Beauty secrets from the golden age of Hollywood
Shaving your eyebrows off, chewing gum (constantly), washing your face 25 times a day and home made hair dye from washing flakes - these are just some of the crazy beauty rituals Hollywood's most famous and beautiful women followed. We reveal the fascinating beauty secrets of classic stars like Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly, and how you can work them into your own beauty regime to get their looks.
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PA PhotosMarlene Dietrich
GET THE LOOK: Shaving your eyebrows off is a tad extreme – but we agree with Marlene that defining the brow is a great way to accentuate the natural shape of the face. Try filling yours in with Benefit’s Brow Zing, £22.50 instead, and see if it makes a difference.
Rex FeaturesMarilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was arguably as famed for her radiant Hollywood glow as she was for her flirtatious on-screen presence. However, she used an odd technique to maintain it – hormone cream. The actress would layer Active pHelityl Cream and a powder foundation on top of each other to create a radiant base that shimmered and shined on camera. The downside was that she grew a fine layer of peachy-blonde hair over her face. She was encouraged to shave it off, but refused because of the glow it gave her in photographs.
GET THE LOOK: We don’t recommend hormone cream, but try mixing a pearlescent primer in with a liquid or cream foundation. We love Smashbox’s Photo Finish Foundation Primer, £29.
Rex FeaturesMae West
Mae West was one of the biggest sex symbols throughout the 1930s and 1940s, prized for her brilliant curves and radiant natural complexion. But she had an unusual way of maintaining her good looks – regular colonic irrigations which she believed rid her body of unwanted toxins.
GET THE LOOK: Regular colonics are entirely comfortable (or affordable), but if you are looking for a powerful detox, try working some of these antioxidant foods into your diet, instead.
PA PhotosRita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth’s tumbling auburn locks caught many a man’s eye during the 1940s, but there was one trick she used to keep her hair in great, lustrous condition. Like many women of the era, Rita would shampoo her hair with hot water, rinse it, then saturate it with oil and wrap it up in a towel for 15 minutes. Then she’d rinse it out with hot water, a cleanser and lemon juice to get rid of any left over residue.
GET THE LOOK: While olive and almond oil both work perfectly well as a nourishing deep treatment, our favourite mess-free product is Morocan Oil Treatment, £30.45.
Rex FeaturesSophia Loren
Italian screen siren Sophia Loren was stunningly beautiful in her 1960s hay-day, and still is now. Her secret? Olive oil. Sophia’s Mediterranean diet ensured that she was able to include at least two tablespoons of the stuff in her food every day, while routinely rubbing a small amount into her skin kept her complexion glossy and moisturized. She even added a few capfuls into a hot bath for a nourishing skin soak.
GET THE LOOK: Olive oil is a great natural moisturiser, but if you want the results without the mess, try applying Palmers Olive Butter Cream Oil, £3.77 to your body after showering.
Rex FeaturesVivien Leigh
Stunning British star Vivien Leigh kept her skin spectacularly beautiful with regular facials. The Gone With The Wind actress was among several high-profile clients of Madame Lubatti, a legendary skincare doyenne who hand-mixed scented lotions and aromatic oils to treat English royalty and society ladies.
GET THE LOOK: If you can afford regular facials, book in to a salon near you and get pampering. If you can’t, give yourself a DIY facial at home. Run a clean flannel under the hot tap, apply two drops of antiseptic lavender oil and place over your face to steam. Use an exfoliator to get rid of dead skin cells, blast with cold water, pat dry, and massage a light facial oil into the skin like Trilogy Organic Rosehip Oil, £14.
Rex FeaturesAudrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was an incredibly dainty Hollywood beauty, who pioneered the baby doll look with a slick of liquid kohl and super-fine layer of mascara on the upper lashes. Rumour has it that she got her lashes so plush and natural-looking by pain-stakingly separating them with a pin after each layer of mascara she applied.
PA PhotosBette Davis
There’s a reason Kim Carnes wrote a song about Bette Davis’s eyes – they were enviably huge, bright and line-free. How did she keep them that way? Simple – cucumbers on the eyelids every night before bed and a layer of petroleum jelly under the eye at night to protect against puffiness and dark circles.
GET THE LOOK: The delicate under-eye area is easily damaged. To protect against it, try Garnier Ultralift Firming Eye Cream, £6.90.
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Rex FeaturesBettie Page
Bettie Page had good genes to thank for her fabulous skin and great body, but what kept her looking pristine and toned was her love of the great outdoors. She visited a gym and exercised every day, and took regular walks to improve her mood, complexion and hone her curvaceous frame. She rarely drank alcohol and didn’t smoke. She also had a great knack of knowing what suited her – her signature angular fringe framed her face perfectly and helped her to stand out from other pin-up models of the day.
GET THE LOOK: There isn’t a product on the planet that can do for your body what good exercise can, so get out there and get moving! Ask your hairdresser for tips on what shapes will suit your face too – and don’t be afraid to go for it. Hair does grow back after all.
PA PhotosCoco Chanel
What CAN’T we learn from Coco Chanel is more the question? The classically beautiful designer and cosmetics entrepreneur had several beauty tricks up her sleeve, but one of the famous philosophies she lived by was to always make an effort with her appearance wherever she went. “I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little - if only out of politeness,” Coco famously said. “And then, you never know, maybe that's the day she has a date with destiny. And it's best to be as pretty as possible for destiny.”
GET THE LOOK: Coco went for neutral tones and shades that complimented her natural colouring for an effortlessly classy and polished finish. Pop a Chanel Fly High Makeup Essentials Palette, £57.79, in your handbag and channel her classic look wherever you are.
PA PhotosElizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor’s beauty philosophy relied on more than just one sense. As well as sight, she believed that scent was paramount to a woman’s allure and radiant femininity, which is why she created her own timeless range of fragrances for Elizabeth Arden.
GET THE LOOK: Taylor’s own fragrances, Passion, White Diamonds and Gardenia are great, but we struggle to think of a more classic fragrance to splash behind the ears than Chanel No5, £60.26.
Rex FeaturesGreta Garbo
Greta Garbo’s dramatic eye make-up was the inspiration for many a Hollywood starlet – including Marilyn Monroe – and not without good reason. To create the look, she would apply a super-thin layer of petroleum jelly over the eyelids, cover with neutral skin-toned powder all the way up to the brow line and blend a dark shade into the crease for a theatrical, deep-set appearance. She’d also line the upper lid with eyeliner made from a blend of petroleum and charcoal pigment, and finish with mascara.
GET THE LOOK: Using Petroleum jelly and neutral powder does work, but to avoid your eyeliner running, go for a great primer like Benefit’s Lemon Aid, £16.85, instead.
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Rex FeaturesGrace Kelly
Grace Kelly’s minimalist chic has earned her a reputation for being one of the most classic beauties of all time, but even she had a few make-up secrets to share. Instead of harsh lines and colour, she chose neutral shades that subtly enhanced her natural features. She would apply a tawny brown eyeshadow delicately along her eyebrows to define them, and created the illusion of cheekbones by using two shades of blusher – a lighter tone over the bone, and a darker shade in the hollows.
GET THE LOOK: Try Bobbi Brown’s Rose Shimmer Brick, £30.50, for a soft, but defining glow.
PA PhotosJoan Crawford
American actress Joan Crawford didn’t use fancy products to keep her legendary face smooth and taut – she chewed gum in the belief that it firmed up her jaw and help to drain the toxins out from under her chin. She was also religious about her cleansing regime, and would splash her face 25 times with ice cold water after every wash.
GET THE LOOK: This is a product-free zone, so try blasting your hair and body with cold water after a warm shower to shrink pores and keep hair shiny. And don’t forget to massage your neck and jawline in upward strokes too.
PA PhotosJean Harlow
Ever wondered where the phrase ‘blonde bombshell’ originated from? Look no further than platinum-haired 1930s starlet, Jean Harlow. Although, she had a rather unorthodox method of obtaining her baby blonde locks – she lightened her hair with a potent mixture of peroxide, ammonia and Lux Flakes (an old fashioned washing powder).
GET THE LOOK: We don’t advise you start raking Daz through your hair any time soon, but to keep your dyed blonde hair in tip top condition, use Redken Smooth Down Butter Treat Cream, £17.25 twice a week.
PA PhotosJane Russell
The secret to Jane Russell’s sexy signature style was simple – she always matched her lipstick to her nail polish. The idea of co-ordinating the two was actually only developed in 1939. Legend has it that Revlon founder Charles Revlon was dining in a posh restaurant when he noticed a woman dabbing her mouth with a napkin. He saw that her nail colour jarred with the shade of her lips and a new beauty concept was born.
GET THE LOOK: To re-create Jane’s look, go for classic old school shades, like Revlon’s Fire & Ice Superlustrous Lipstick, £7.29, and matching Revlon Nail Enamel in All Fired Up, £6.29.
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PA PhotosKatharine Hepburn
A strong-willed actress, Katherine Hepburn had very much her own style – natural, minimalist and slightly androgynous. This meant a lot of neutral tones and flawless skin that allowed her to wear sheer, natural make-up and still look radiant. To keep her complexion in tip-top condition, she would exfoliate regularly. She would use a mixture of sugar, a tiny amount of warm water and a squeeze of lemon juice massaged into the skin and followed up with a splash of ice-cold water.
GET THE LOOK: If you don’t feel like raiding the kitchen cupboard, try a natural exfoliater like Origins Modern Friction, £28.60.
