The Odd But Effective Cosmetic Tricks Used By Old Hollywood’s Most Glamorous Stars

Marilyn Monroe’s bright red lips. Audrey Hepburn’s doe eyes and lashes. Sophia Loren’s glowing skin. Hollywood’s Golden Age stars had stunning features – ones that many of us still try and emulate today. But if you want to use their exact methods for achieving these classic looks... well, those aren’t as timeless. Here are the wild ways your favorite old-time actresses got to be so stunning. Just be warned: you may not want to try them at home!

1. A molar-moving facelift

How did Marlene Dietrich get her signature cheekbones? Well, they were there all along, but the actress supposedly had molars removed to further highlight them. The silver-screen icon would also use surgical tape to keep things taut and toned – a temporary facelift, if you like.

2. Slap yourself pretty

Trailblazing actress and director Ida Lupino once told Screenland magazine how she kept her jaw so defined. And the star divulged her best tip, saying, “Slapping briskly along the jawline with the back of the hand encourages a firm, youthful line.” Ouch! If you’re okay with a bit of a sting, though, then give it a try.

3. Acid to clarify the eyes

It was no secret that Joan Crawford had great eyes. And cosmetics icon Max Factor divulged the star’s eyeshadow trick, which involved blending colors on the outer corners to add depth. But he also shared a slightly more concerning routine of his client’s. Supposedly, she washed her eyes two times a day with boric acid to keep them clear and sparkly. Needless to say, we don’t recommend you try this at home!

4. Laundry detergent blonde

You’ve heard of bottle blonde, but Jean Harlow swore by a laundry detergent-based recipe! The actress combined peroxide, ammonia, and an old-fashioned washing product called Lux Flakes. Apparently, the potent mixture stripped away any color in her hair with ease.

5. Nightly gymnastics

Silent-movie siren Frances Starr believed her nightly exercise routine kept her skin looking young and settled her stomach. What did it involve? Twenty somersaults before bed. Yes, we’re being serious! Starr apparently told Harper’s Bazaar, “Now that my liver has turned over 20 times, it will behave.” Huh.

6. Vaseline all over

A 1976 biography of Doris Day included one of the actress’ personal beauty tips: once a month, she covered her whole body with Vaseline. She even wore socks, gloves, and pajamas so it wouldn’t make a mess! It must have been tricky, but it clearly worked.

7. Cover your face in veggies

Gloria Swanson’s beauty advice is still pretty sound today. She once told Weekly World News, “My best beauty secret is raw vegetables. I apply them on my face and make sure I eat them regularly. As far as I’m concerned, there is no beauty product better than raw vegetables.”

8. Saliva hair gel

Brigitte Bardot’s famous bouffant hid a rather unsavory secret. To give her hair enough body, she’d apparently curl it by hand with a few drops of her own saliva. Yes, she would coat the strands with her spit and tuck them behind her ear until they dried. We’ll stick to our styling tools, thanks.

9. Smokey eye with a bathroom staple

To create her signature smoky-eyed look, Greta Garbo slicked a thin layer of Vaseline onto her lids. Then she applied some neutral powder from lid to brow line. And she finished off with a darker shade, blended over the crease for added drama. It gave her eyes a glowy, shadowy allure that was irresistible on screen.

10. Oiled-yet-healthy hair

Rita Hayworth was actually born a brunette, and she needed a way to keep her locks healthy from constantly being dyed a ravishing red. So, she nourished her strands with an unexpected kitchen staple: olive oil! She’d comb the stuff into her hair before wrapping her head in a towel and leaving it for 15 minutes. A hot-water rinse and some lemon juice would then get rid of any lingering grease.

11. A cool way to highlight the eyes

Now, it’s pretty easy to replicate Bette Davis’ eye-brightening routine. You just have to raid the crisper drawer in your refrigerator! The actress placed sliced cucumbers on her eyelids every night. Then she layered petroleum jelly under her eyes, as she believed this would ward off dark circles. And given how her peepers popped on screen, we know she was doing something right.

12. Swing like a pendulum for posterity

Billie Burke floated into our hearts as Glinda the Good Witch of the North – who traveled by pink bubble – in The Wizard of Oz. In real life, too, she hung out in a way that she swore helped her fight the signs of aging. Burke revealed that she’d dangle from door frames and swing like a pendulum to keep herself looking young. Apparently, she believed that the move broadened her chest, built arm muscles, and helped her stretch.

13. Pin-perfect eyelashes

Audrey Hepburn had a very meticulous way of dealing with her eyelashes. She would use a pin to separate lashes one after the other — and following every layer of mascara she applied. But while the result was beautiful, we can’t imagine a scenario in which so much work would be worth it...

14. Mouth massage

“Good teeth are of utmost importance,” Margaret Lindsay wrote in the Pampa Daily News in 1932. “One of the simplest aids in keeping the teeth in order is a massage of the gums, I find. A soft toothbrush will serve for this.” She also used mouthwash and flossed, which probably helped.

15. Sweet and sour scrub

Just like many beauty bloggers today, Katharine Hepburn made her own facial scrub. Hers used a combination of sugar and lemon juice, and that’s not as strange as you may think. Lemon tightens the pores, while sugar exfoliates the skin, making the mix pretty effective. But then everyone knows Hepburn was a smart cookie...

16. A boozy ’do

Forget shampoo. Greer Garson actually washed her hair in champagne! And while this may seem needlessly extravagant, it actually did work. Every day, she would use a cupful of California champagne on her locks before brushing them, and the result was brighter, shinier hair.

17. Slash through peach fuzz

Historians somehow know that Cleopatra shaved her face during her heyday, and Elizabeth Taylor did the same! In her case, she used a razor to remove peach fuzz. Nowadays, skincare pros recommend this method – called dermaplaning – to get rid of any dead skin cells, too.

18. Fifty shades of red

Marilyn Monroe would have her make-up artists use a whopping five different varieties of lipstick and gloss to build dimension and make her pout look fuller. They’d start with dark reds on the outer areas of the lip, while lighter reds went in the middle. And voila – an iconic look was born!

19. The original lip filler

It’s a Wonderful Life’s Gloria Grahame thought her upper lip was a bit too thin, so she came up with a hack to plump it without any of the modern fillers we have today. Supposedly, she used cotton pads or tissues and stuffed them between her teeth and lips. We imagine her mouth went a bit dry, but it must have been worth it for the Old Hollywood star.

20. Tropical oils only

Long before it was the go-to skincare product for clean-beauty fiends, bawdy screen legend Mae West slathered her face in coconut oil. She was also a proponent of Vaseline, using a dab of it on her eyelids for a softer, dewy look that was also good for the skin.

21. Nifty nose job

When she was 17, Carole Lombard got into a car accident that left her with a scar across her cheek and a visibly crooked nose. And while she had plastic surgery to disguise the scar, she drew attention away from her nose by painting a line down it with white makeup. That way, it seemed straighter when folks looked at her head-on.

22. A fluid move

Loretta Young knew that washing her hair too much would ruin it. And it’s true: over-washing does remove many essential oils. Instead, the Academy Award winner poured cleaning fluid over her head once every two days. Better to do the same thing with dry shampoo, really...

23. A tub full of olive oil

Sophia Loren kept her skin glowing like an Academy Award statuette by adding a few capfuls of olive oil to a warm bath. She made a point to incorporate the healthy fat into her diet, too. Oh, and she also rubbed olive oil directly onto her skin. Yup, that bottle in your kitchen can be used for more than just cooking!

24. Bathing for beauty

June Lang — also known by her maiden name June Vlasek — believed in taking a bath twice a day to tease out the impurities in her pores. While that’s a bit excessive, a good soak and scrub with a brush can indeed improve the skin.

25. Baby-soft skin

“When washing my face and hands, I use baby soap,” Claire Dodd wrote in the Gettysburg Times in 1932. “For the fair, delicate skin this is especially helpful.” It certainly was for hers.

26. Laxative moisturizer

Maria Alba hated the studio makeup she had to wear and believed that it was ruining her skin. So, once it was cleaned off, she would rub Milk of Magnesia on her face and let it dry. It sounds crazy, but some folks still do this today!

27. Make your own pout

Like so many women before and after her, Vivien Leigh worried that her pout wasn’t full enough. So she used lip liner to make it seem bigger, drawing another line underneath her actual bottom lip. Yes, she did it way before all those folks on Instagram and TikTok!

28. Nailing it with oil

Gone with the Wind star Ona Munson was one of many actresses who published beauty tips in the Pampa Daily News. And in August 1932 she suggested soaking fingernails in hot oil to make them less brittle. “My nails now are brilliant, shapely, and strong,” she wrote. Well, if it worked for her...

29. Contour for your life

Not only was Grace Kelly one of the most beautiful women in the world, but she also thought to contour her face long before Kim Kardashian. Specifically, she applied both light and dark blusher to draw attention to her cheekbones.

Away from the movie cameras

But what did Marilyn and her peers look like when they weren’t performing? Well, we’re lucky enough to have a few rare pictures of famous old celebrities doing day-to-day things. And away from the glamour of movies and premieres, they seem refreshingly normal all of a sudden.

30. Sophia Loren — Forget the diet

Here’s Sophia Loren in 1954 absolutely going to town on some flatbread. The beautiful Italian actress wasn’t a fan of diet culture, and simply ate Mediterranean food whenever she pleased. She even allegedly once said, “I’d rather eat pasta and drink wine than be a size zero.” You go, Sophia.

31. Humphrey Bogart — Clock work

After Humphrey Bogart married his fourth wife Lauren Bacall, the media only grew more interested in him. Come 1945 some photographers turned up to take snaps of the couple at their home and that’s how we ended up with this pic of the famous Hollywood tough guy staring rather forlornly at a wind-up clock.

32. Joan Crawford — Puppy love

This pic shows the famously fierce Joan Crawford sitting with a cute little puffball of a poodle. It’s a little-known fact that the actress actually loved dogs very much. The pet poodle was reportedly called “Cliquot.” She had it throughout the ’50s, and she even took it with her to the Johnny Guitar movie set.

33. Grace Kelly — Camera shy

Grace Kelly led an absolutely extraordinary life. First she was a famous actress, then she married into royalty and became Princess of Monaco. This photograph shows the older Kelly, perhaps not the one you’re used to seeing, in her new country using a movie camera. And for once, she’s on the other side of it.

34. Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda — Ping pong pals

Here’s Henry Fonda — the father of Jane Fonda, just in case you didn’t know — and his friend Jimmy Stewart playing table tennis in Fonda’s portrait-laden home. They were such good friends, in fact, that Fonda even let Stewart live on his property after he returned from his World War II service.

35. Barbara Roscoe — Soap star

British actress Barbara Roscoe multitasks in this 1963 photo, doing the washing up while simultaneously setting her hair with a machine. Very impressive — and the sort of thing housewives of the era might have aspired to. Sadly Roscoe never found a lot of acting success despite the media interest in her, although she did have bit parts in a few high-profile movies and shows.

36. Steve McQueen and Neile Adams — The couple that sweeps together...

Hollywood icon Steve McQueen wasn’t above helping his wife around the house sometimes. In this photo, he and Neile Adams are snapped looking like they’re about to sweep the chimney (though white clothes are certainly a poor choice for that task.) Alas, the couple divorced in 1972 after 15 years of marriage.

37. Kirk Douglas — A spot of tea

In 1955 Hollywood superstar Kirk Douglas was snapped in a casual moment. He’s wearing some polka-dot silk pajamas and drinking tea while he reads the newspaper, just as many normal people of the era would have done. Douglas was one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age; he passed away in 2020 at the grand old age of 103.

38. Nat King Cole — There’s something about Maria

Nat King Cole and his wife Maria had a very loving marriage, as is evident from this one casual photo alone. Maria married Cole just days after he divorced his first wife, and they were together for nearly 17 years before the legendary singer passed away from lung cancer.

39. Cary Grant — Phoning it in

In the 1950s there were no such things as smartphones. If you wanted to get in touch with someone, you simply had to sit beside the phone and then pick it up by its clunky handle. Here’s famous actor Cary Grant doing just that while he sits on a stylish — for the time — red chair. 

40. Katharine Hepburn — What a racket!

Judging by the expressions on Katharine Hepburn’s face here, she took tennis very seriously indeed. And yep, she loved it so much that she even credited it with helping her quit smoking. She told Dick Cavett in 1973, “I noticed if I didn’t smoke that day, I could keep it up. If I didn’t smoke I could play for six or seven hours.”

41. Natalie Wood — Goofing off

Natalie Wood was known for being elegant and poised, but sometimes she let her hair down and acted silly just like the rest of us. Here, she’s swinging on her pool steps while pulling a goofy face. And — presumably she and the photographer both knew this — showing off her terrific legs as well.

42. Julie Andrews — A spoonful of sugar

This photo was taken in 1959 — several years before Julie Andrews shot to stardom as the title character in Mary Poppins. And yet, she looks very Poppins-like in this picture, carrying cups of tea in a neat-and-tidy kitchen. It’s no wonder Walt Disney insisted on her for the role. 

43. Jane Fonda — Keeping her balance

There’s no end of posed Jane Fonda pictures from the ’70s, but this one shows the iconic star in a more unguarded moment. The original photo caption written in 1979 reads, “Actress Jane Fonda goes through some ballet exercise with talk-show narrator Mike Douglas during taping of the ‘Mike Douglas Show.’”

44. Lucille Ball — Not having a ball

Lucille Ball looks almost unrecognizable in this old photograph — where’s the bright-red hair? Still, it really is her. Yep, this young lady going about her cooking in 1934 would in later years become one of the most beloved and celebrated television icons of all time with I Love Lucy.

45. Maureen O’Hara — Flower power

Like all actresses, Maureen O’Hara knew to smile for the camera, but she isn’t doing that here. In fact, she looks rather perturbed as she picks her flowers. This picture was taken in 1940, just as O’Hara’s star was on the rise, so maybe she’s thinking about the pressures of fame.

46. Brigitte Bardot — Paws for thought

The original caption for this 1962 image reads, “Not a garage mirage, Brigitte Bardot relaxes in barefoot style with her pet dachshund at her villa in St. Tropez, France. The famed French star forms an impressive trunk ornament as she relaxes on her new Caravelle ‘S’ car between movie roles.” Or in other words, she’s hanging out with her dog on the top of her car.

47. Audrey Hepburn — All hands to the plow

Breakfast at Tiffany’s star Audrey Hepburn was a woman not at all afraid to get her hands dirty. Sure, she wore her trademark white gloves for stylish Hollywood shindigs, but at home she happily took them off and helped her husband Mel Ferrer dig his vineyard. And she looked great while doing so of course.

48. Ava Gardner — Ironing it out

Even Hollywood megastars had to do their own housework at times, no matter how rich and famous they were. This picture from March 28, 1950, was originally captioned, “Glamorous film star Ava Gardner takes a break from the glitter to iron her pajamas.” Gardner’s natural beauty still shines through, though.

49. Ingrid Bergman — All coming up roses

When this pretty photo was taken in 1952 it was captioned “Mrs. Roberto Rossellini” — a.k.a. famous actress Ingrid Bergman. There had been an absolute scandal surrounding Bergman’s marriage to Rossellini, since both of them had been married to other people when they began an affair on the set of Stromboli. But here the actress looks like any other woman enjoying her garden.

50. Eartha Kitt — Setting the record straight

This shot from 1957 shows the legendary Eartha Kitt doing the very ordinary activity of going through her record collection. The one she’s looking at is Passion in Paint by Henri Rene and his Orchestra, but many record collections these days probably include a good few Eartha Kitt tracks as well.

51. Dick Van Dyke — Seas-ing the moment

Dick Van Dyke can seemingly make anything funny, even something as normal as getting on a boat. Disembarking the ocean liner Bremen at Southampton in 1964 when taking his first holiday from show business in over a decade, it seems he couldn’t resist goofing around in the queue.

52. Vivien Leigh — Enjoying her privacy

This photograph from 1935 shows actress Vivien Leigh relaxing in her London home with a book. Interestingly, the original caption of the image gave away the exact address of the star’s home — 6 Little Stanhope Street, Mayfair. But four years after this photo was taken Gone With the Wind came out, and after that Leigh could really afford to move anywhere she wanted.

53. Bette Davis — Dog days

Bette Davis was another celebrity who absolutely loved dogs. Apparently, she was even carrying one in her arms when she first got off the train to Hollywood in December 1930. This photo of a dressed-down Davis playing with a dog was taken in 1933, so maybe it’s even the same one.

54. Elizabeth Taylor — Hair care

Like every actress — although of course some may tell you otherwise — Elizabeth Taylor worked very hard for her pretty hair, as this photograph from 1952 proves! Taylor never used conditioner though, only shampoo like you see here. As per Vogue magazine, she wanted her hair to be big and she thought conditioner made it look smaller.

55. Kathryn Grayson and Johnnie Johnston — Dressing up

Getting into those fabulous red-carpet dresses isn’t actually easy, not in the slightest. This pic from 1950 shows actor Johnnie Johnston doing up the gown of actress Kathryn Grayson, his wife. Alas, despite how cute this photo looks, Grayson and Johnston actually had a bitter divorce just a year later.

56. Clark Gable and Gary Cooper — Ski you later

There are countless photos all over the internet of modern-day celebrities posing flawlessly at beautiful snow-covered ski resorts. The truth is sometimes a bit different though. This pic is of Hollywood stars Clark Gable and Gary Cooper going skiing in Idaho’s Sun Valley, and they basically look cold and rather annoyed.

57. Joan Collins — Bed head

These days many people use their phones while in bed, but that was the case in the 1950s as well. Here, a young Joan Collins phones a friend while relaxing in a massive bed at her flat in Mayfair, London. She hadn’t broken into Hollywood at this point, but she was popular in her home country and known as “Britain’s Bad Girl.”

58. Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher — Heart and sole

This photo was taken as newly engaged couple Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher got back from their engagement celebration party. Fisher is even holding his fiancée’s high-heeled shoe for her: very relatable. But, cute as all this is… their marriage came to an abrupt end when Fisher cheated on Reynolds with Elizabeth Taylor.

59. Raquel Welch — Sliding sexily

Celebrated beauty Raquel Welch wasn’t afraid to be a little undignified every now and again. This photo from March 1966 shows her sliding happily down the banister of a famous cinema, The Odeon in London’s Leicester Square. What’s the point of being a celebrity if you can’t have fun sometimes?

60. Jean Harlow — Hair today, gone tomorrow

In Hollywood hair is a big, big deal. And it was exactly the same in the Golden Age of Hollywood, too. This picture from 1930 shows Jean Harlow getting her hair done in what the photo caption says is a “renowned institute.” But Harlow looks like she’s suffering for her beauty here.

61. Natalie Wood and Jayne Mansfield — Burger queens

This snapshot from 1955 shows Natalie Wood and Jayne Mansfield, along with Bob Fuller, Lance Fuller and John Smith, relaxing as they eat hamburgers at a Los Angeles diner. They all look so ordinary here — and the photo becomes very poignant indeed when you remember both actresses met tragic ends.

62. Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg — Family photo

Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg were the “it” couple of the late 1960s. The press couldn’t get enough of them, especially when their song “Je T’aime” was condemned by the Vatican and banned in many countries. This picture of them with their dog doesn’t make them look like scandal-magnets, but they totally were.

63. Marilyn Monroe — Not such a dumb blonde

Here we’ve got a 1951 shot of Marilyn Monroe lying on a sofa bed and reading a book. But surely she was just reading for the sake of the cameras, right? Wrong — Monroe’s ditzy persona was just that, a persona, and she was by all accounts very smart and incredibly well-read.

64. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward — Steak at home

This is a picture of someone taking a picture: Paul Newman photographing his beloved wife Joanne Woodward. These two were utterly besotted with each other, and Newman once famously told Playboy magazine in 1968, “There’s no reason to roam. I have steak at home. Why should I go out for hamburger?”

65. Judy Garland — A quiet moment

Judy Garland led a very turbulent life, but there were some moments of relaxation. This picture from 1955 shows her dressed for the summer, chilling out by a swimming pool with a book. Of course, maybe she’d have preferred there wasn’t a camera there to take the photograph at all.

66. Sidney Poitier — Party time

This picture shows actor Sidney Poitier, usually the epitome of dignity, wearing a silly foil party hat while attending a “Holiday on Ice” skating party in 1968. What was the party like? Judging purely by the look on his face, maybe he didn’t enjoy it very much. But he did get both a hat and a whistle.

67. Rita Hayworth — Bathing beauty

In this undated photo, actress Rita Hayworth is having a lot of fun in her swimming pool and splashing her dog. It’s hard to believe this wasn’t a carefully planned shoot on a set, but no, apparently Hayworth just really did look like that even when doing day-to-day activities. It’s alright for some.

68. Betty White — Remaining paw-sitive

Betty White, like so many other Hollywood stars, absolutely adored dogs. This one she’s feeding was an impressively massive St. Bernard called Stormy, and she was quickly giving him lunch before running off to the studio. White didn’t only love dogs either: she was an animal welfare campaigner for all animals throughout her life.

69. Jayne Mansfield — Not watching her weight

Jayne Mansfield struggled with body shape throughout her life. She had an hourglass figure, but reportedly a movie studio made her take diet pills after having a baby, such was Hollywood’s preoccupation with weight. So it’s nice to see this pic of an unguarded Mansfield devouring a sandwich.