Before television became popular, the popularity of film stars was enormous. Many stars promoted products, female stars especially. Wouldn't you love to buy an ankle watch like the one that Louise Brooks displayed in an advertisement? If Lana Turner wore Max Factor foundation, wouldn't it give you a touch of "Sweater Girl" allure if you put some on? Well, Colleen's massive popularity meant she, as much as any star, was in demand to put her name to products. She didn't just advertise things, either - some items were named after her. Colleen Moore face powder, its tin charmingly decorated with shamrocks, was one product. Tins and advertisements for the powder still come up for sale on Ebay from time to time. I don't have any of these, so I'm afraid I can't show them to you!

Sweet smell of success
Guess who was the first film star to have a perfume named after her? That's right, it was Colleen Moore. She'd changed her name from Kathleen Morrison to emphasise her Irish background. In 1930, Colleen Moore perfume became available. I've seen descriptions of at least two bottles, one made of green bakelite and the other of glass decorated with shamrocks, so her Irish background was still an important part of her image. You can find more information here and a site with photographs of the bottles here.

A mystery
Every so often I browse the web using "Colleen Moore" as the item to search for, just to see what pops up. As well as information about Colleen's acting career and her marvellous dolls' house, I've found a site listing roses by name. There has been a Colleen Moore rose. As Miss Moore is said to have been the first person to use Colleen as a Christian name, it's possible that the rose was, indeed, named after the actress. While I haven't been able to find out whether it was named after her, my father dug up some information (thanks, Dad!). Colleen Moore was a large-flowering, dark red hybrid tea. For the web page he found the info on, click here. As you can see, no-one's selling it at the moment. Do you have one, or know of someone who does?