Marble in a bra and gold on a wig: how the famous beauties of the past were preened

Joan Crawford moistened her eyes with acid, Marilyn Monroe sewed marble into her bra, and Marlene Dietrich sprinkled gold dust on her wigs. Here are some beauty secrets of the famous screen queens of the last century.

Oscar winner Joan Crawford put boric acid in her eyes to make them bright, shimmering. This is a weak acid, which was used in the farm as a stain remover, insecticide, fire retardant and antiseptic. And today it has really become the basis of many eye drops.

Crawford also argued that you should wash your hair with raw eggs, and dilute the shampoo with red wine or rum to add beauty to your hair. She also liked face masks. One of her favorite recipes was an "old-fashioned mix" of oatmeal, warm water, and honey. Of course, any cosmetic procedure must be completed before the husband returns home, since every woman does not look particularly attractive with a mask on her face or with curlers on her hair.

Joan wrote that you need to have a face that seems to say "yes" and looks cheerful and friendly at any time. This, in her opinion, is a necessary component for preserving youth and beauty. All the cosmetics of the world are not able to hide an unfriendly expression: "Have you ever noticed that when you say no, you start to look like a prune?»

And here, Joan has a face like a sour prune.

Marilyn Monroe left behind an amazing legacy of beauty enhancement secrets, but it wasn't an easy feat. 

For example, she used five different shades of lip gloss and lipstick — dark red on the outer corners of the lips, lighter shades in the middle to add volume, very bright notes on the upper parts of both lips to highlight them. Today, she would have just enlarged her lips with injections. 

Lighter shades in the middle to add size, and bright notes on the crest of the upper and lower lips.

In addition, Marilyn not only slept in a bra, which, in her opinion, prevented sagging breasts, but also sewed marbles to it. Thanks to this, it seemed as if the nipples were always hard. The same effect was achieved by the actress with three buttons sewn together and placed inside the bra.

Many actresses shaved their faces with a razor, but Marilyn Monroe liked her downy cheeks.

Brown-haired by nature, Monroe used several different types of cream to make the skin light, shimmering and protected from the sun. She also refused to shave the hair off her face, because she liked how it shone thanks to them when shooting.

Here, the actress is in all her glory: in a bra with marbles, with glowing skin on her face.

The star of the 50s Gloria Graham was known for her sexy look and dark lipstick: then few people used it, and it was somewhat shocking. Due to an unsuccessful cosmetic surgery, the actress was paralyzed by the upper lip. Then she decided to stuff it with cotton balls, which made it difficult to kiss, since the cotton was soaked with saliva. And the actress did not get the expected result.

Vincent Curcio, the actor who wrote a book about Graham's life, said that colleagues of the actress complained that she constantly had to run to the bathroom to replace the cotton and put on lipstick again.

Yes, Graham had a problem with kissing…

Actress Audrey Hepburn's legendary make-up artist Alberto de Rossi used a pin to separate her already mascara-covered lashes to achieve the famously disarming hair-eye look.

Marlene Dietrich demanded that her wigs were powdered with real gold before shooting, which made them shine brightly. Such quirks cost the star a pretty penny, but she could afford it, because at one point she was the highest-paid movie star in the world.

Silent film actress Fanny Ward was known for her"eternal youth". She tried to maintain her youthful appearance by hanging upside down. Ward was convinced that it made the blood rush to the skin of the face, which rejuvenated it. According to rumors, the actress underwent plastic surgery, but she denied it.

Selena Royle, a radio, television, and film actress in the mid‑1940s, recommended that housewives stick diamond-shaped sticky tape between their eyebrows to keep their skin from wrinkling. It was not necessary to go with her constantly, but only during the performance of routine homework. According to Selena, so it was possible not only to do the work, but also to update and restore their beauty.