Royals are just like the rest of us, or so it seems with beauty regimens. From Marie Antoinette’s anti-aging face mask to drugstore must-haves one famous duchess stocks up on at the palace, get a taste of the princess life with these seven royal beauty secrets the ladies of royalty have employed throughout the centuries.
1. Marie Antoinette
Little did Marie Antoinette know in the 18th century that her signature face mask would become a beauty staple for French women to this day. The royal concoction consists of mixing two teaspoons of cognac, 1/3 cup dry milk powder, one egg white and the juice of one lemon. Every ingredient has its purpose: the cognac stimulates circulation and tightens pores, the egg repairs skin tissue, while the milk’s lactic acid dissolves sebum and the lemon’s citric acid removes dead skin cells.
2. Queen Elizabeth I
Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I often depict her with an extremely pale face and high forehead. To master this Elizabethan beauty ideal and live up to her image as a “Virgin Queen,” Elizabeth applied a toxic medley of white lead and vinegar, known as ceruse, to her skin (note: this is obviously unsafe for modern day uses). The Queen also plucked her hairline back to reveal a shapely forehead.
3. Queen Victoria
This queen was notorious for keeping foul smells at bay by wearing gloves perfumed with rose oil.
4. Queen Elizabeth II
The reigning Queen of England is known for her love of lipstick. When she was crowned in 1952, Elizabeth had a special shade of red-blue lipstick created that was named after her Scottish country home, The Balmoral,” to match her royal coronation robes.
5. Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco
The newly-minted royal was on the anti-aging bandwagon, even in the ‘50s. Grace Kelly, aka the Princess of Monaco, often applied hand cream to her hands, believing that they belie the first signs of aging.
6. Princess Diana
As Princess Di’s personal makeup artist, Mary Greenwell first talked her out of using blue eyeliner since “blue eyes should never wear blue pencil or shadow.” She says that Diana kept “everything in moderation. She cut back on drinking so her skin was 100 percent,” while never leaving home without her mascara.
7. Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge
From her perfect hair to rosy flush, everyone is dying to know the Duchess of Cambridge’s beauty secrets. One thing’s for sure – Kate loves a drugstore steal. The Duchess is a fan of Nivea’s Soft Moisturizing Crème and rosehip oil to fight wrinkles.
Source: Marie Claire
