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You Face Savers

I bet, thinking back, you couldn’t even count the number of times you’ve heard someone say, “Her face is her fortune, and she takes good care of it.” Well, this doesn’t necessarily have to apply only to hopeful young starlets and famous movie queens. It can also apply to you! After all, you’ve got a job to succeed at, a man to please—or catch—and an ego that strives to be recognized. What girl hasn’t? And what girl wouldn’t like to be told how to make the best of what she’s got. A quick vote would show—everyone of us would. Yet, how many young girls with young faces forget that faces, too, grow older. “The time to cultivate a beauty routine is now, before those tiny lines and unnecessary wrinkles appear,” warn Hollywood’s maestros of make-up—M-G-M’s Bill Tuttle, 20th’s Ben Nye and the Westmore brothers, Perc, Wally and Bud—who tell you how.



First step in your regular beauty routine nay the above experts, is to make it a rule to cleanse your face thoroughly—the Hollywood way. This is how: First, remove all traces of old make-up with cleansing cream. Apply a liberal amount to your face and neck in gentle, upward, circular motion. Then remove the cream with tissues and wash your face with warm water (never hot) and a mild soap. Use a face cloth that is rough enough to cleanse and stimulate your skin but not too harsh so as to irritate.






If your skin is dry, suggests Ben Nye, “Play down the soap and water routine, which tends to be drying, and do your cleansing with cream only. You might also wear a good night cream to bed and apply a little to your neck and elbows. However, if your skin is oily,” Ben advises, “soap and water and plenty of it.” The important point is to cleanse your face thoroughly before going to sleep at night and before every single new application of make-up. “A clean skin looks fresh and is easier to make up,” says Ben from long experience. “The cosmetic blends evenly and gives a smooth, natural look.”

“After cleansing, you’re ready to apply your make-up,” says U.I.’s Bud Westmore. “Begin, naturally, with a make-up base. And, for best results, apply the liquid or cream base with the tip of your finger in small dots, then blend evenly, using a circular motion, all over your entire face and neck.”



When choosing a make-up base, select a shade that is a little darker than your natural skin tone. By using a base that is too light, the experts say, you can add ten years to your age since it shows up every flaw. A safe and simple way to choose the proper color, incidentally, is to apply a little on the top part of your hand. The proper tone should be a little darker than your skin.

After your foundation cream, Perc suggests the following order for applying other cosmetics: rouge, eyeshadow, then a light dusting of powder, eyebrow pencil, mascara and finally lipstick.

“For obvious reasons,” says Perc, “rouge should follow the foundation cream, with which it must be blended; eyeshadow should be put on before you powder, lipstick after you’ve powdered and so on. It is most important to apply your make-up in the proper order to eliminate the danger of blotchy make-up and a heavy made-up look.”

Of course, the amount of make-up you use and the color depends upon your age and your coloring and face type.






According to Bill Tuttle, teenagers should use make-up sparingly. “Exactly at what age a teenager begins to use make-up varies with her maturity and what the other girls are doing. But usually at thirteen, or even twelve, most of today’s junior misses want to wear lipstick. For them, I advise a very pale shade, prefer- ably a coral shade, which looks more natural. A little cheek rouge can be used but it must be blended in very carefully, using a tissue to apply it in order to avoid a straight-line painted look. Lipstick and rouge should always be in the same color range. A pink lipstick demands a pinktinted rouge, for instance. Later on, teen-age towheads and redheads can use a little eyebrow pencil. But brunettes with dark brown lashes and eyebrows don’t need any further eye accent. Teenagers can also use mascara—ever so lightly for evening occasions—but it must be applied only to the upper lash, never to the lower. And they should always use a brown pencil and mascara for the most natural results. A teenager should never, no matter what her coloring, use eyeshadow. It’s a giveaway that this is a youngster who’s trying to look grown-up.



“For teenagers who are going through a physical change and suffer skin problems, such as pimples or acne, a foundation cream is not recommended. While a base may not hurt, it definitely does not help the problem complexion,” explained Bill Tuttle.

If you have any minor beauty faults, make-up can be helpful. Arlene Dahl makes a beauty spot of her mole. Anne Francis goes one step further and pencils hers, lest it be overlooked.

Wally Westmore says he doesn’t know why girls want to hide their freckles. “They’re cute,” he insists. “But if you’re freckle-conscious, stay out of the sun to begin with. Then, if you have them, go around with a nice, fresh scrubbed look and show them off.”






“On some people,” says Bill Tuttle, “freckles are very becoming.” (Look at Kate Hepburn, Joan Crawford or Myrna Loy. Their allure is legendary.) “But for girls who have complexes about freckles—and most of them do—a little light foundation is helpful. It will help subdue them. But don’t ever try to cover them completely,” he warns, “or your face will lose its individuality and look more like a mask.”

For the girl who suffers over excess hair on her face, there are a number of good depilatories and waxes available which can be used safely and, in many ways, successfully. But these are temporary solutions. However, if you do use one, take special caution to read the label carefully to see if it can be used on your face. “The surest method of removing superfluous hair,” advises Wally Westmore, “is by electrolysis. While it takes a little while to complete, the removal is permanent if done by an authorized and experienced person.”



If acne’s the problem, the encouraging thought is that this is temporary. Don’t use creams on your face or cream base make-up. Wash your face frequently with soap and warm water. And use a little face powder if you like. The most important step for you, however, is to consult a good dermatologist.

“The most important complexion aid though is proper diet. Many sweets and rich foods are partly responsible for a lot of skin problems. So many of our young stars have gone through this period—Liz Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell. One soda fountain binge and their faces would break out,” says Bill Tuttle.

“The lack of proper sleep can also affect a skin badly,” Bill continued. “We find that when a star is working very hard with lots of overtime, her skin becomes very difficult to make up. It seems to repel cosmetics.






“Proper cleansing and lubrication, proper diet and plenty of sleep are necessary if you want your face to have a fresh and flowery look—the natural look that is today’s new look!”

Older girls, too, should strive for a natural beauty look. Use all make-up, say the experts, but apply it cleverly. Blonds, above all, should make certain their make-up achieves a soft natural effect.

Blonds should apply rouge sparingly and make certain their costume harmonizes with the cosmetic coloring. Match the lipstick to the costume is what they do in the movies. An orange dress demands an orange lipstick.



Paramount’s Wally Westmore says, “The reason blonds have to be so careful with their make-up is that they can look hard by using make-up which contrasts too much with their light hair and skin. They can best overcome an unnatural look by using a pastel base and never using black mascara or eyebrow pencil. Brown mascara is preferred—a brown with an amber, not a red, cast. If you’re a blond, always consider the degree of contrast between your hair, eyes and skin and play it down. The lighter your complexion, the paler your lip and cheek rouge should be. If your hair and skin are very light, a light touch of eyebrow pencil and mascara is really quite sufficient. The worst mistake you can make is to wear too-dark, and too much mascara and eye pencil. Just look at Grace Kelly, she wears her make-up so discreetly that in all appearances, she looks like a natural beauty.



“Blonds like Marilyn Monroe, redheads like Arlene Dahl,” says Ben Nye, “should use lip and cheek rouge in a red that leans toward orange. Otherwise, their skin looks sallow. If your skin tends to be sallow, choose a powder base with a pink tint and a lipstick and cheek rouge in a warmer pink.”

“Some of our stars like to have highlights on the cheekbones and the tip of the chin, which gives a glossy look. In that case, powder can be used sparingly. When using powder, girls should never rub it on their faces, pat it, is the proper way. Powder, too, should never be much lighter than your base.

As for choosing eyeshadow, Perc Westmore suggests, “Brown eyeshadow for hazel, brown and black eyes. Blue-gray for blue, green and gray eyes. For most eyes brown mascara is the most attractive.



“Never,” say the Westmores, “use bizarre colors like purple, green, silver or gold. Keep to the natural colors and never apply eyeshadow with the same density over the entire lid. Start the first application at the lash line and blend it up and over the fullness of the eyelid delicately. Never use eyeshadow under the eye for this gives a theatrical effect. And if your eyes are small or deep set, use a minimum of eyeshadow or none at all in the hollow of the eye next to the nose. Remember, the function of eyeshadow is to define the eye and add contrast to the whiteness of the eyes.”

“A full brow, such as Susan Cabot’s, Julie Adams’, is a beauty asset,” says Bud Westmore. “If your brows are heavy and bushy, you must shape them. But never pluck from the top of the brow, always from underneath, gently arching the brow and cleaning up widely separated hairs. Also pluck any hairs between your brows—otherwise you will look as though you’re frowning. Don’t pluck too much either—thin brows are passe.”



Your eyes are shaped, clean and neat. Now apply your eyebrow pencil. In using the pencil, look straight into the mirror and make sure,” warns Bill Tuttle, “that the line of the brow is exactly parallel to the line of the eyelid. Start penciling right over the inside corner of the eye, beginning with very light strokes and deepening the stroke as you reach the center, which should be the darkest part. Then shade off again to the end of the brow. Lift the ends a little so they don’t slant down and give you a tired look. The proper way to use a pencil is to make short, light hair strokes, not one continuous hard line which gives a harsh, drawn effect.



The recommended way to apply mascara, which is the next step in making up your face, is to gently pull out the eyelid to the side and upward. At the same time, begin applying the mascara freely to the entire top lashes. This will prevent the lid from fluttering. It is much better to use a minimum of mascara lightly, feathering the lashes a little at a time and building it up gradually. Have a clean extra brush handy. If the mascara clots, you can brush it out and separate the hairs. If your eyelashes are straight, curling improves them and makes them appear longer. It also makes the eyes appear larger. Janet Leigh always curls her lashes, which are long but straight. The trick of curling lashes is not to squeeze the curler too tightly too long, or the lashes will go upward but in a very unnatural way. Simply squeeze firmly for a few seconds before applying your mascara—that’s all the time that is needed.



Your eyes are completely made up. Now to your lips: “Before applying lipstick make certain your lips are dry. Moist lips cause lipstick to roll and look caked. Lipstick should first be applied to the upper lip; then gently and firmly close your mouth, rolling the upper lip over the lower lip to give a proportionate outline on the bottom lip. Remove excess lipstick by pressing the lips with a cleansing tissue.

“And if you’re trying to make your lips fuller,” added Wally Westmore, “never carry the rouge too far over the normal lip line. I would say, not over one-eighth of an inch. A lipstick brush is excellent for applying lipstick, so if you can possibly get yourself one and learn to use it, you’ll find the results worth the practice in the beginning.”



As for lipstick colors, blonds should remember, if their skin and hair is light, the lipstick contrast should not be great. Stick to light shades.

And if you’re a brunette? Well, take your beauty tip from dark Jean Peters, who off-screen, uses a lipstick in a true shade of red for daytime appearances, a bright, pinkish lipstick for evening, which looks simply stunning with a black costume.



“Many brunettes,” says Ben Nye, “have an idea they should use dark lipstick.” This is a mistake because it gives a sullen, heavy look. Mitzi Gaynor’s one gal who knows how to wear make-up. Notice how natural and alive she always looks; Mitzi’s learned a lot about applying cosmetics. Now that you’ve properly applied your make-up, take a look in your mirror. Notice the difference? You should be a 1955 natural beauty like Liz Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, Janie Powell and Piper Laurie —all of whom have been praised as “natural looking beauties.” Off-screen, they look as though they’re hardly wearing any make-up. You know their secret. They accent their lips with natural-looking contours in complimentary shades and rely on a light dusting of powder or foundation to give that fresh bloom. But, after all, when you think about it, it’s just plain smart sense to use make-up discreetly, isn’t it? Why broadcast your secrets. Macy’s never tells Gimbel’s.

THE END

 

It is a quote. PHOTOPLAY MAGAZINE AUGUST 1955



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