An Oldie But A Goodie.

Amidst the kaleidoscope of colourful boxes and bottles at the drug store, sometimes all you really want is to see a familiar face (or, in this case, package).

These time-tested beauty products were in your bathroom cupboard growing up, they were in your mom’s when she was growing up — heck, they were even in your grandmother’s cupboard when she was growing up, too.

Never mind the “miracle” creams popping up every five minutes; these four products have achieved a real miracle: longevity.

Even if the first foil-wrapped tubes weren’t very user-friendly, ChapStick has been kicking around women’s handbags for over 130 years. Cherry ChapStick, $2.79, Shoppers Drug Mart.

Canadian cosmetics tycoon Elizabeth Arden used to apply this healing ointment on her beloved racehorses’ tight tendons — now, it’s firmly in our stable of must-have products. Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant, $20, Elizabeth Arden (100th Anniversary Edition, exclusively at Sears).

Launched in 1893 and originally used to help soothe skin irritated by medical plasters, Johnson’s Baby Powder has become a stalwart in households across the country ($5.49, Shoppers Drug Mart).

Chemist Robert A. Chesebrough visited a Pennsylvanian oil well in 1859 and found workers using a sticky drilling byproduct called “rod wax” to help speed skin healing. Eleven years later he introduced Vaseline Petroleum Jelly ($4.99, Shoppers Drug Mart).

Words and some images originally published in The Toronto Star (thestar.com), November 9, 2010. Written by me.