Marbles in Bras and Gold-Dusted Wigs: How Yesterday's Screen Beauties Primped (12 photos)

Joan Crawford brightened her eyes with acid, Marilyn Monroe sewn marbles into her bra, and Marlene Dietrich dusted her wigs with real gold dust. Here are some of the most bizarre beauty secrets from the silver screen queens of the last century.





Oscar-winner Joan Crawford used to drop boric acid into her eyes to make them look bright and sparkling. Although commonly used around the house as a stain remover, insecticide, flame retardant, and antiseptic, this mild acid actually serves as the foundation for many modern eye drops today.



Crawford also swore by washing her hair with raw eggs and diluting her shampoo with red wine or rum to add extra shine. Face masks were another staple of her routine; one of her favorite go-to recipes was an "old-fashioned mixture" of oatmeal, warm water, and honey. Naturally, any beauty routine had to be wrapped up before her husband arrived home, as she maintained that no woman looks appealing wearing face cream or hair rollers.

Joan wrote that a woman should cultivate a face that seems to say "yes"—one that looks cheerful and welcoming at all times. In her view, this was essential for preserving youth and beauty, insisting that all the makeup in the world couldn't hide a sour disposition: "Have you ever noticed that when you say 'no,' your face starts looking like a prune?"





And right here, Joan is sporting a look that definitely resembles a sour prune.

Marilyn Monroe left behind a legendary playbook of beauty tricks, though maintaining her glamorous image was no walk in the park.

For instance, she used five different shades of lipstick and gloss: a dark red on the outer corners, lighter tones in the center to create volume, and high-shine highlights on the crests of her lips to make them pop. Today, she likely would have just opted for lip fillers.



Lighter shades in the middle to add dimension, and bright highlights along the crests of both lips.

Monroe also slept in a bra to prevent sagging and went so far as to sew glass marbles inside it so her nipples would always appear firm. She achieved the exact same effect by stitching three buttons together and tucking them into her bra cups.



While many actresses shaved their faces, Marilyn Monroe loved her natural peach fuzz.

A natural brunette, Monroe layered several types of cream to keep her complexion fair, radiant, and protected from the sun. She also famously refused to shave her facial hair, loving the way her fine peach fuzz caught the studio light on camera.



Here's the star in all her glory: glowing skin and marble-enhanced curves.

1950s star Gloria Grahame was famous for her sultry gaze and dark lipstick—a bold look at the time that shocked many. After a botched cosmetic procedure left her upper lip paralyzed, she resorted to stuffing cotton balls under her top lip to plump it up. This made kissing almost impossible as the cotton soaked up saliva, and it failed to deliver the desired result anyway.



Vincent Curcio, an actor who authored a biography on Grahame, noted that her co-stars frequently complained about her running off to the bathroom between takes to swap out soggy cotton and reapply her lipstick.



Safe to say, kissing was quite an ordeal for Grahame…



To achieve Audrey Hepburn's iconic, captivating doe-eyed look, legendary makeup artist Alberto de Rossi would painstakingly separate each of her eyelashes with a safety pin after applying mascara.



Marlene Dietrich insisted that her wigs be dusted with real gold dust before filming to give them a brilliant shimmer. While this extravagant habit cost a small fortune, she could certainly afford it—at one point, she was the highest-paid movie star in the world.



Silent film star Fanny Ward was famous for her "fountain of youth" appearance. Her secret to staying youthful was hanging upside down, convinced that rushing blood to her face revitalized her skin. Rumors swirled that she had undergone plastic surgery, but she always denied them.



Selena Royle, a radio, television, and film actress of the mid-1940s, advised housewives to stick a diamond-shaped piece of tape between their eyebrows to prevent frown lines. They didn't need to wear it all day—just while doing routine housework. According to Selena, it was the perfect way to get chores done while refreshing your beauty.