Updated June 15, 2019 15.3K votes 3.9K voters 405.2K views
Over 3.9K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of Marilyn Monroe's Beauty Secrets
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Vote up the tips that'll have you looking as legendary as Marilyn herself.
Thanks to Instagram, YouTube, and reality TV, you can get insights into your favorite beauty gurus’ makeup techniques on a daily basis, and apply their glamorous tips in an instant. The beauty secrets of style icon Marilyn Monroe are harder to come by, though. But who doesn't want an intimate look at Monroe's routine?
Nailing that signature Marilyn Monroe style isn’t easy. The bombshell blonde was meticulous when it came to applying makeup and taking care of her skin - which is probably why the Marilyn Monroe makeup routine is so legendary, even decades after her untimely demise.
Wondering how to look like Marilyn Monroe? These inventive beauty hacks will give you all the tools you need to transform into a screen siren.
The magic of Marilyn Monroe was that she managed to look incredibly glamorous and totally relatable at the same time. Part of that impossible-to-pinpoint allure had to do with her trick for natural-looking lashes. To get longer, thicker lashes that still looked natural, Marilyn Monroe cut her falsies in half and only applied the miniature strip to the outer corners of each eye.
Marilyn Monroe's bedtime routine started when she plunged her face into a hot bowl of water as an evening beauty treatment. From there, she would undress completely (Monroe famously hated PJs and nightgowns) and crawl into her extra-wide bed with a luxurious down comforter. She knew how to sleep in, too. The star shared:
"On Sunday, which is my one day of total leisure, I sometimes take two hours to wake up, luxuriating in every last moment of drowsiness."
Ever wonder how contouring began? Well Marilyn Monroe was one the earliest to try it, of course! Her makeup artist used blush to contour her cheeks, as is customary - but then he took it a step further by using blush to contour Monroe's nose. Just a dab of pink powder at the tip created a shortening effect, making her nose look more button-like.
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She Took Beauty Tips From Her Acting Hero, Greta Garbo
Before Marilyn Monroe was a beauty icon in her own right, she looked up to her beauty icon - Greta Garbo. Monroe loved Garbo's signature eye makeup, which included brushing white eyeshadow all over the lid, all the way up to the brow bone and into the inner corners of the eye. The technique created more depth, and Monroe couldn't get enough. She even called it her "Greta Garbo eye."
"Despite its great vogue in California, I don’t think suntanned skin is any more attractive... or any healthier, for that matter. I’m personally opposed to a deep tan because I like to feel blonde all over."
Monroe stayed out of the sun and slathered her face in cold cream and lanolin.
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Marilyn Monroe Arched Her Brows To Balance Her Wide Face
The shape of your eyebrows totally depends on the shape of your face, but Marilyn Monroe knew exactly which shape would work for her round, cherub-like features. She favored arched brows with a slight angle, and had her makeup artist draw on her pointed brows whenever they worked together. She believed that a sharp peak would minimize the wideness of her forehead.
