Suchel lipstick (creyón labial), shade Chantelle no. 205

Object/Artifact

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

Suchel lipstick (creyón labial), shade "Chantelle" no. 205

Entry/Object ID

2025.1.360

Description

Swivel-type lipstick with a black molded-plastic push-on cap and base and a white molded-plastic barrel. Closed, the tube reads as a plain glossy black cylinder. Open, the white barrel rises from the black base, holding a nude tan-brown bullet (used, rounded, with minor surface pitting/spotting) seated in a white collar; light rust-colored speckling and a small pink residue mark are present on the upper white barrel. The base bears a printed label, transcribed as "CHANTELLE 205 / Suchel."

Use

Belonged to Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez

Context

"Creyón labial" is the Cuban term for lipstick. Suchel — the Empresa de Perfumería y Jabonería Suchel (lineage from the Empresa Consolidada de Jabonería y Perfumería, 1961; "Suchel Fragancias" from 1966) — was the dominant state producer of Cuban perfumery and cosmetics. Here "Suchel" is the maker and "Chantelle" the shade name (numbered 205); the use of a French-style shade name reflects a loosening of the "cubanization" of foreign names policy.

Collection

The Cabrera Arús family collection, Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez collecition

Acquisition

Accession

2025.1

Made/Created

Manufacturer

Suchel

Notes

Manufacturer: Suchel — Empresa de Perfumería y Jabonería Suchel, Cuba — per the holder's label transcription. Shade: "Chantelle," no. 205. Designer not identified. Date: circa 1980s; tentative. Edge-of-range note: plain "Suchel" marking points to the pre-1990 state enterprise (rather than the 1990 mixed-capital Suchel Camacho), keeping it within the collection period; if it proves to be a post-1990 Suchel Camacho product, it would sit at/just past the 1990 upper bound.

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Label

Location

bottom

Transcription

CHANTELLE 205 Suchel

Notes

read as shade name "Chantelle," shade no. 205, maker "Suchel."

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Diameter: 1.8 Height: 7.3

Height

7.3 cm

Diameter

1.8 cm

Parts

Cap (black plastic); barrel (white plastic), white inner collar;,swivel mechanism, and base (black plastic); lipstick bullet (product).

Materials

Material

Plastic

Material Notes

Molded plastic (black cap/base; white barrel and collar); lipstick mass (wax/oil/pigment).

Condition

Overall Condition

Fair

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez

Notes

owner

Related Places

Place

City

Havana

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

use

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

March 31, 2022

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

July 17, 2026