Face by Stace

Lauren Bacall: Infamous “Chin Down, Eyes Up” Look

Lauren Bacall had a signature look that she built. Her legendary “chin down, eyes up” pose wasn’t a spontaneous moment of sultry glamour. It was a deliberate technique she practiced to sharpen her jawline, intensify her gaze, and create the cool, controlled persona that made her un-forgettable on screen.

Bacall developed the pose early in her career, partly out of nerves. She found that lowering her chin helped steady her trembling head during filming. But the effect was transformative. With her chin slightly dropped, her jawline appeared more sculpted, more defined, more architectural. When she lifted her eyes beneath heavy lids, the combination created a visual tension — a look that was both seductive and self‑possessed.

Directors noticed. Audiences noticed. And soon, the pose became part of her identity.

The technique also worked beautifully with 1940s lighting. By angling her face downward, Bacall avoided harsh shadows that could widen the jaw or flatten the cheekbones. The upward gaze added drama without exaggeration, allowing her to command the frame with minimal movement. It was elegance through restraint — a hallmark of her entire vibe.

What makes this detail so compelling is how intentional it was. Bacall understood that beauty on camera wasn’t just about features; it was about geometry. Her pose wasn’t a gimmick. It was a strategy, a way to control how she was seen and how she wanted to be remembered.

I’m Stacey Hobbs, thanks for reading Face by Stace! Until next time.
do you feel fabulous today?

Love & Lemons Inspired: Butternut Squash & Kale Salad

This salad is bright, fresh and deeply seasonal, which is exactly the kind of plant‑forward dish Love & Lemons is known for. Roasted butternut squash adds warmth and sweetness, while massaged kale brings a vibrant green base. Pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds and goat cheese add texture, colour, and creamy contrast. The maple‑Dijon dressing ties everything together with a glossy, tangy finish. Pumpkin seeds also known as pepita provide high amounts of protein.

Prep 20 min Cook 25 min Serves 2–3

Butternut Squash and Kale Salad – Simply Whisked&www.simplywhisked.com

Ingredients

3 cups diced butternut squash
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 cups kale, destemmed and chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil (for massaging kale)
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese or feta (optional)
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil (for dressing)

Instructions

Roast the squash
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Toss butternut squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast 20–25 minutes until golden and tender.
Massage the kale
Add chopped kale to a large bowl. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Massage for 1–2 minutes until softened and bright green.
Make the dressing
Whisk maple syrup, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil until smooth and emulsified.
Assemble the salad
Add roasted squash, pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds, and goat cheese to the kale. Toss gently with the dressing.
Serve
Plate the salad and finish with extra seeds or cheese if desired.

Butternut Squash Kale Salad with Goat Cheese and Apricot Vinaigrette/www.howsweeteats.com

Beauty Benefits

Beta‑carotene from butternut squash supports radiance and skin vitality.
Kale delivers chlorophyll + minerals for brightness and detox support.
Pumpkin seeds provide zinc, essential for clear, balanced skin.
Pomegranate seeds offer antioxidants that help protect collagen.
Olive oil nourishes the skin barrier for glow and softness.

Health Benefits

High fibre supports digestion and fullness.
Plant‑forward ingredients promote heart and hormone health.
Antioxidants support immune wellness.
Naturally gluten‑free and easily dairy‑free.
Balanced fats + carbs make it a satisfying lunch or dinner.

Storage

Salad (undressed): 2–3 days refrigerated
Dressing: 5–7 days in a sealed jar
Roasted squash: 3–4 days refrigerated
Tip: Dress only before serving to keep kale crisp

Substitutions

Greens: Spinach, arugula, or mixed greens
Seeds: Pecans, walnuts, or sunflower seeds
Fruit: Dried cherries, apples, or oranges
Cheese: Feta, goat cheese, or omit for dairy‑free
Squash: Sweet potato or delicata squash

History + Cultural Context

Butternut squash is a modern cultivar with ancient Indigenous roots, prized for its ability to store through winter. Love & Lemons’ signature style blends bright produce, lemon‑forward dressings, and minimalist plating — making this salad a perfect fusion of seasonal nourishment and modern plant‑based elegance.

I’m Stacey Hobbs, thanks for reading Face by Stace! Until next time.
do you feel fabulous today?

Lauren Bacall: The Bacall Brow

Among Lauren Bacall’s most defining features was a brow shape so distinctive, so controlled and so integral to her persona that beauty historians now call it The Bacall Brow. It wasn’t a studio invention or a marketing term. It was the natural architecture of her face, refined through technique and lighting, and it became one of the most recognizable brows of the 1940s.

The Bacall Brow was a departure from the pencil‑thin arches of the 1930s. Fuller, softly angled, and subtly lifted at the outer edge, it framed her heavy‑lidded gaze and amplified the cool, unbothered confidence that made her famous. Makeup artists enhanced the shape with powder and pencil, but they never over‑sculpted it. Bacall’s brow needed to look intentional without appearing fussy — a perfect match for her low‑voiced, slow‑burn screen presence.

What made her brow iconic wasn’t just its shape; it was its attitude. The Bacall Brow communicated intelligence, restraint, and a kind of glamorous skepticism. It worked in harmony with her trademark “Look” (chin down, eyes up) creating a visual tension that felt both seductive and self‑possessed.

Today, the Bacall Brow reads as timeless: structured but natural, expressive but controlled. It’s the kind of brow that suggests a woman who knows exactly who she is. Lauren Bacall didn’t necessarily chase trends. She used what worked for her.

Her brow wasn’t just makeup. It was more about character.

I’m Stacey Hobbs, thanks for reading Face by Stace! Until next time.

do you feel fabulous today?

Lauren Bacall: Her Lipstick Shades Were Custom‑Mixed

Lauren Bacall’s beauty was never accidental. From her look, her cool, sculpted and impossibly self‑possessed — required precision. And one of the most fascinating elements of her screen image was her lipstick. Those shades weren’t pulled from a tube. They were custom‑mixed by studio makeup artists to achieve the exact tone to compliment her complexion, lighting and film stock demanded.

In the 1940s, Warner Bros. makeup departments operated like laboratories. Film makeup wasn’t mass‑produced for Technicolour or early black‑and‑white stock, so artists blended pigments by hand. Bacall’s lips needed depth without brightness, sophistication without glare. Standard reds were too loud, too warm or too reflective. So her artists mixed blue‑reds with wine tones, softened them with brown pigments, and often pressed face powder over the top to create that signature matte finish.

The result was a lip that looked intentional — never flashy, never sweet, always controlled. It balanced her smoky eye contour, her sculpted cheekbones, and that legendary downturned gaze. Bacall’s mouth wasn’t just part of her beauty; it was part of her attitude.

What makes this detail so compelling is how modern it feels. Today, custom lip mixing is a luxury service. In Bacall’s era, it was a necessity.. Her look wasn’t built on trends but on calibration: shade, undertone, texture, and the way her lips interacted with light.

I’m Stacey Hobbs, thanks for reading Face by Stace! Until next time.
do you feel fabulous today?

Grace Kelly: Used Hand Cream on Her Face

Grace Kelly’s beauty philosophy was rooted in quiet practicality — the kind of elegance that didn’t announce itself, yet always delivered results. Among her most charming habits was one that feels almost rebellious in today’s era of hyper‑specialized skincare: she used hand cream on her face.

To Kelly, beauty wasn’t about chasing products; it was about consistency. Hand cream, with its rich emollients and comforting texture, offered exactly what she valued most — softness, hydration, and a protective barrier against the dry studio air that threatened her famously luminous complexion. She applied it sparingly, pressing it into the skin rather than rubbing, allowing the cream to melt in and create that serene, velvety finish she was known for.

The choice was surprisingly strategic. Hand creams of her era were often thicker and more occlusive than facial moisturizers, making them ideal for locking in moisture or hydration or both, before long filming days. Under Technicolour lighting, her skin appeared smooth, even and subtly radiant, not shiny, not powdered, just perfected. It was the kind of glow that looked natural, even though it was anything but.

What makes this routine delightful is its simplicity. Kelly didn’t rely on elaborate routines or exotic ingredients. She trusted what worked and she used it with intention. In a world obsessed with innovation, her approach feels refreshingly grounded.

Grace Kelly proved that elegance doesn’t always come from complexity. Sometimes it comes from a jar of hand cream and a woman who understood her own face better than any trend ever could.

I’m Stacey Hobbs, thanks for reading Face by Stace! Until next time.
do you feel fabulous today?

Get the Look: Grace Kelly: Her “No Makeup” Makeup Look

Grace Kelly’s beauty seemed effortless — the kind of clean, radiance that looked untouched by powder or pigment. But her iconic “no visible makeup” look was anything but accidental. It was a meticulously engineered illusion, crafted through technique, restraint and an almost scientific understanding of light.

Kelly’s makeup artists didn’t aim for bare skin; they aimed for invisible enhancement. Her complexion was prepped with hydration, then perfected with sheer foundation applied so thinly it behaved like a second skin. Instead of heavy contour, she relied on subtle tonal shifts: of taupe beneath the cheekbone, a soft rose on the apples, blended until undetectable. The goal was dimension without evidence.

Her brows were brushed, never sculpted. Her lashes were tinted, not thickened. Even her signature cool‑pink lip was chosen for its ability to brighten without announcing itself. Everything was intentional, everything was designed to look like nothing at all.

The real secret was lighting. Kelly understood how her face interacted with the camera. Matte textures prevented shine, while micro‑highlights — placed only where natural light would fall — created that serene, porcelain glow. It was Old Hollywood minimalism at its most disciplined.

What made her look revolutionary wasn’t the absence of makeup, instead it was the mastery of subtlety. Grace Kelly proved that glamour doesn’t always require drama. Sometimes it requires precision so refined, it disappears.

Her beauty wasn’t effortless. It was engineered elegance.

I’m Stacey Hobbs, thanks for reading Face by Stace! Until next time.
do you feel fabulous today?