The creation of the famous, almost monochrome, Monroe "face" - platinum hair ( a shade known as " dirty pillow blonde"),luminous skin,, black lashes, and scarlet lips - was never the work of the film studios, or a team of professionals, but something that she herself developed and honed over the years. She did , however, work with Allan "Whitney" Snyder throughout her life; he did her make-up for her first screen test, and at her request ( made many years before) fortified by Gin , he made her up for her burial. Marilyn was always famous for her unique ability to light up the screen: even in black and white photographs, her skin has a strange luminous quality that seemed to attract and hold light. The secret to this radiance has quite mundane origins: From and early age, Marilyn would cover her face with Vaseline to prevent wrinkles. As she was apparently warned, over the years it appear to have encourage a downy layer of facile hair to grow, which trapped the light and created a shimmering aureole.
(A black metal box containing (among other things) Three of Marilyn vintage Max Factor's lipsticks recently fetched a whooping $266,500 when it went up for auction at Christies. The box wich was sold to Ripleys Bealive It Or Not, contains scads of Marilyn memorabilia, including a set of flash eyelashes by Glorene of Hollywood, a tube of Anitas d'Foged Day Dew cream makeup , two bottles of perufmed body lotion from the Quintess line by Shiseido, a bottle of smelling salts, two papers fans, three satin purses and two pocket mirrows. But perhaps the most valuable item in the lot wasn't even listed in the catolog." There a little bits of hairs stil stuck in the curlers, and each starnd is worth a few thousands dollars" says Edward Meyer, vice president of publishing for Ripley's Believe It Or Not. "Marilyn's hair is a very is very collectible thing. A couple of years back. We paid ten thousands dollars for a lock of it." talk about appreciation!!)
Hair:
In all her childhood pictures, Norma Jeane's hair is chestnut to reddish brown and straight. Then, around the age of puberty, her hair became wavy. " I wouldn't ever want to be a bleached blonde" Norma Jeane Dougherty told Emmeline Snively who ran the blue book modelling agency sometime in early 1946. But on the advice that with blonde hair she would photograph better, not to mentioned be in much greater demand for modelling work. Within months Norma Jean was dispatched to the "FRANK AND JOSEPH SALON" to have her naturally hair cut, straightened, and bleached. Going blonde was just the start before she became a major star in 1953. Marilyn's hair went though just about every shade of blonde: from Ash Blonde in the Asphalt Jungle (1950), to golden blonde in All About Eve (1950), to silver blonde in As Young As You Feel (1951) to Amber Blonde in Let's make it legal (1951) to honey blonde in O'henry's Full House (1952), to unbleached dark blonde in Don't bother to knock(1952) and then, at last, to platinum blonde in Monkey Business ( 1952)
Her hair was regularly bleached (By Ron Levin when she was in New York) to her exact specifications (she preferred then to set it herself ), and she also use MAX FACTOR professional hair-whitening powder to camouflage any yellow tones. Hair facts: A story was sent to me by someone that read a book called "The Blond" which features a little story about Marilyn's hair. It is called "How Marilyn Dyed Her Hair" by Simone Signoret. If you want to read it {click here} |
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LIPS:
It could take up to five shades of lipstick to give
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EYES:
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SKIN:
Marilyn was acutely aware of the power of this
During Marilyn;s first marriage Norma Jeane " She was a perfectionist about her When living with Natasha Lytess in the early Marilyn loved taking baths. Sometimes these " Sometimes I know the truth of what I'm Foundation:
For her foundation, She would also use fine layers She also studiously avoided the sun to keep As Early as 1943, with Dougherty on Catatlina
In later years Marilyn sleeped in a bra to |
Next came the creation of the (Garbo eyes)
as she herself called it. Using a white stick shadow ( often White Lustre by Elizabeth Arden)
on the eyelid and up under the brow, she then created
shadow and shape
on the socket bone with one of her smoky-toned shadows (Autumn smoke and Pearly Blue By Elizabeth Arden) to create a natural looking shadow and shading for her face, rather then the traditional and flattening browns. The eyes were then further accentuated with a black or brown eyes stopper Elizabeth Arden eye-liner, or a fluid liner, before finishing with the Glorene false lashes and layers of Rubinstine waterproof mascara.
