Hollywood icons like Joan Crawford swore by ice water facials to maintain youthful skin, tighten pores and for other people to reduce puffiness. This routine pre-dated modern cryotherapy, including ice facials and was widely recommended in beauty magazines of the era. While other Hollywood icons such as Marilyn Monroe loved to indulge in ice baths. Continue reading “Joan Crawford’s Ice Water Facial”
Tag Archives: Old Hollywood
Elvis’ Beauty Secrets
Elvis’ hair-care and skin-care secrets combined with stage make-up, deliberate tanning and a simple but consistent skin routine. He used heavier stage foundations and eyeliner for performances, took tanning pills and sun exposure to deepen his tan, and favoured basic cleansers and emollients (Noxzema, Neutrogena soap, Vaseline) plus careful hair and brow tinting. Could youContinue reading “Elvis’ Beauty Secrets”
Lauren Bacall’s Powder‑Perfect Hair on Set From Hair Stylists at Warner Bros., 1940s (Pre-dates Dry Shampoo)
Few actresses embodied 1940s glamour the way Lauren Bacall did, the heavy‑lidded gaze, the sculpted S‑waves, the cool, effortless poise that became her signature. But behind the scenes, her hair was anything but effortless. Bacall’s brushed‑out waves were meticulously crafted with pin curls, setting lotion and careful brushing, then lacquered into place so they wouldContinue reading “Lauren Bacall’s Powder‑Perfect Hair on Set From Hair Stylists at Warner Bros., 1940s (Pre-dates Dry Shampoo)”
The Soap‑and‑Matchstick Brow Trick Used in WWII
With cosmetics rationed and luxury items scarce, women turned to whatever they had at home and one of the most surprising innovations of the decade was the soap‑and‑matchstick brow trick. Long before brow gels, pencils, and pomades, women used a simple bar of soap to lift and shape their brows. But wartime resourcefulness added aContinue reading “The Soap‑and‑Matchstick Brow Trick Used in WWII”
Why Women in the 1930s Put Vaseline on Their Eyelids (and create the popular make-up look)
The Depression‑era trick that created Hollywood’s soft, luminous gaze. In the 1930s, women didn’t have shimmering eyeshadows or glossy lid balms. What they did have was a humble, inexpensive staple found in nearly every vanity drawer. Enter the ever so versatile Vaseline. A tiny dab smoothed across the eyelids created the soft, dewy sheen seenContinue reading “Why Women in the 1930s Put Vaseline on Their Eyelids (and create the popular make-up look)”
Claudette Colbert’s Lighting Trick to Enhance Her Beauty
Not a product but a technique. Colbert insisted on being filmed from her left side only, believing it was more flattering. She even had lighting instructions written into her contracts. In an era when studio lighting could make or break an actor, Claudette Colbert had learned and later mastered something few actresses dared to demand,Continue reading “Claudette Colbert’s Lighting Trick to Enhance Her Beauty”
