Old Hollywood Beauty rituals you’ll love

Whether it’s on Instagram, Facebook or in glossy magazines, beauty hacks are everywhere you go. Whilst modern beauty hacks are definitely inspiring, nothing quite beats the glamour of old Hollywood Beauty. If you’d love to recreate the look of Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland and the other stars of Yesteryear read on to find out about their most iconic Hollywood beauty styles.

Elizabeth Taylor’s beautiful skin

70 years before dermaplaning would become one of the biggest beauty trends for women, Elizabeth Taylor was a pioneer of using shaving instruments on her face. By shaving her face, it effectively exfoliated the skin and helped her makeup look a lot smoother. Many women now use dermaplaning tools in order to remove dead skin cells and peach fuzz hair, which can go a long way to soften and smoothen your skin. 

Audrey Hepburn’s perfect eyelashes

Have you ever seen Breakfast at Tiffany’s and wondered what the secret was to Audrey Hepburn’s long, perfect eyelashes? After applying her mascara, Hepburn’s makeup artist would painstakingly separate each eyelash with a pin. This created perfect, clump-free, long eyelashes that she would become renowned for, a true icon of Hollywood Beauty. However, most modern women don’t have the time to separate their eyelashes with a pin, and it’s not a good idea to use something so sharp near your eyes. Instead, after applying your mascara, use a special eyelash comb set in order to replicate the look. 

Grace Kelly’s cheekbones

Contrary to popular belief, contouring was not invented by the Kardashians. Makeup artists have been using contouring makeup techniques for over 100 years. However, the way contouring is applied to the face has changed a lot in the past 50 years.

Much like the stars of today use multiple shades of bronzer in order to define their features, the Princess of Monaco used multiple shades of blush in order to make her cheeks stand out. She used a light shade underneath her cheekbones and a darker shade above in order to define the apples of her cheeks. Using a multi-shade blush palette is the best way you can easily achieve her look. 

Dorothy Dandridge’s red lips

Makeup artists often say there is a shade of red lipstick that will suit every face. However, women sometimes have to really play around with colour in order to find their perfect makeup look. In the 1950s, makeup was often made for paler complexions – but that didn’t stop Dorothy Dandridge from finding her perfect shade. She would mix multiple lipsticks – red and orange – in order to find the perfect shade to match her complexion. Her style ingenuity and innovative looks still captivate people, even after multiple decades. 

Anna May Wong’s perfect cat-eye 

In the 1920s, makeup and style went through a complete transformation. What was considered stylish in the past had gone through a massive change – mini skirts, short hair and makeup were suddenly incredibly stylish. One of the most popular makeup looks included smoky, dark eye makeup, thin eyebrows and red lipstick.

Iconic Chinese-American actress Anna May Wong, who has recently been honoured with her own quarter, perfected the cat-eye eyeliner look. To achieve the look, she would purposely smudge her upper and lower lash lines with a lot of eyeliner. Using both liquid and pencil eyeliner to do your eye makeup is one of the best ways you can replicate her iconic Hollywood Beauty look. 

Rita Hayworth’s Hair 

Rita Hayworth was well-known for her stunning hair – her wavy red tresses were part of her signature look. She can be recognised by an image of her hair alone. Every time she washed her hair, she would apply olive oil to the ends and left it to sit for 15 minutes. Afterwards, she would rinse out the oil with hot water and lemon juice in order to remove any residue.

Sophia Loren took the olive oil trend one step further – she liked to bathe in it! Olive oil and other natural ingredients have fantastic restorative properties for the hair and skin – picking a hair mask with olive oil can be one of the best ways to replicate this look. She also liked to protect her hair by not using harsh fabrics and drying methods – sleeping with satin cushion sets on your bed can protect your hair from becoming damaged while you sleep. 

Do you want the Old Hollywood Beauty glamour look? There is a lot you can learn from listening to the beauty regimes of old stars. However, make sure to leave the harmful trends in the past and follow some of these tips and tricks instead. 

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Guest post by Zoe-Louise Tomlinson