Compact (cosmetics)

Compacts date from the early 1900s, a time when make-up had not gained widespread social acceptance and the first powder cases were often concealed within accessories such as walking sticks, jewellery or hatpins.

British manufacturer Stratton began importing part-finished powder boxes from the US for assembly at its Birmingham plant in 1923 and by the 1930s it was creating them from scratch and producing half the compacts used by the UK cosmetics industry.

[3] By the 1930s, compacts were regularly updated to match the season's fashion trends and gimmicks such as watches and even miniature windscreen wipers were included in designs.

[1] Although compacts continued to be in widespread production up to the 1960s, their popularity diminished as the cosmetics industry created plastic containers that were designed to be discarded once the powder ran out.

Writing in Americana, Deirdre Clemente suggested that changing make-up trends, notably for natural rather than pale and powdered complexions from the late 1950s on, contributed to the declining popularity of the compact.