a seriously bad ginger tone; or basma, which gave a radical black. These two being the only options, Soviet women had no choice but to search for a perfect proportion mix in order to get something in between. Blondes, on the other hand, could only buy hydrogen peroxide from the chemist shops – the colour it produced was also nothing to be proud of, a bright yellowish white, but oh well, some like it hot.

Another poster circa 1960s: Careful when using a hairdryer.

The last bit of toiletries worth mentioning was soap. The choice for soap, as you can well imagine, was more than limited. Before the War the soap factories produces two types of soap bars: general purpose (aka marble for marketing purposes, it was sold in huge chunks of over 800g) and another one, more delicate, which had no name but it didn’t really matter as it was impossible to buy anyway. However, a tiny bar of it was included in the admission price to the communal bathhouses – apparently, there were some special channels of distribution for that one.

15 mln people choose this soap — “The bouquet from my grandmum”.

You must be thinking – ah, who cares about the soaps! Let us explain – the only reason we are so hung up on it is because soap was the only toiletry available for bathing or showering. That’s right, they did not make shower gels, bubble baths, luscious body scrubs, wash-away body wraps, bath oils or anything of that kind. If you were a regular Soviet with no access to the imported goodies (and we would not be frightened to assume that it would comprise to about of 95% of population) – then you’d grab a bar of soap and hope it’d last you a month or so, and this was the reality till maybe mid1980s.

Don’t you just love these posters! We do. This one is for Three In One cologne, Sanit toothpaste and Record soap.

After the war (much closer to the 1960s), the range of soap was slightly widened. A new brand (a real brand, with its promo shots in magazines) was introduced: Strawberry (acidly pink in colour, with a strong reek of aromatiser); Pine (marketed as hand soap); Bathing (everyday soap, a cheaper one); the everpresent general purpose which was also grated and then used instead of washing powder; Kiddies – for, obviously, kids; and Tar — allegedly for treating dandruff. Simple names of simple goods, really.

Tar soap.

However, those 5% we mentioned earlier had access to the German soap – oh, that soap was divine! Not only it was pleasantly oval, it had a soft scent, it did not dry out the skin and it produced unbelievable amounts of foam! The Soviet soap, compared to it, was only good as a moth proofer, due to its strong stench.

The notorious general purpose soap. 65% is the strength (active ingredient, caustic soda).

Later on, closer to the end of 1980s, kids were also targeted: a gift set “Squeaky Clean” (Moidodyr) inclided a kids toothbrush, sweetly flavoured tooth powder, a bar of soap and a tiny bottle of perfume in an attractive cardboard box.

Tooth cleaning powder, For Kids.

By the way, right through till 1970s, the only dental hygiene product available was the tooth powder. Then, of course, the toothpastes “Mint” and “Pearl” became widespread. The imported pastes – like Pomorin from Bulgaria – would have always won, hands down.

Overall, the term “spoilt for choice” did not exist for a very long time in the USSR. When you have to choose between three very similar and equally low quality items – life mustn’t be wouldn’t be too complicated then, would it?

Related posts:

1. Soviet Brands: The Scent Of Communism. Part 1 of 2
2. Sexy Soviet Underwear. Not!
3. The 50th Anniversary of the Soviet Union in Old American Mags

The great shortage of almost everything required for normal well being was one of the most distinguished features of the Soviet economy. Surely, there was food, clothes and some cosmetic goods in the Soviet shops in 1950s-1970s but the variety was incredibly poor.

However, the philosophy was that the Soviet people were used to comparing their life standards with the ones of the Second World War – so any small-time luxury was very warmly welcomed. Being a nation of plain tastes, the Soviet people were happy to be buying things made in the USSR – they understood that even not so long before, it was impossible.

Many people still associate the fragrance “Red Moscow” with their childhood. All women, especially those who wanted to be elegant, were in love with this perfume.  “Red Moscow”, created exclusively for the Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna, in 1913, had quickly become a tremendous success both in Russia and abroad. Henri Brocard, the owner of the largest Russian factory of pomades, perfumes and soaps before the Revolution; had created the perfume “The Empress’s Favourite Bouquet”. When in 1917 his factory was nationalised and renamed into the “Zamoskvoretskiy Soap Factory No 5”, the perfume was also renamed as “Red Moscow”.

Perfume street vendor, circa 1920s

“Red Moscow” was just what you could expect from a Russian perfume: complex, full-bodied, rich smelling; yet much warmer that one would want in a cold climate.  Technologically, it was a completely synthetic perfume: the gist was that there was no need for costly French perfumes with their natural essential oils when synthetics smelled equally Along with this one, the range had such fragrances as “White Acacia”, “Red Poppy”, “Lilac” and others. In 1970s, a new scent was introduced – Silver Lily of the Valley – which, unsurprisingly, had become a huge success just as rapidly.

As for the famous “Chanel  No 5”, the Soviet women did not get to know it for a long time – apart from brief pieces in Polish fashion magazines, there was very little knowledge of the foreign perfumes. In 1980s, however, the situation began to change to the better. “Climat” and “Magie Noir” by Lancome and “Opium” by Yves Saint Laurent had become extremely sought after in early 1980s.

Really rare and expensive perfume ‘Climat’

White Acacia

Red Poppy perfume

Famous Red Moscow

The male market segment had divided the men into two large groups: those who preferred the perfume “Shipr” (slightly more up-market) and those who liked “Three In One” (a cheaper brand). Funnily enough, the latter one had become a popular one for consumption with the alcohol addicts. “Shipr”, however, was meant to be an exotic, warm smell of flowers and sandalwood (hence the name, which is French for the island of Cyprus. Just like the “Three In One” perfume, “Shipr” contained no less than 70% of ethyl alcohol.

Three In One Perfume

To a modern man, spoilt with choice for perfumes and fragrances, these two would have a fairly strong smell of fir tree and excessive musk and might even remind of a insect repellent. But back in the days, however, a rare man would not get this year after year for his birthday!

“Shipr” (Cyprus)

The legend goes that the “Three In One” perfume was created in France in the early 18^th century specifically by the order of Napoleon Bonaparte as a disinfectant – it was meant to have a refreshing, hygienic and therapeutic effect – and in 1913 it won the Gran Prix at the World Cosmetics Exhibition in Paris. A few decades later, it arrived in Russia under the brand name of “Three In One”. Originally, though, the bottle was sold with the annotation enclosed: “Young people should consume 20–30 drops, elder people – 50–60 drops daily diluted with water or wine. It helps to protect against rapid heart and head aches”.  So the habit to use the cheap toilet water as a substitute for vodka has a historic background!

Three In One Perfume, 1917

It does not seem like much but these brands listed above would compose the whole range of perfumes available in the Soviet Russia until, maybe, very late 1980s. The only other alternative was to be lucky enough to have a perfume imported, as a gift. The reasons behind such limits were purely ideological as spending time and money on beauty products was labelled as absolutely unnecessary.

To be continued…

Related posts:

1. Soviet Brands: The Scent Of Communism. Part 2 of 2
2. Best of Winter 2009–2010
3. Best of Fall 2009