Keep It Secret—Betty Garrett

Betty Garrett and Larry Parks, as everyone knows, were separated so often when they were first married that many odd things happened. Betty tells how Larry once flew East to stay a few days with Betty and her mother When a reporter called one evening, Betty’s mother announced, “Miss Garrett can’t come to the phone. Miss Garrett and Mr. Parks are in bed.”

These separations had one advantage. Every time Larry came to New York where Betty was playing on Broadway, there never was a time when he saw his bride looking less than her most glamorous self.

Now these separations are a thing of the past. But still the honeymoon isn’t over, as far as Betty’s appearance is concerned.

Happiness, says Betty, is a great boon to looking beautiful. But nature being what it is, you have to give it an assist. A man gets quite a jolt the first time he sees the girl of his dreams with her hair in curlers and her face smeared with cold cream. “Spare the poor man this shock,” she says. “You don’t have to go to bed with cold cream messing up your face, not to mention your pillow. Some time during the afternoon, while your husband is at the office, or out playing golf, put on your cold cream so it can lubricate your skin for an hour or two.

“No man,” emphasizes Betty, “likes to be reminded of beauty tricks. He’d rather not see you messing around with cold cream. It is a smart girl who continues to do her beautifying in private after she promises to love, honor and keep down the bills.”

Betty knows a girl who was so anxious to appear at her best whenever her bridegroom’s eyes were upon her that she solemnly hid a powder puff and a comb under her pillow every night and told her mental alarm clock to wake her up early in order that she might use them before being seen. In this way she avoided that early-morning “fright wig” appearance.

Betty has straight hair, has to have a permanent occasionally, and three times a week puts her hair up in curls with bobby-pins. This doesn’t have to be done at night necessarily. If she pins it up in the daytime she ties tulle around her head—and most becoming, too. Lucille Ball introduced her to this tulle gimmick. You can even go to market with your bobby-pins concealed by tulle.

Larry, like most men, doesn’t like to be seen in public with a girl who is always thinking about her make-up and her hair. “However,” says Betty, “every girl knows she definitely does not look her best with a shiny nose and a mouth from which the lipstick has receded to the outer rim. And every girl also knows that hot food and drink are apt to make the most carefuly lipsticked mouth look awful. But most men don’t like to see us pulling out compacts and lipsticks in restaurants and public places.”

What to do? Oh my, what strength of mind it takes for a girl to remain unmoved and keep a charming hold on the conversation when she’s worried about the way she looks.

The best answer to the problem seems to be to put on make-up so well and carefully, in the first place, that it will withstand a fair amount of sociability. Be stingy with powder foundation. A very little bit goes a long way. Too much will cause your powder to cake after a short time and also will increase the tendency to perspire. Before you powder always rub a tissue gently over your face to remove surplus foundation. Powder generously and then brush off what will come off. After that you can be pretty sure your nose will stay well-groomed.

Lipstick isn’t so amenable. It does eat off. Betty used to cope with that problem by not putting it on too heavily when she knew she had some eating to do. But, recently, she has discovered a lipstick that doesn’t come off! “I’ve always had trouble with lipstick,” she admits. “I get it on my teeth, nose, cheeks—maybe my face is too rubbery. I eat it off with the first bite.” Now she puts on her new lipstick, allows it to “set” fifteen minutes, then wipes most of it off. And it stays forever, she claims. “Very handy,” says Betty, “for those kissing scenes in pictures.”

Betty, who has now gone through the young working girl period, the young bride period, and the young mother period, emphasizes that at none of these periods should a girl let herself get slovenly.

The bride who manages to look fresh and crisp and sweet when her lord and master comes home stands a darned good chance of being adored forever.

For the young working girl who rushes home from the office, tired to her very bones, but who has to keep a date with her best boy friend, or greet her husband, Betty recommends an unusual skin freshener. Clean face thoroughly with cold cream. Wipe most of it off with tissue, but leave a little on. Then pat honey (the eating kind), into the skin. This tightens the skin and draws blood to the surface. Wash it off. Then take ice wrapped in tissue and pat face. Put powder on with a clean puff or cotton pad (why do girls always hang on to dirty powder puffs?), take tissue and wipe residue off. “And,” says Betty, “you feel like a million.”

Betty has some thoughts for a mother-to-be, too. She thinks that the right color has a lot to do with perking up a woman’s morale during pregnancy. Black, of course, minimizes the size more than any other color, but black is very hard on the spirits, which are at their droopingest during that period. Dark blue also minimizes the size and isn’t depressing. Betty made her own maternity clothes. She chose vibrant colors—yellows and salmon pink. Betty also feels that if you keep interest concentrated about your face by the addition of a flower or a spick-and-span collar, a pretty hat, a clean face and shiny hair, no one will notice your figure.

A woman’s two great beauty worries during pregnancy, reminds Betty, are her teeth and hair. The only thing to do about your teeth, besides what you normally do, is see a dentist regularly. Hair is something else again. Just as the skin improves during pregnancy for most women, the hair goes from bad to worse. Even curly hair often becomes stringy and unattractive. Give it a good scalp massage at least once a week. Follow that by rubbing olive or castor oil into the scalp. Leave the oil on for an hour and then have a good vigorous shampoo. Even if you were a little lax about it before, during pregnancy you must brush your hair regularly.

Don’t fail to get yourself the best pregnancy brassieres. Some of the Hollywood stars even wear them all night.

When you are pregnant, you should watch your grooming as you never did before. Smocks can be very becoming, especially when made in gay, morale-lifting colors. Make your face look as beautiful as possible to compensate for what’s happening to the rest of your body.

Above all, always, Betty advises, be of good cheer. It’s the greatest, fastest, most enduring beauty aid in the world.

THE END

—BY ANITA COLBY

 

It is a quote. PHOTOPLAY MAGAZINE JUNE 1950