The fascination that once surrounded Marilyn Monroe is still alive today. Nearly six decades after the icon's death, we're pining for tidbits of information about her tragic life, and if we can, a glimpse into her beauty routine that helped make her one of the most desirable stars of all time.
As for this beauty routine, there is an actual physical artifact, which details exactly which products Marilyn Monroe used, and some of which you can still buy today.
"Relic", a daily skincare routine prescribed by Marilyn Hungarian dermatologist dr. Erno Laszlo, will be on display in The Museum of Makeup in New York. The flagship exhibition (Pink Jungle, 1950s Makeup in America) was supposed to open in May this year, but the organizers postponed it until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The museum's founder, Doreen Bloch, however, revealed a digital form of the artifact from the 1950s, where it says exactly how Marilyn should take care of her skin!
Care instructions by Marilyn Monroe Miller March 17, 1959 prescribed by dr. Laszlo. They are broken down by part of the day (from morning to evening), with a further classification into "evening official events" or "evenings just before rest". They are also added dietary restrictions for optimal skin health (nuts, chocolate, olives, oysters, shellfish).
Let's start at the beginning: Marilyn Monroe's beauty routine started with cleansing her skin in the morning with hard soap Erno Laszlo Active Phelityl and warm water. She was then instructed to use mattifying toner Erno Laszlo Normalizer Shake-It (this is back on sale these days), namely by shaking the bottle, soaking a cotton pad with the toner until it drips, applying it all over the face (except around the sensitive eye area) and then immediately blotting it off the face . For the eyes, Marilyn is supposed to use Erno Laszlo pHelitone eye cream, which was discontinued, and then allegedly smeared her entire face and neck with Duo-Phase powder, which the brand also no longer produces today.
For official events the actress was instructed to apply and drink her toner, then apply the eye cream all over her face, including her neck and décolleté. Then she should blot the cream with a tissue and apply the aforementioned Duo-Phase powder.
The evening routine before going to bed was a bit more complicated. First she had to clean her face with cleaning oil Erno Lazslo Active Phelityl Oil, rinse your face with water and dry it with a towel. Then it was necessary to apply to the whole face rich cream Erno Laszlo Active Phelityl Cream, which she had to remove from her face with a cotton pad soaked in tonic Erno Laszlo Controlling Lotion (again to the point of dripping from the pad). She had to dry her face again with a clean towel and apply the toner once more, only this time on her nose and chin.
Although you can't (yet) experience the Lychee Museum and see the artifact in person, you can still try Marilyn Monroe's entire beauty routine (or at least close to it) with products Erno Laszlo, which are still sold today!
HARD SOAP ERNO LASZLO ACTIVE PHELITYL SOAP
FACE CLEANSING OIL ERNO LASZLO ACTIVE PHELITYL OIL
CREAM ERNO LASZLO ACTIVE PHELITYL CREAM
TONIC ERNO LASZLO CONTROLLING LOTION
MORE ERNO LASZLO PRODUCTS
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