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"Realce" eye shadow (sombra para los ojos), shade "Malva" (mauve) – empty
Object/Artifact
Empty turquoise molded-plastic swivel tube of eye shadow. The upper section (cap) carries the gold Realce emblem — a radiating sunburst above a stylized letter "R"; the lower section is the base, with a metal swivel collar/ferrule exposed between the two. The cap is slightly displaced, revealing the metal collar with granular soiling/residue. The base bears an inscription, transcribed by the holder as "SOMBRA PARA LOS OJOS / Realce / MALVA / HECHO EN CUBA."
2025.1.361
Kept by Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez
Realce was a makeup line of Cuba's nationalized perfumery-cosmetics industry (alongside Fantasía, Prisma, Alondra, Cirene), documented in Cuba Material's catalog, which lists Realce eye shadow in two formats — a pressed powder (9 shades) and a non-iridescent plastic-cased stick (7 shades). This object is the plastic-cased stick ("casquillo plástico"); "Malva" (mauve) is one of those shades. Reader recollections on Cuba Material attest to the Realce eye shadows' everyday use.
The Cabrera Arús family collection
Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez collecition
2025.1
MINIL
Cuba
Caribbean
Central America
Realce
Date: circa 1970s–1980s; tentative.
Label
bottom
SOMBRA PARA LOS OJOS Realce MALVA HECHO EN CUBA
Spanish
EYESHADOW FOR THE EYES Realce MAUVE MADE IN CUBA
Tube (cap): gold Realce emblem — a radiating sunburst over a stylized "R." Base (per holder transcription; not independently imaged): "SOMBRA PARA LOS OJOS / Realce / MALVA / HECHO EN CUBA."
Diameter: 1.1 Height: 5.3
5.3 cm
1.1 cm
Cap (turquoise plastic, with gold logo); base (turquoise plastic) with metal swivel collar/mechanism
Plastic
Molded plastic (turquoise cap and base); metal (swivel collar/ferrule)
Fair
Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez
owner
Havana
Cuba
Caribbean
Central America
use