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The product Marilyn Monroe used to keep her skin glowing

Monroe's classmate revealed secret behind her 'luminous skin' 

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Wednesday 13 November 2019 20:59 GMT
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Marilyn Monroe used this ingredient to keep skin glowing (Getty)
Marilyn Monroe used this ingredient to keep skin glowing (Getty)

Marilyn Monroe may have had access to the best skincare products in the world, but she relied on a drugstore brand to keep her skin glowing.

According to actress Renée Taylor, who attended the same theatre school as the late model, Monroe had a very specific habit for moisturising her skin - and it included lots of Vaseline.

Taylor recalled her classmate’s beauty tip while speaking at an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York.

“Marilyn Monroe had the most luminous skin I ever saw,” Taylor said, according to Page Six. “She came into class with Lee Strasberg one day and I just had to ask what she did.

“Marilyn told me: ‘I rub my entire body down with Vaseline and then get into a three-hour hot bath every morning. It gives my skin a shiny glow.’”

But, according to Taylor, she didn’t have the same luck with the technique.

“So I tried that. I almost drowned,” she said.

In addition to bathing in petroleum jelly, Monroe used the product before applying makeup so she would always have a dewy look, according to her dermatologist Erno Laszlo, who revealed the model also relied on Active Phelityl Cream, a moisturiser.

Monroe’s skincare routine also included Pond’s cold cream cleanser, Elizabeth Arden Eight-Hour Cream, and olive oil to keep her skin healthy and glowing, according to Vogue.

The model, who died at the age of 36 in 1962, also kept her skin out of the sun because she didn’t think “suntanned skin is any more attractive… or any healthier” and liked to “feel blonde all over”.

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