Over the bank holiday weekend, me and Mr BBB went to the V&A to see the Mary Quant exhibition. Of course, the majority of it was fashion (so much of it so wearable today) but my eyes lit up at the beauty section. I know there was a Mary Quant store in Duke of York Square (off the King’s Road) but I swear last time I was there it had gone. Looking it up, it seems as though it may still be there, but I was convinced that MQ was no longer available in the UK. However, that’s not the case – there is a UK website where you can buy skin care, make up and some limited fashion items.
When I popped a picture on Instagram, someone commented that they thought Mary Quant nail polish was in a round bottle, and sure enough, looking at the collection the V&A had as part of the exhibition they were indeed round. I particularly love that lash-by-the-yard strip! I’ve never seen anything like it before but what’s very obvious is that Mary Quant was doing things with make-up back in the 70’s that are commonplace today but thought of as new.
Good examples are Body Gleamer to give body skin sheen – and Jelly Babies – gel skin colours and gel mascara. Those things don’t exist any more – I can’t even think how gel mascara might work so perhaps it’s just as well! The exhibition itself is quite small – and has Dior to contend with – but I really enjoyed it. The nail polish is Scintillation, £12 HERE.
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