Before the days of contouring, overdrawn lip liner, and strong brow game, our favorite old Hollywood stars had a thing or two up their sleeve regarding makeup. Allan “Whitey” Snyder, known for being the makeup artist of Marilyn Monroe, as well as stars Katharine Hepburn and Raquel Welch, is to thank for his innovative artistry that contributed to these classic beauty of these women whom we still admire today. Although these tips might come from the veterans of Hollywood, one glance at their glowing, flawless makeup is enough for us modern girls to consider incorporating some vintage into our beauty routine.
For the glow that Monroe and Hepburn embodied, Whitey would add a swipe of Vaseline to the eyelids and any other areas of the face he wanted to highlight. This gives a wet, subtle glow that looks natural yet glam.
To enhance that glow even more, Hepburn thought it was key to exfoliate. She would put sugar on a lemon half and gently scrub it all over her face.
A trick to try if you want to step out of the box with your makeup is to experiment with eyeliner. To achieve Monroe’s wide, fluttery eyes, Whitey would use white eyeliner on the lower waterline to open them up, and drag it out the corners in a triangle shape to elongate and widen even more. To really spice things up, he would use a dot of red eyeliner on the inner corner to contrast the white, making them pop.
Another 20th century style icon was Joan Crawford. Apparently when washing her face in the morning, she would splash her face with ice cold water 30 times in order to tighten her skin and pores. While this may seem excessive, especially before running to your 8 am, a few splashes of some cold water will help wake you up.
Defined brows are an essential part of a makeup routine, and even decades ago Monroe and Hepburn had true brow game. Their trick was to emphasize and draw peaks at the arch. They kept it natural, but also did this to minimize the size of a large forehead.
One of Elizabeth Taylor’s trademarks was her signature scent. Many celebs had their own scent that was unique to them, which Taylor thought “radiated femininity.” So be the campus it girl with your own signature scent.
Next time you go to switch up your beauty routine, take a tip from the leading ladies of the past. These ~*timeless beauties*~ definitely knew what they were talking about.