Kathleen Mary Quinlan

Continue onto: Kathleen Mary Quinlan (post 1930)

Kathleen Mary Quinlan was born in Edenderry, County Offaly, Ireland in 1887. She migrated to the United States in her teens but I do not know the exact date. In the 1920 census Quinlan lists her arrival in New York as 1901 but in the 1930 census she puts the date at 1903. A 1924 advertorial claims that she made two visits to the United States in her teens, the first to visit her sister, the second to open her business (‘Cosmetics expert to end visit,’ 1934), so perhaps both dates are correct.

Exactly when Quinlan got into the beauty business is also unclear. She claims to have first used the Vah-Dah brand in 1905 but a 1924 advertisement describes her business as ‘Established 1908’. The conflicting dates might suggests that she started working from home and later moved to a business address when she could afford it.

By 1912, things were going well enough for her to move her salon to 166 Lexington Avenue and for her to begin placing small advertisements for a number of skin-care products under the Quin-Sec brand.

Quin-Sec Astringent: “Delightful for removing enlarged pores. Makes flabby throat firm, builds up sagging muscles.”
Quin-Sec Skin Food: “Builds up wasted tissues and flabby muscles.”
Quin-Sec Face Bleach: “Invaluable for removing tan, freckles and all discolorations from the skin.”
Quin-Sec Pack: “Wonderful for removing wrinkles, flabby chin and reclaiming the facial contour.”
Quin-Sec Hair Elixir: “For dandruff and falling hair.”
Quin-Sec Face Patter: “Especially adapted to home use. Produces circulation and strengthens muscles.

In 1919, Quinlan’s personal and business life changed when she married Carl Andrew (Drew) George Drees [1884-1972]. I can find no records of what he did before 1919 when he became the vice president and business manager of Kathleen Mary Quinlan but he helped Quinlan expand the business. New outlets were opened, the salon was moved to a more prestigious location at 655 Fifth Avenue in 1920, and the advertising budget was increased.

Quinlan salon at 655 Fifth Avenue

Above: Quinlan salon on the seventh floor at 655 Fifth Avenue.

Things were going so well in the boom times of the 1920s that a decision was taken to float the company and, in July, 1925, Kathleen Mary Quinlan incorporated (500 shares US$100 each; 10,000 shares, no par value).

Lamont, Corliss

The incorporation of Kathleen Mary Quinlan allowed Lamont, Corliss & Co. to acquire a substantial interest in the business in August, 1927. Lamont, Corliss was established in New York in 1901 by Thomas William Lamont [1870-1948] and his brother-in-law Charles Albert Corliss [1868-1936]. In 1927, Charles Corliss was the president of Lamont, Corliss & Co. but was also the president of the Pond’s Extract Company. The purchase of Kathleen Mary Quinlan was recommended by Clifford Myron Baker [1883-1979] the general manager of Pond’s who had joined Lamont, Corliss in 1907. Full ownership of the company would eventually pass to Pond’s but I have no record of when this happened.

After the sale, Baker became both a director of Kathleen Mary Quinlan and its company secretary while still retaining his position with Pond’s Extract. Quinlan continued as the company president and Drees remained its vice-president and general sales manager.

See also: Pond’s Extract Company

The involvement of Lamont, Corliss helped Kathleen Mary Quinlan expand. In 1929, the company appointed Porter-Spohn as their advertising agency and the salon and company offices at 655 Fifth Avenue were refurbished using designs by Robert Evans Locher [1888-1956]. Quinlan must have been impressed with his work as she also used him to redecorated her New York apartment.

1930-salon-drawing

Above: Salon drawing room in tones of sapphire and turquoise blue with burnished gold consoles and lamps.

1930 Treatment room

Above: Treatment room. There were a five treatment rooms each in a different pastel tint – peach, lilac, pervenche blue, spring green and shell pink – with matching hangings and chair coverings.

Salon treatments

Information on salon treatments at Kathleen Mary Quinlan during the 1920s is largely non-existent but seems to have included procedures for the eyes, face and hair.

Quinlan Eye Treatment—Splendid after or before a party—leaves the eyes looking younger, larger, more brilliant—three quarters of an hour.
Quinlan Facial treatments—individual diagnosis, followed by what ever you need, as long as you need it.
Quinland Hair Treatment—coiffures are so sleek today that every hair has to count—alive, shining, free from dandruff, exquiitely clean. One hour works wonders.

(Kathleen Mary Quinlan advertisement, 1927)

Eyes

Eye treatments were a particular specialty with Quinlan who claimed to be the first Beauty Specialist to ‘treat the eyes in a scientific manner’. In the salon, women could have their wrinkles and lines around the eyes treated as well as puffs and hollows under them using Vah-Dah Eye Cream and/or Vah-Dah Eye Astringent, products that had been with Kathleen Mary Quinlan from the early days of the business.

Vah-Dah Eye Cream: “[C]ompounded of fresh eggs and rich herbal oils, quickly corrects crow’s-feet, frown-furrows, laughing-lines, dark hollows and wilted eye-lids.”
Vah-Dah Eye Astringent: “[T]ightens the sensitive skin around the eyes. Soothes eye-nerves, firms and tones relaxed eye-muscles and corrects puffy circles.”

Other eye treatments were sold under the Quinlan brand which replaced Quin-Sec in the 1920s.

Quinlan Eye Bath: “A refreshing tonic for tired, strained eyes. Strengthens the eye nerves. To be used with eye cup.”
Quinlan Eye Drops: “[B]righten and intensify the color of the eyes.”
Quinlan Eyelash Grower: “[M]akes scant lashes thick and glossy.”

Hair

Kathleen Mary Quinlan sold products to cleanse and revitalise the hair and scalp along with a brilliantine to give it shine.

Quinlan Olive Oil Shampoo: “[R]ecommended for light hair. Especially good for children’s hair.
Quinlan Tar Shampoo: “[R]ecommended for dark, oily and coarse hair. While it cleanses, it also makes the hair soft and fluffy.
Quinlan Hair Elixir: “[A] stimulating tonic to correct dandruff and falling hair, making it lustrous and luxuriant. For light or dark hair; for dry or oily hair.
Quinlan Hair Salve: “[A] rich food for the scalp that corrects dandruff and promotes hair growth. For light or dark hair.
Quinlan Brilliantine: “[M]akes the hair soft and lustrous, keeps it in curl, does not leave it oily nor sticky, but nourishes and revitalizes it.

I have no evidence that Kathleen Mary Quinlan offered hair cutting or setting services during the 1920s. However, it seems likely that this was the case as she hired hairdressers to work in the salon in the 1930s.

Skin-care

Kathleen Mary Quinlan promoted her skin-care cosmetics as both scientific and natural – scientifically formulated but produced from natural materials.

Balsam and myhrr [sic], honey and milk, rare nourishing oils and astringent essences are scientifically blended in the effective natural remedies which Kathleen Mary Quinlan, makes to smooth away the aging wrinkles traced by time and circumstance.
Use these pure, wholesome creams and lotions. The result—a skin of satin-like smoothness, and clear, youthful transparency, free of every aging, unbecoming line.

(Kathleen Mary Quinlan advertisement, 1923)

Kathleen Mary Quinlan skin-care products were to be used according to Nature’s Four Laws: Cleanse, Stimulate, Nourish, and Refine your skin daily. This routine was not commonly employed by other Beauty Culturists as Quinlan placed astringents as the last treatment step to refine, rather than second, to tone and close the pores after cleansing.

Quinlan Cleansing Oil: “[M]ade of healthful herb oil combined with the bleaching essence of Oriental limes. Use it daily for a week and watch your skin become white, fine-pored and smooth as a flower petal.”
Quinlan Skin Stimulant: “[A] refreshing face bath which reduces enlarged pores and clears the skin, giving the complexion a clear radiant tone.”
Quinlan Skin Food: “[T]o keep the skin youthful looking by building up the facial tissues and preserving the contour of the face and neck.”
Quinlan Violet Astringent: “[R]educes enlarged pores, refines the skin texture, prevents wrinkles, and makes the complexion clear and radiant.”
Quinlan Double Strength Astringent: “Quickly tightens and invigorates flabby tissue and sagging muscles.”

As this interview with Kathleen Mary Quinlan describes, the skin-care routine made good use of massage but there is also evidence that she used patters and chin straps as well.

“Cleanse, stimulate, nourish and refine the skin,” she began. “You need a cleanser to free the pores thoroughly of dust and impurities, an astringent to restore the elasticity and a skin food to nourish the tissues.
Exercise Face
“And as you apply your preparations, exercise the muscles of your face by lifting and molding with the cushion parts of your fingers. To do this you must understand the muscle formation of your face.
“The muscle that controls the contour lies directly along the jaw and is attached to the jawbone in front of the ear. It should be treated with brisk movements. With the finger-tips on the chin knead this muscle upward toward the ear with firm, pressing movements. Each movement should be distinct and the skin should not be stretched. It usually takes six separate movements to reach the ear, and these should be repeated frequently.
“Another important muscle is drawn from the corner of the nostril and fastened to the jawbone just in front, of the ear, It should be kneaded and molded in the same lifting manner as the first muscle.
Clear Forehead
“Next consider the muscle about the lips. With firm lifting, pressing movements mold this muscle by starting in the center of the lower lip and follow the.line of the lips around to the center of the upper lip. Knead upward along the nose to preserve the contour.
“Relaxation of the muscles of the forehead causes the brows to droop and makes the eye appear smaller. To strengthen these, brace the forehead muscles and lift the brows having a generous supply of skinfood on the forehead. Knead it with pressing, molding movements.
“Begin at the center of the forehead and work downward toward the temples. Then close the eyes and press the second and third fingers directly under the brows near the nose. Press up firmly against the brows, then gently press the tissues beneath the eyes, moving inward toward the nose.
“Follow this with applications of warm oil, then an astringent applied on cotton that has been squeezed out of ice water. Keep this up every night and you needn’t fear winter’s winds or summer’s heat.”

(‘How to keep features clear and healthy,’ 1924)

See also: Patters and Straps, Bandages and Tapes

In the salon women could get treatments for dry and oily skin, wrinkles, double chins, sagging cheeks, and sallowness, as well as problems such as blackheads, coarse pores, pimples, and freckles. Skin-care products available in the 1920s therefore included cosmetics for improving the condition of the skin, products for blackheads, pimples and enlarged pores, bleaches, a depilatory, and a hand cream and lotion.

1928 Kathleen Mary Quinlan products

Above: 1928 Kathleen Mary Quinlan products.

Quinlan Skin Cleanser: “[A] liquid cleanser, modifies the flow of oil and removes all impurities—it is a safeguard against blackheads.”
Quinlan Special Texture Cream: “A wonderful fluffy, fragrant cream that revitalizes the skin and keeps the texture smooth and supple.”
Quinlan Persian Muscle Oil: “A delicate compound of rare herbal oils, especially beneficial to dry, sensitive skin. Very effective when used to correct lines and wrinkles.”
Quinlan Camellia Cream: “[W]ill not fatten the tissue, but will keep the skin smooth and soft. Corrects harshness, scaliness and chapping, and makes the skin look healthy, well-cared-for and smooth as a flower-petal.”
Quinlan Face Pack: “An effective herb treatment that almost instantly corrects wrinkles, firms sagging muscles, reduces coarse pores, removes blackheads and makes the complexion clear, fresh and glowing.”
Quinlan Skin Heal: “[Q]uickly heals pimples and all irritations.”
Quinlan Pore Cream: “[T]o close the pores and refine the texture of your skin.”
Quinlan Clairz: “[I]nstantly softens the most stubborn blackheads making them easy to remove.”
Quinlan Face Bleach: “A liquid bleach to whiten and clear dull and sallow skin.”
Quinlan Bleach Cream: “[Q]uickly banishes freckles, sallowness and moth-patches. May be used on face, neck, hands and arms.”
Quinlan Rusma: “[I]nstantly removes superfluous hair, devitalizes the roots, but does not irritate the skin.”
Quinlan Hand Lotion: “[S]hould always be used after washing the hands to soften and whiten them.”
Quinlan Hand Cream: “[W]hen smoothed on at night quickly makes freckled, shriveled hands smooth and white.”

Quinlan adjusted her Cleanse, Stimulate, Nourish, and Refine skin-care routines to account for differences in skin type. Women with Dry Skin were recommended to use Quinlan Cleansing Oil, Quinlan Camellia Cream, Quinlan Skin Stimulant, and Quinlan Violet Astringent while those with Oily Skin were to use Quinlan Skin Cleanser, Quinlan Skin Stimulant, Quinlan Skin Food, and Quinlan Violet Astringent.

Make-up

Kathleen Mary Quinlan was selling face powder before the First World War and possibly rouge as well. In the 1920s, the make-up range expanded to cover most areas but it was only available in a limited range of shades. Mist of Dawn Beauty Cream, Mist of Dawn Vanishing Cream and/or Quinlan Skin Lotion could be used as a powder base for Mist of Dawn or Poudre des Perles face powders, while Quinlan Whitener covered necks and arms at night. Cheeks were reddened with liquid, cream or powdered rouge, lips with lipstick and there was a block mascara (cosmetique) for the lashes and eyebrows and a cream eyeshadow for the lids.

Mist of Dawn Beauty Cream: “Delightful beauty cream which gives a lovely texture to the skin inclined to dryness. It is a protection, and a marvelous powder base.” Shades: White, Cream, and Flesh, with Tan added in 1929.
Mist of Dawn Vanishing Cream: “[T]o protect dry and sensitive skin.”
Quinlan Skin Lotion: “A liquid powder base made especially for oily skins. It is antiseptic and slightly astringent, and a wonderful make-up foundation.” Shades: Cream, and Flesh, with Tan added in 1929.
Mist of Dawn Face Powder: “Fragrant, adherent, they protect the skin and impart a flattering bloom to the complexion.” Shades: Light Cream, Dark Cream, Flesh, Peach, and White.
Poudre des Perles Face Powder: “It veils all annoying shine and blemishes, and clings—it is both flattering and faithful. Its shades match the delicate tints of pearls.” Shades: Light Cream, Dark Cream, Flesh, Peach, and White.
Powder Compact: “A dainty gold case, as thin as a wafer, containing a mirror.” Shades: Light Cream, Dark Cream, Flesh, Peach, and White.
Quinlan Whitener: “A fragrant lotion to use in the evening. Gives neck and arms a white, velvety appearance. Will not rub off. Wonderfully flattering when combined with Mist of Dawn Beauty Cream.”
Rose-Tint: “A liquid rouge that gives a natural flush to pale cheeks and lips.” Shades: Light, and Dark.
Blush: “A cream rouge for cheeks and lips.” Shades: Light, and dark.
Dry Rouge: “[T]o bring the flattering flush of youth to languid complexions.” Shades: Crushed Coral, Pimpernel, and Petunia.
Lip Stick: “[A]ccents the color of the lips.” Shades: Light, and Dark.
Cosmetique: “[D]arkens the brows and lashes immeasurably enhancing the size and brilliancy of the eyes.” Shades: Black, and Brown.
Eye Shadow: “[A] greaseless cream that accents the size, brilliancy and color of the eyes.” Shades: Light Blue, Dark Blue, Gray, and Brown.

Sun-care

In 1929, Kathleen Mary Quinlan introduced Quinlan Gitano Tan, a waterproof tinted liquid, said to protect the skin from wind and sun. It was applied with moist cotton pad and removed with Quinlan Cleansing Oil allowing a tanned, sporty look during the day to be replaced with soft, white skin at night.

Quinlan Gitano Tan: “A waterproof liquid that protects and soothes the skin, imparting a deep, rich Gypsy tan—preventing sunburn.”

Women who wanted something more subdued could apply a Tan shade of Quinlan Skin Lotion or Quinlan Mist of Dawn Beauty Cream covered by Sunburn Mist of Dawn Face Powder or Sunburn Poudre de Perles Face Powder.

Unfortunately, 1929 was also the year of the Wall Street Stock Market crash that ushered in the Great Depression. However, Lamont, Corliss/Pond’s stayed with Kathleen Mary Quinlan right through the difficulties and, in many ways, the 1930s proved to be the company’s most innovative period.

Timeline

n.dKathleen Mary Quinlan opens a beauty business in New York.
1912Salon opened at 166 Lexington Avenue.
1919New Products: Mist of Dawn Beauty Cream.
1920Salon moved to 655 Fifth Avenue.
1925Kathleen Mary Quinlan incorporates.
1927Shares acquired by Lamont, Corliss & Co.
New Products: Poudre des Perles Face Powder.
1929Salon at 655 Fifth Avenue upgraded.
New Products: Gitano Tan.

Continue onto: Kathleen Mary Quinlan (post 1930)

First Posted: 6th April 2022

Sources

The American perfumer & essential oil review. (1906-1955). New York: Robbins Perfumer Co. [etc.].

Cosmetics expert to end visit. (1934, October 27) Indianapolis Times, p. 4.

The drug and cosmetic industry. (1932-1997). New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich [etc.].

How to keep features clear and healthy. (1924, February 20). Perth Amboy Evening News, p. 7.