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Beauty secrets of famous ladies

Frenchy56

A-List Customer
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311
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here!
I found this the other day and found it very interesting/useful:http://the-lovely-marilyn-monroe.popsugar.com/Marilyns-Make-up-Secrets-Take-Two-197582

I'm not sure how accurate it actually is, but the reason why I posted it is less to open a potentially endless debate, as to say that I tried the makeup suggestions - at least to the best of my ability and with the makeup I had - and found the finished result, much, much more flattering than my current makeup! Especially the stuff about contouring (which up until now I had been too scared to do) and the downward line on the lower lash line thing (which, as the article says, sounds crazy but works). It's a bit of a step away from my 40s-style look, which is a lot sparser, but I think a more 50s look - or at least a slightly exaggerated one, which is what the guidelines gave me - suits me a lot better. If anyone tries it I'd love to know!
 

C-dot

Call Me a Cab
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2,908
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Toronto, Canada
Nice article Frenchy! thanks alot,
I also read somewhere that Jean Harlow also used to shave of her eyebrows and redraw them.

Very true, though probably not by choice: Her eyes were very deep set and hard to film on camera, so her brows were drawn much higher to bring them out.
 

C-dot

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,908
Location
Toronto, Canada
Speaking of Jean Harlow, I don't know how many of you have seen this, but it's worth posting:

JeanHarlowBeautyShop.jpg


The text reads:

"High, narrow and very arched are Jean's eyebrows. She uses a finely pointed eyebrow pencil. The high brow enlarges the eye, gives clarity, an appealing quality.

Jean uses a true red cream rouge for her lips, blending the line perfectly and carrying the colour well inside to prevent a break in tone. Those very long lashes are black.

Skin tone powder is then puffed lightly but thoroughly over Jean's face and neck, with special attention to nostrils, eye corners, and chin. And, always brush from brows.

Jean's platinum halo has probably aroused more comment and curiosity than any one feature of any star. Naturally blonde, Jean encourages whiteness by weekly shampoos with white soap and a final rinse containing a few drops of French bluing. She brushes for softness, sets her wave with water and vinegar."**

**(Of course, we know Jean's hair required much more than bluing to get it white. She was submitted to a toxic process every week, which included ammonia and Lux Flakes, that eventually cost her her hair and forced her to don a wig.)
 

W-D Forties

Practically Family
Messages
684
Location
England
I remember (or mis-remember!) a film I saw when I was very young about Mae West where a drag artist was showing a young Mae how to contour her face and apply her make-up. I can't for the life of me remember what the film was now but it was responsible for most of what I went out looking like in the 80's!

Anyone else remember this film?
 

lolly_loisides

One Too Many
Messages
1,845
Location
The Blue Mountains, Australia
I remember (or mis-remember!) a film I saw when I was very young about Mae West where a drag artist was showing a young Mae how to contour her face and apply her make-up. I can't for the life of me remember what the film was now but it was responsible for most of what I went out looking like in the 80's!

Anyone else remember this film?

I do! It was a Mae West biopic starring Ann Jillian (she was nominated for an Emmy for her performance).
[video=youtube;ImP0dBQotvM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImP0dBQotvM[/video]
 

W-D Forties

Practically Family
Messages
684
Location
England
Was there an older version of this film? This looks quite recent and the one I'm thinking of I saw about 30 years ago!

I'd really like to see this one though, it looks really good - what's it called lolly_?
 

sheeplady

I'll Lock Up
Bartender
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4,479
Location
Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, USA
I think the removing of lower ribs (along with the removing of molars) was (and I think still is) at one time quite common place. The rib removal helps to emphasize an hour-glass figure. They have been doing it with the vast majority of models since the early 1960s. (The molars help in a "thinner" face look.)
 

Clabbergirl

One of the Regulars
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227
Location
Nashville, TN
I don't know about molar removal, but historically, rib removal is purported to be a myth. One could die from the simplest of surgeries in Victorian times, let alone something major, so why take the risk when the tiniest of waists was and still can be accomplished with a corset if Mother Nature wasn't accommodating? More examples of the myth:
http://www.bringoutyourbest.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=new.view&id=259

That said, this surgery has shown up as an option with a 'tummy tuck' in recent years, along with surgery options for dozens of other body parts we females didn't know we were supposed to be insecure about. http://www.aaronstonemd.com/RibRemoval.shtm I see no info on it from the cosmetic surgeons' board, however.

From a logical standpoint, removing a rib couldn't do much for waist reduction unless one was already very, very, thin, so that their ribs were somehow the widest part of their mid-section. If that were the case, removing those lower ribs would leave vital organs even more unprotected. The easiest and cheapest way to get that hourglass figure was corsets, girdles, and not eating. Although it's interesting to me how women back then weren't starving themselves on low-fat diets.
 

sheeplady

I'll Lock Up
Bartender
Messages
4,479
Location
Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, USA
From a logical standpoint, removing a rib couldn't do much for waist reduction unless one was already very, very, thin, so that their ribs were somehow the widest part of their mid-section. If that were the case, removing those lower ribs would leave vital organs even more unprotected. The easiest and cheapest way to get that hourglass figure was corsets, girdles, and not eating. Although it's interesting to me how women back then weren't starving themselves on low-fat diets.

If you are very very thin your bottom rib sticks way out. (15 years ago it was that you had to be 5'8" or taller and under 110 pounds to get signed to a major agency as a traditional model- I don't know what it is today.) Some people are naturally missing one of their lower rib sets, some people have an extra. So I can see how a rib could be removed if some of us are naturally running around without one, logically (which doesn't mean it was done). It could also be that many women with a smaller waist naturally don't have the lowest rib, and because of selection criteria, they are the people to get promoted.

I'm not saying this in response to your post (so please don't see it as a criticism of what you said, but as a criticism of what Snopes is saying): I found the Snopes article on rib removal to be rather disgusting in the attitude it protrayed to women. Self control? Really? You couldn't think of any other way to put that Snopes? :mad: I could go off on a whole tangent, but this really isn't the place for it.

I do think that one of the things that helped many women to keep their weight down in the golden age was smoking. It helps to hold food in your stomach longer (making you feel full). Nicotine helps in appetite supression, has a laxative effect, and gives your system a boost if you are not eating that much. All of which is helpful to staying thin.
 
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Clabbergirl

One of the Regulars
Messages
227
Location
Nashville, TN
I confess I don't know how common it is to be born without the lower ribs. One might not know unless they were thoroughly examined or even x-rayed. I'm just glad rib removal hasn't become 'mainstream'. I love the hourglass shapes of the past, but I also like how women have accepted the more natural waistlines of recent years' fashion. Wonder what the next 50 years will bring.
 

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