Wasn’t it great?

Flatmate and I would compete for space at the dressing table mirror in our dank little semi-basement bedroom with its inadequate lighting. No music playing while we got ready, that I can recall.

We'd often spend Saturday afternoons with our hair in spiky rollers and would clart our faces with Pan-stik foundation, (yes, I know ... bleurghhhh), Rimmel or Miners' eye shadow and mascara. I never wore false eyelashes - tried them once but couldn't stand the way they brushed against my specs. We'd be speculating about who was likely to be there at the pub that night and, later, who'd be in the club and who'd last the pace until they chucked out at 2am. Wondering if that gorgeous bouncer would be on the doors again...

The rollers would come out; we'd brush and back comb each other's hair into bouffant submission, spray the results with vast amounts of lacquer like marine varnish. Then a generous squirt of perfume: Je Reviens for her, Dorothy Gray's Folie for me.

Then into our finery - often those little empire line mini dresses someone mentioned above. I loved those dresses! Or, for a change, a see-through white nylon blouse with ruffles all down the front which just about obscured the nipples if we cared to go bra-less, teamed with a tight black skirt so short it could have done duty as a pelmet, shoes with chunky heels and ornamental buckle trims and, I cringe to think of it now, American Tan tights.

We'd pick up our vinyl, boxy shaped handbags and off we'd go, sashaying forth into the bright lights of Fulham ... Happy days!

Urmstongran, I had long hair - Jane Asher was my style icon, until I got fed up with it and had the irregular pixie bob with an inverted V at the back. Because my hair had to look good from the front and sides the back often looked as though a dog had been chewing it! I wasn't allowed to complain so had to put up with some sarky comments from friends at work when I returned, bleary eyed, on Mondays.

The first conditioner I used was Estolan which came in a tube and you had to be really sparing or you'd spend hours trying to rinse it off.

Fortunately I ended up modelling for Wella so....Goodbye Estolan.

Hot pants and white shiny boots or platform soles and a very short skirt. False eyelashes I could put on with a tiny tube of glue in 10 seconds flat. Biba eye makeup, I thought I was the bees knees! The Beatles and Manfred Mann and the Kinks. I had a hairpiece I could weave into my own hair and had a similar one when I got married, or carmen rollers if you didn’t have much time and always the eyeliner flick, who remembers that?

Forgot Opium perfume really heavy but zi thought it was sophisticated

I wish I could remember the perfumes I wore at the time. I graduated from Coty L'Aimant but can't remember what came next other than Chanel No. 5 but I never bought that myself.

Long dark hair, parted in the middle, like Cher. Used to have in trimmed at Vidal Sasoon or James & Peter in Manchester.
Mini skirts and dresses practically showing my knicks, white fish-net tights and stack heel shoes.
All nighters at The Twisted Wheel, dancing with my gay best mate.
Getting ready at his house, playing Junior Walker and the All Stars and Sam and Dave. Liquid make-up, false eye lashes, top and bottom, outlined lips with pale lipstick, Aqua Manda perfume.
Happy days........

Cathy McGowan was my style icon (and I quite like Michael Ball although I wore my hair short.

I remember sleeping in the spiky rollers and crossed grips to give me a good curl at the front.

My uniform was miniskirts as short as I could get away with, knee high boots, long necklaces, pale lipstick and lots of mascara.

We went rot discos where they played a lot of Motown and to a pub in a dreadful area of town (according to my mother!!!) where they played lots of blues.

We also went to lots of concerts at the Gaumont. Once I was pulled down from a drainpipe I was climbing in the hope of finding Paul Jones waiting for me at the top.

Spiky rollers and winkle pickers.
White lipstick and blue eye shadow.
Mitsouko perfume and Rimmel make- up.
Very short skirts and bouffant hair.
That was when I would go down to the local coffee bar at 15 years old.
Bees and knees come to mind - how deluded I was,

Never really went out in the evening until I left home at 18 and went to college. Then it was college dances with a live band at either our college or the neighbouring agricultural one.
And then as we weren't far from Cambridge got involved in parties up there and met my first serious boyfriend. Went to two May Balls.
Dollybird dresses a la Twiggy, the shorter the better, boots like Nancy Sinatra, pale lipstick, loads of eye make up. The Beatles, Searchers, Dave Clarke Five., Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones.

Loons , cheesecloth shirts and a leather lace tied at my neck .
Aqua Manda by Goya dabbed behind my ears , as I went off to live music - Amen Corner , The Who , The Herd , Genesis etc etc . Great times

Posted too soon . Mini skirts , tight short jumpers from Etam and knee length boots for work . Rimmel& Miners nail polish , mascara and a slick of lippy .

I longed for shoulder-length straight hair (remember Cathy McGowan - she was the Claudia Winkleman of her day) but my hair was wavy and wouldn't go straight no matter how I tried. My twin sister's hair was straighter but thinner. We didn't have hair straighteners so we tried to iron it which was only partially successful. Just because of this one thing I never felt attractive - and I secretly obsessed about my nose which was a bit on the big size bot nowhere near as humungous as I thought it was.
We wore mascara and eye shadow, Angel Face foundation with a little blusher and lipstick, powder to finish off.
Remember those tiny bottles of perfume? Lily of the Valley (Muguet), Californian Poppy, Aqua Manda.
Yesterday in TK Maxx I saw a pair of brown suede platform shoes with a narrow strap and buckle - not dissimilar to those I wore as a teenager. They had a high heel - I wouldn't risk breaking my neck on them now!

‘Aqua Manda’ perfume! Gosh yes, that brought back memories!
Youth Dew was my ‘best’ perfume. Dark brown liquid - it was quite pungent - probably similar to your ‘Opium’ TwiceAsNice! And sadly I could never master the eyeliner flick. I even tried it a couple of years ago to see if I could master it. Not a chance!

I too loved Avon Topaz, I found a small bottle on eBay a while ago and have a sniff occasionally, takes me right back.

My brother, three years older, had a group of friends and I used to tag along, provided a very useful pot of boyfriends. I am still in touch with a lot of them!

My family were strict Methodists so no partying for me until I left home at 18 to live in the Nurses Home. My teens were pre tights so stockings and suspender belt, stockings always went baggy round the knees, not a good look.
I remember Topaz perfume also California Poppy and White Fire. Youth Dew came later and was quite sophisticated.

Sleeping with hair sellotaped to my cheek to try and get that Mary Quant look with hair that wanted to curl all the time - what I would have given for straighteners!

Loads of mascara and very pale lipstick

Tiny skirts and tops (my Mum used to say get out quick before your father sees you!)

Music was The Who, Kinks, Stones

My best friend and I would tell our parents we were staying with each other and go to all night parties. Thanks Heavens there wasn't any social media - I dread to think what we would have posted!

Mary Quant's Pale Putty foundation and mascara that you spat in to !
Aqua Manda or my dad's Tabac or Brut .
Status Quo playing plus a 1/4 bottle of vodka to be shared with everyone !

My style icon was Julie Driscoll - www.phinnweb.org/retro/pic/julie2.jpg - and I spent hours copying her eye make-up.

Fortunately, my Dad was never around when I was getting ready to go out (he worked nights) - or I'm sure I'd never have managed to get past the front door.

Loved listening to The Kinks or Donovan when getting ready to go out!

Earlier still in my case when the air reeked of Evening in Paris or California Poppy and a really sophisticated Endearing.
Mid fifties didn't hold the same excitement and it wasn't until the sixties that all the make-up was evident.
Being a teen in the 50's wasn't particularly exciting when I think back apart from the odd knees-up at the local church hall.

White tights...sometimes we boiled American tan ones to white as cheaper. Platform over the knee suede boots with very short mini skirts. Ben Sherman checked shirts, and Brut aftershave even for us girls.
Permed afro hair backcombed as big as possible. Eyeliner, false eyelashes or 6 coats of mascara lol, and a white shiny highlighter on cheeks, forehead and under brows.
Music was varied but I was a teen in the 70s. Marc Bolan, David Bowie, Gary Glitter, The Archers, The Osmonds, Cher.
The anticipation and excitement of those teenagers years has and never will be felt again.

I'm a country girl & the highlight of the week was the Young Farmer's dances held in village halls all over the county on Fridays & Saturdays. There was always a disco, a cheap bar & the room was so smoky you couldn't see from one end to the other. Tight sweaters from Etams & "Dotty Ps" were de rigeur, with loon pants & platform shoes - I had some white wedge clogs so high I'd get vertigo in them now. Lots of pale pink or pale orange lipstick from No 17 & Rimmel block mascara & delicious Aqua Manda scent. In the summer, it was the gypsy look with tiered cotton skirts & cheesecloth tops. If there was a posh dinner dance or a 21st or after wedding, we wore long dresses - my mum made mine, I had some gorgeous ones but of course Laura Ashley was the place to buy the popular milkmaid style if your mum wasn't handy with the machine. Such happy days....

Great fun, without alcohol, or any other ' enhancing ' substances.

And does anyone recall the tie dyed look? Twist a tee, maybe a loose knot then immerse it in bleach water and hoped you liked the result!

And yes, ‘Twiggy’ bottom ‘eyelashes’ painted on with grey eyeliner. Bet we scared the boys to death! Mind you they had long hair, bushy sideburns and platform shoes!

Anyone remember Gingham perfume? Loved it - and boys smelling of Brut!!

How I longed for Cathy McGowan hair but mine was never obedient, too wavy and one side would turn under but the other side flicked out. You must have been very glam, merlot!
Entertainment ranged from Young Farmers' dances to the Jazz Club (traditional jazz was popular), Elvis, until the Stones and the Beatles arrived on the scene.

I think our ages can be worked out by our clothes and our tastes in music.