CATEGORY ARCHIVES: BEAUTY TIPS
Actress Beauty Tip #33: Greer Garson almond oil skin
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This is the thirty-third installment of the monthly classic actress beauty tips that I have read about and tested.
Beautiful red-headed actress Greer Garson had flawless skin.
The Academy Award winning actress told beauty columnist Lydia Lane that she used almond oil to ease lines around her eyes.
“Greer Garson looks wonderful and can afford anything but she uses pure almond oil, which she buys at the drug store,”Lane wrote in response to a 1963 letter. “She says it keeps the fine lines from around here eye.”
Lane interviewed Garson several times for her syndicated beauty column that ran from 1938 to 1980.
Garson used almond oil when she washed off her make-up. It was a ritual she and her mother discovered in England, she said in a 1952 Lane column.
Almond oil was also a favorite moisturizer of First Lady Jackie Kennedy, according to Vickie Calvert’s book “Living Natural and Stress-Free in the 21st Century.”
My skin is too oily to use heavy sweet almond oil on my face during the day, like how Kennedy used the oil. I tried the oil more like Greer Garson.
I wasn’t able to find almond oil in stores, so I turned to eBay and bought a small bottle for $3.
This past week, I put almond oil on my face and around my eyes before I went to bed. I don’t necessarily have fine line around my eyes, but it did make my skin smoother in the morning. This was especially helpful with dry patches that are more prevalent with winter weather.
Some articles say almond oil helps with dark circles under the eyes. Even with plenty of sleep and the oil, it hasn’t helped me.
To review: I can not vouch for sweet almond oil decreasing fine lines. However, it made my skin smooth and helped with winter dry skin. It did not help with dark circles around the eyes though.
Check out another Greer Garson beauty tip here: http://cometoverhollywood.com/2010/07/01/actress-beauty-tips-2-champagne-hair-rinse/
Check out more Comet Over Hollywood Actress Beauty Tips here: http://cometoverhollywood.com/category/beauty-tips/
Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page, follow on Twitter at @HollywoodComet or e-mail at cometoverhollywood@gmail.com
Actress Beauty Tip #32: Susan Hayward diet
This is the thirty-second installment of the monthly classic actress beauty tips that I have read about and tested.
Actress Susan Hayward stayed thin with a three day diet of eggs and tomatoes.
This week I went on a diet for Comet Over Hollywood.
Red-headed Academy Award winning actress Susan Hayward claimed she stayed under 118 pounds by eating 2 eggs (prepared any way) and one tomato three times a day for consecutive three days.
“If you continue more than three days, you may start clucking like a hen,” Hayward said once.
Hayward claimed you could lose five pounds in three days with this diet, which seems highly doubtful to me.
“Her (Susan Hayward) measurements are the same as they were when she was 20,” said “Susan Hayward Gives Diet Tips” written by Lydia Lane, a 1954 article about the then 37-year-old actress.
The Comet isn’t anywhere near 118 pounds, but I’m always a fan of weight loss and eating healthy. I decided to give it a try. I like both eggs and tomatoes so I figured it couldn’t be that hard. Here is how the three days went for me:
Tuesday, Oct. 1:
Breakfast: Two eggs scrambled with a cut up tomato. It was delicious and filling. However, I realized eating one whole tomato for a meal is ALOT of tomato. Or alot more than I’m used to eating.
Lunch: Was still full from breakfast so didn’t eat the hard boiled eggs and cut up tomato I brought for lunch.
Dinner: Felt a bit like I was getting a cold so talked myself into getting a McDouble from McDonalds, instead of eating eggs and tomatoes for dinner.
Breakfast: Two eggs scrambled with a cut up tomato. It was delicious and filling. However, I realized eating one whole tomato for a meal is ALOT of tomato. Or alot more than I’m used to eating.
Lunch: Was still full from breakfast so didn’t eat the hard boiled eggs and cut up tomato I brought for lunch.
Dinner: Felt a bit like I was getting a cold so talked myself into getting a McDouble from McDonalds, instead of eating eggs and tomatoes for dinner.
Wednesday, Oct. 2
Breakfast: Two scrambled eggs and a tomato again. Still tasted good.
Lunch: Two hard boiled eggs and a tomato. Enjoyable meal made even better when I dabbed my egg in mustard.
Dinner: Sunny-side up eggs on a toasted sandwich with a cut up tomato on the sandwich. Ate the rest of the tomato by itself. Filling but growing weary of eggs.
Breakfast: Two scrambled eggs and a tomato again. Still tasted good.
Lunch: Two hard boiled eggs and a tomato. Enjoyable meal made even better when I dabbed my egg in mustard.
Dinner: Sunny-side up eggs on a toasted sandwich with a cut up tomato on the sandwich. Ate the rest of the tomato by itself. Filling but growing weary of eggs.
Thursday, Oct. 3
Breakfast: Skipped breakfast because running late for work.
Lunch: Another delicious meal of hard boiled eggs with a tiny bit of mustard and a tomato.
Dinner: I went to the fair….and had a chicken pita wrap….Nothing fried or terribly unhealthy, but still not part of the diet.
Breakfast: Skipped breakfast because running late for work.
Lunch: Another delicious meal of hard boiled eggs with a tiny bit of mustard and a tomato.
Dinner: I went to the fair….and had a chicken pita wrap….Nothing fried or terribly unhealthy, but still not part of the diet.
Friday, Oct. 4
I was going to add one more day to the diet since I cheated on two meals but ended up not eating all day because was too busy at work. Had spaghetti for dinner
I was going to add one more day to the diet since I cheated on two meals but ended up not eating all day because was too busy at work. Had spaghetti for dinner
Hayward shows off her figure as she dances in the John Wayne film “The Conqueror” (1954).
To review: Since it was only for a few days, I can’t say if I lost weight. I can say I continuously wanted to eat a cheeseburger. However, eating healthier made me feel a little better about life. I stayed full after eating and my usually oily hair and skin felt fresher than usual at the end of the day.
For me, eating eggs and tomatoes for both breakfast and lunch isn’t difficult, but eating it a third time for dinner is when it got tiresome. By that point, I wanted to cook a pork chop or even just eat some cereal and toast.
I can’t say I will continue with Susan Hayward’s diet, but will probably continue to incorporate eggs into my diet at least once a day. I did consider taking a break for two days and doing the diet for three more consecutive days, but I’m pretty tired of eggs and tomatoes right now.
So in review, though I didn’t drop rapid weight, I did feel better about life during this diet.
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Actress Beauty Tip #31: Elizabeth Taylor perfume
This is the thirty-first installment of the monthly classic actress beauty tips that I have read about and tested.
Elizabeth Taylor in 1991, introducing her perfume at Macy’s
Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears and Taylor Swift.
These celebrities may not have a perfume named for them if it wasn’t for English born actress Elizabeth Taylor.
The two time Academy Award winning actress is known for her violet colored eyes, glamorous beauty, love of diamonds and multiple marriages.
With a mix of her affair with jewelry and Old Hollywood glamour, Elizabeth Taylors’s White Diamonds perfume has been the top selling celebrity perfume since 1991. Even since her 2010 death, the perfume makes $200 million worth of sales each year.
Taylor wasn’t the first celebrity to create her own perfume. In 1957 Givenchy created a scent for Audrey Hepburn called L’Interdit, that was only released after Hepburn had worn it a few years. French actress Catherine Deneuve and Italian actress Sophia Loren both had perfume scents at one time that are no longer sold, according to a Jezebel article.
White Diamonds advertisement.
But what sets Elizabeth Taylor’s perfume apart is the fact that is still sold after 20 years.
Ever since I was a child, the gold liquid in Taylor’s rhinestone incrusted bottles intrigued me. But my mother warned me White Diamonds wasn’t the most pleasant spelling perfume. Since Mom isn’t a perfume wearing woman, I hoped she was wrong.
Recently, with Comet’s beauty tips in mind, I picked up a small bottle of White Diamonds and felt slightly glamorous that I owned an Elizabeth Taylor product.
But the day I wore White Diamonds, I felt anything but glamorous. I actually felt ill, because it smells terrible. I sprayed my wrist once and overpowered by the smell.
As I gagged, I tried to figure out how this perfume had such a strong staying power. I wonder if it’s simply that it is put out by one of the most important actresses and pop culture figures of the 20th century.
To Review: White Diamonds is a very heavy and strong scent. I personally didn’t like it and can’t imagine wearing it all day. I think Elizabeth Taylor’s excellent marketing and Old Hollywood sophistication is what has kept it on the shelves for over 20 years.
Have you ever tried wearing it? What is your opinion?
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Actress Beauty Tip #30: Marilyn Monroe breakfast
This is the thirtieth installment of the monthly classic actress beauty tips that I have read about and tested.
Since I’ve started these beauty tips, I’ve tried some crazy things. Some include washing my hair with champagne and bathing in milk.
When I was living at home, my parents didn’t mind as long as I cleaned up after myself.
However, I get the feeling that I would have been scolded for Beauty Tip #30.
Recently, I’ve been reading columns by NY Magazine diet columnist, Rebecca Harrington. Harrington read about what Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe ate and tests it for about two weeks to see the results. Most of the foods are revolting, have complicated recipes and Harringon’s accounts are hilarious.
To celebrate Marilyn Monroe’s 87th birthday, I decided to try one of her diet tricks.
Every morning, Monroe had warm milk with a raw egg in this, according to Harrington.
An article about Monroe’s diet routine in Pageant magazine, Sept. 1952
“To my surprise it was utterly delicious,” she said in her column. Reading this I thought, “Hm. Milk and eggs are actually two things I have at my house. I’m trying to lose weight. I should try this.”
My goal was to drink the milk and raw egg concoction for a week and see what weight loss results I had. I lasted two days.
I didn’t stop because I was hungry or that it tasted bad. The combination is actually pretty good -really only taste the milk- and I stayed full for hours after drinking it.
My issue was looking at the drippy, gooey consistency of the raw egg in my milk and that I was basically drinking salmonella-in-a-cup.
It also dawned on me that drinking a raw egg is just plain stupid. The health benefit of drinking a glass of milk and eating a hard boiled egg is probably about the same and it’s safer.
To review: The milk and raw egg combination kept me full and tasted fine, but the fact that I was drinking a raw egg (salmonella in a cup) unnerved me. I can stay just as full and healthy by drinking a glass of milk and a cooked egg.
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Actress beauty tip #29: 1930s eyebrows
This is the twenty-ninth installment of the monthly classic actress beauty tips that I have read about and tested…except for this one.
Jean Harlow with her signature, exaggerated eyebrows.
Eyebrows are the frame work of the face.
Overtime that framework has been defined differently.
The 1940s were more natural and of medium thickness.
In the 1960s were heavy, emphasized with an eyebrow pencil.
But the most dramatic eyebrow look was in the 1930s. Brows were thin with exaggerated height. Several actresses shaved their eyebrows and drew on their eyebrows. Petroleum jelly or oils were used to give a shiny look on the brow, according to Return to Style.
Jean Harlow’s high arched, drawn on eyebrows became part of her signature style. Greta Garbo plucked her eyebrows thin to follow the arch of her eye socket. Marlene Dietrich shaved off all of the hair and penciled on her brow higher than her natural hairline, according to the Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History.
Some actresses shaved their eyebrow for role and they never grew back:
Lucille Ball dressed as a blond slave in “Roman Scandals” (1933)
-In her first film appearance “Roman Scandals” (1933), Lucille Ball was asked to shave off her eyebrows. She was playing a slave girl with a long blond wig. Her brows never grew back and she had to pencil them on the rest of her life, according to the Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History.
Lana Turner in “The Adventures of Marco Polo” (1938)
-Lana Turner was asked to shave her eyebrows for “The Adventures of Marco Polo” (1938) and had slanted brows were drawn on to give an “Asian look.” Her eyebrows never grew back. She later had false, stick on eyebrows made that she wore for the rest of her life. Her daughter Cheryl Crane said she only saw her mother without her false eyebrows twice, according to the book LANA: The Memories, the Myths, the Movies.
Bette Davis as Queen Elizabeth I in “The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex” (1939)
-For her role as Queen Elizabeth I in “The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex” (1939), Bette Davis shaved two inches off her hairline at the forehead and her eyebrows off. She said they never grew back properly and had to use an eyebrow pencil, according to IMDB.
To review: Though I have testedmany of all of my beauty tips but I have not shaved off my eyebrows and drawn them back on for this one. However, I think several of us have had that panicked moment of over plucking and fearing they won’t grow back properly. It’s amazing how many actresses had to deal with eyebrow issues for the remainder of their lives due to shaving them off for roles.
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Actress beauty tip #28: Norma Shearer complexion
This is the twenty-eighth installment of the monthly classic actress beauty tips that I have read about and tested.
Healthy, clear skin is something I struggle with on a daily basis. I’ve tried numerous products from exfoliates to acne cream.
Norma Shearer, Mae Murray and Viola Dane in a 1925 Beaute Craft article.
But according to a 1925 article in Beaute Craft, clear skin revolves around exercise and diet. To testify to this are actresses Norma Shearer, Mae Murray and Viola Dana.
Oddly enough, the article by Pauline Black, correlates bad skin to…constipation, which is connected to poor eating habits.
Black says Shearer gets her clear skin from good diet. Murray’s credits proper exercise and fresh air, and Dana gets her clear skin from correct food and exercise.
Viola Dana, Norma Shearer, Mae Murray
Black gives suggestions in the article to remedy problems:
Breathing: “No normal woman remains healthy for very long if she does not practice deep breathing, using the entire lung capacity and exercising abdominal muscles as well.”
Water: “Drink enough water. Two glasses immediately upon rising in the morning. A glass after each meal. A glass between meals. A glass upon retiring at night. Some people cannot drink much water easily. You should learn, or drink milk…”
Food: “Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits…Raw cabbage with a little cream dressing is excellent once a day…I would say stop eating meats, eggs, fish and cheese for a few weeks. Give your your digestive apparatus a rest as far as heavy foods are concerned.”
Exercise: “Walking is excellent exercise. Blessed is that girl or woman who has to walk a mile or even two a day to and from work or school.”
For myself, drinking more water and eating well has helped clear up my skin. Lately I’ve been drinking roughly 70 fluid ounces of water a day and have seen major improvements. For diet, the article suggests cabbage, I have been eating kale lately along with fruits and have seen improvements from that as well.
To review: Though the article (found scanned on Beauty is a Thing of the Past blog) gives odd suggestions and reasoning for clear skin, drinking water and eating better has shown improvements with my skin. I have been exercising for several months but change in diet has given me the best improvements.
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Beauty Tip #27: The 1940s Snood
This is the twenty-seventh installment of the monthly classic actress beauty tips that I have read about and tested.
For me, the 1940s is the best fashion era.
Carole Lombard sporting a snood.
The clothing, the makeup and the hairstyles all leave me drooling. One of my favorite 1940s fashion styles that I see in the movies is the “snood.”
A snood is head scarf, usually netted in the 1940s, that fits almost like a hood. Hair is fitted inside a sort of a sack that sits on the back of the head.
Snoods were worn in the Middle Ages, 1860s and were again reintroduced during World War II, not only for fashion but to keep hair from getting caught in machinery while doing war work.
The first time I wore my snood.
As my hair has been getting longer, I was trying to figure out different ways to style it and keep it out of my face, so I decided to bring my classic film tastes and love for 1940s fashion into my life and bought a snood.
While some snoods tie, mine is elastic.
To wear it, I brushed my hair back away from my face, pinned it in place behind my ears with two bobby pins on each side, and put my hair inside the snood. I set the snood about half way back on my head.
While I was worried about looking like a lunch lady with a hair net, I’ve gotten several compliments on the snood and only a few from friends, jokingly saying I look like a sheep herder.
To review: I love wearing my snood and it successfully keeps my hair out of my face while giving me both a modern, yet vintage look. The one I bought was only $5 on ebay, but I plan to buy more decorative snoods in the future.
Here are some other classic actresses sporting the snood look:
Barbara Stanwyck with Henry Fonda in “The Lady Eve” (1941) wearing a snood.
Ginger Rogers in “The Major and the Minor” with a snood.
Ann Sheridan in “Thank Your Lucky Stars” (1943) with a snood
Stop by back in January for another classic actress beauty tip.
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Actress Beauty Tip #26: *Halloween Edition*
This is the twenty-sixth installment of the monthly classic actress beauty tips that I have read about and tsted.
Need ideas thinking of a Halloween costume? This Comet Over Hollywood beauty tip is dedicated to one fairly easy classic movie related costume.
**This is a beauty tip requested by Page from My Love for Old Hollywood**
Elizabeth Taylor as “Cleopatra” in the 1963 epic.
Though Egyptian queen Cleopatra has been played by Theda Bara in 1917 and Claudette Colbert in 1934, the version that is best remembered is the 192 minute 1963 extravaganza starring Elizabeth Taylor. If you Google “Cleopatra make-up,” most of the photos and tutorials model their make-up off of Taylor’s portrayal.
What do you do: Put on a ton of eye make-up. Seriously.
I honestly didn’t follow a structured make-up video, I just looked at the above picture of Liz Taylor and copied it the best I could.
1. I used black Revlon liquid eye liner and drew large, swooping rectangles to the sides of my eyes and filled them in. I also lined my bottom lid with a very thin line.
2. I used a turquoise colored Revlon powder eye shadow and applied that all the way up to my eyebrow and to where the extended eyeliner ended.
3. Put on a tad bit of bronzer. I’m pretty pale and didn’t want to look like a ghost with so much heavy make up.
4. Put on a black wig and some sort of headdress or band to go with it. I had a gold sequined headband that came in handy. Maybe throw on some large, gold, Egyptian looking earrings and jewelry as well.
5. Since I have blond eyebrows and was wearing a black wig, I applied some dark gold eye shadow to my eyebrows so the hair would match better.
Tad-ah! Now you look like Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra. Or Cher. Whichever you prefer.
J.P. dressed up as Cleopatra. This was so much fun, but I look ridiculous in a wig.
To review: So you end up looking a little ridiculous, but I always have a blast putting on a ton of make up that you would never wear in your daily life.
Whatever you decide to be for Halloween, have fun and stay safe! If it’s classic movie related, stop by Comet and share your photos.
Tune in next month for November’s beauty tip.
Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page for the latest updates.
Actress Beauty Tip #25: Sophia Loren skin
This is the twenty-fifth installment of the monthly classic actress beauty tips that I have read about and tested.
Sophia Loren in the 1950s in LIFE magazine.
In honor of Sophia Loren’s 78th birthday today, I tried out her secret to health and beauty: olive oil.
The Italian sex symbol and Oscar winner, added a few table spoons of olive oil into her food. She also rubbed olive oil into her skin and added a few cap fulls into her bath to give her skin a glossy glow, according to Glamour.
If you remember, I also tried an olive oil related beauty tip in August, rinsing my hair witholive oil like Rita Hayworth did. Being oily makes my skin crawl, so I didn’t rub it into my skin. So I bathed with olive oil in a different way: I used it to shave my legs.
WARNING: This will leave your shower slippery due to the olive oil, so make sure to use soap to clean your shower afterwords. I’ll admit, I almost fell a few times.
Instead of using soap or shaving cream I used olive oil, after reading that it would give a closer shave.
Not only did it give a really close shave but also left my skin smooth, though slightly greasy.
To review: I liked the results and the slight oiliness wasn’t an issue, the only real annoyance was the mess it left in the shower. Otherwise, I will probably try this again.
Stop by back in October for another classic actress beauty tip. I plan on trying out classic film related make-up tutorials that can be used for Halloween!
Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page for the latest updates.
Actress Beauty Tip #24: Rita Hayworth olive oil hair rinse
This is the twenty-fourth installment of the monthly classic actress beauty tips that I have read about and tested.
This post is part Day 8 TCM Summer Under the Stars Blogathon for Rita Hayworth Day on TCM.
Rita Hayworth in the 1940s
Rita Hayworth is best known for her beautiful, flowing red hair. The love goddess was one of the most beautiful actresses of the 1940s and 1950s and caused an outrage when she cut her long hair short and dyed it blond for “Lady from Shanghai.” Her hair cut was part of the reason the movie failed in the box offices.
I’ve always wanted to look more like Rita Hayworth, who is one of my favorite actresses, but I didn’t go as far as dying my hair from blond to auburn. Instead, tried something that kept Hayworth’s locks looking lush.
Hayworth used to condition her hair with oil after shampooing for shine and softness, according to Glamour magazine.
As someone with oily hair, I balked at this beauty tip. But tried it anyways.
This is what I did, as instructed by Glamour:
WARNING: This will leave your shower slippery due to the olive oil, so make sure to use soap to clean your shower afterwords. I’ll admit, I almost fell a few times.
1. I shampooed my hair (shampoo of choice-Drama Clean by Herbal Essences) and rinsed.
2. Poured a large amount of olive oil in my hand and worked it through my hair.
3. Wrapped my wet hair in a towel with the olive oil in it, and let it sit for 15 minutes.
4. Rinsed my hair with hot water. Then used a small amount of shampoo to wash out the oil.
5. Poured lemon juice over my hair to cleanse my hair of the remainder oil out. Rinse.
6. Dried hair with hair dryer.
2. Poured a large amount of olive oil in my hand and worked it through my hair.
3. Wrapped my wet hair in a towel with the olive oil in it, and let it sit for 15 minutes.
4. Rinsed my hair with hot water. Then used a small amount of shampoo to wash out the oil.
5. Poured lemon juice over my hair to cleanse my hair of the remainder oil out. Rinse.
6. Dried hair with hair dryer.
At the end of it all, my hair felt a little bit oily, but not as much as expected. It ended up feeling very soft and flowy. I tested the beauty tip in the evening and washed my hair again this morning. I still felt like I could see a difference in softness after being washed again.
To review: While reviewing actress beauty tips I’ve rinsed my hair with champagne, taken a milk bath and exfoliated with sugar, but none of that bothered me as much as putting olive oil in my hair. Though it left my hair soft and silky, it was too much of a mess to actually use in my daily life. I also had planned on this to be a two-part beauty tip, ending with a Rita Hayworth hair style tutorial. However, I was concerned the lemon juice left my hair too dry and didn’t want to risk using a curling iron.
Make sure to read out other posts on Rita Hayworth during the TCM Summer Under the Stars blogathon at http://scribehardonfilm.wordpress.com/ andhttp://sittinonabackyardfence.com/ for the month long classic film celebration!
Stop by back in September for another classic actress beauty tip.
Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page for the latest updates.
