Life, 1910-11-10 · page 29 of 44
Life — November 10, 1910 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a full-page advertisement, not satire. It promotes Pompeian Massage Cream by exploiting social anxieties about complexion and appearance—particularly women's envy of fair skin. The ad's opening frames skin tone as a status symbol: it asks whether admiration of "a fair complexion" contains "envy," then offers the product as a solution. The copy claims the cream removes hidden "deadly dirt" from pores through massage, revealing cleaner, healthier skin beneath. The marketing targets multiple audiences: women concerned about their appearance, husbands interested in their wives' grooming, and men themselves needing "a clear, clean complexion" for "social or business asset." A trial jar offer (6 cents) encourages purchase. By modern standards, the ad's appeal to complexion-based envy and the implication that darker skin = "dirt" reflects period attitudes about beauty standards that modern readers would recognize as problematic. The product promised visible whitening through exfoliation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Is the glance of admiration which you direct at a fair com- plexion entirely one of admiration? / Doesn’t just a little envy creep in—the wish that you had such a complexion ? NO NEED FOR ENVY— NEED ONLY FOR All dealers, 50c, 75c, $1.00 AKE a pinch of Pompeian, rub it on your moistened face and well into the pores. A few more moments of massaging—and lo! out comes the cream many shades darker than when applied. You are astonished! You never suspected that so much deadly dirt could stay in your skin despite soap and water scrubbing. “When first I used Pompeian,”’ wrote a woman, ‘‘I was as astonished as at my first Turkish bath."’ The pore-dirt that comes out will astonish you, too. Good looks come from skin-health. Pompeian keeps the pores clean and thus promotes skin-health. Resolve to-day to preserve and promote yours. ‘‘ Don’t envy a good complexion—use Pompeian and_ have one.” Vi Your Husband : Of course you are interested in having him look well-groomed. f A clear, clean complexion is a big social or business asset for him, too. Pom- 3/ peian will please and profit him. Just show him the booklet that comes with Pompeian every trial size or regular jar. Let us show you what wonderful results you ss Mfg. Co. can attain. <5 25 Prospect Get a Trial Jar S/ Cleveland, 01 By This Special Trial Jar affords a generous supply with which you can oy” dloeci eee try out for yourself the wonderful qualities of Pompeian oy Please fend aes Massage Cream. Send 6 cents in stamps for special 2 faa Mamie Cream: trial jar. Stamps or coin) All dealers, 50c., 75¢. and $1. Cream sent to all parts of the world, postage paid, if your dealer cannot supply you. THE POMPEIAN MANUFACTURING CO., 25 Prospect St., Cleveland, 0. Ry comicbooks.com