After several months of mulling and researching, I give you my best effort to compile Marilyn Monroe's beauty tips and tricks. It was hard work because she did her best to keep them secret, but she lived her life surrounded by people and a few trickled out to the public.
Marilyn's Figure:
5'5" 1/2 tall
36-24-34
Weighed 117 pounds at the time of her death
Heaviest weight was 140 pounds
Shoe size was a size 7
*Marilyn jogged long before it was a popular exercise
*Lifted weights when it was only a man's sport
*Undertook a series of stretches every morning when she woke up
Marilyn Monroe was extremely body-conscious. She took great pains to shape and preserve her figure. An urban legend is that Marilyn Monroe was today's size 14 and that she was a full-figured woman. While this would be a nice ego boost for the non-skinny of us, it simply isn't true. All one need do is look at pictures of Marilyn to see that she was an extremely trim, small individual. She was an hourglass, but by no means ever wore a plus size. A size 14 then is a small size today.
Marilyn's Hair:
Natural Color was a reddish brown
Curly-headed
Hair ranged from golden blonde to platinum throughout her life
Marilyn's idol, Jean Harlow, was the inspiration for her hair. After she made a name for herself, Marilyn employed the hair dresser who dyed and took care of Harlow's hair. Unfortunately by the end of her life, all of those dye jobs had started to take a toll and Marilyn's hair was falling out and fraying.
Marilyn's Skin:
Fair
Marilyn took obsessive care of her skin. She used Shu Uemura, Nivea, Hormone Cream, Vaseline, and Cold Cream throughout her life. After cleansing her face, she splashed her skin 15 times with as cold a water as she could stand. If she wasn't going somewhere special afterward, she slathered Vaseline or Hormone cream all over her face. This habit often embarrassed her friends because she would run errands with a greasy face. This also led to fuzzy cheeks later in her life.
If she was going on a date or to an event, Marilyn still applied Vaseline, but then covered that with a fine powder. She then applied more Vaseline followed by more powder, which she repeated over and over until she got a flawless look.
Marilyn did not like the look of tan skin and took great pains to protect her fair complexion.
Marilyn's Makeup
Used Elizabeth Arden, Max Factor, and some Guerlain
Marilyn's makeup was most important to her. She spent hours putting it on and perfecting it. This led to her being late for shootings and interviews because she was never sure she looked good enough.
I won't say too much about her makeup because there are so many other great sites about her makeup application and, honestly, it's exhausting to repeat all of it! Just know that eyes and lips are equally important and she worked laboriously on both. She used as many as five shades of lipstick on her mouth to give them fullness and depth. She always wore false eyelashes.
Here is a great site. She has put a lot of work into this and I consider this the best page about Marilyn's makeup: http://teamsugar.com/group/137941/blog/197582
Random Trivia:
*Cut a quarter of an inch of one heel to give herself a sexy walk
*Bathed in Chanel No. 5
*Laid in ice baths to smooth skin
*Underwent regular colonic irrigation treatments to slim herself
*Used Greta Garbo as inspiration for eye makeup
*Also used olive oil on her face
