James Lipton raised quite a few eyebrows this week when he admitted that he used to work as a pimp in the 1950s, but he isn't the only star with a surprising, sex-related past. Lots of stars had to get their start as nude models, exotic dancers, and more before they hit it big in Hollywood. Click through to see the surprising past lives of Cameron Diaz, Channing Tatum, Javier Bardem, and more!
The key to Marilyn Monroe's smooth, glowing skin? Dr. Erno Laszlo. The iconic actress was known to be a fan of the dermatologist's products, and his namesake brand has recently launched Morning Beauty Rescue ($95) in her honor. The shiny contents, upon opening the jar, will have you humming "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend." That's because the whipped gel contains pink and silver iridescent sparkles to brighten the complexion, while pearl extract speeds up collagen production and cellular turnover. Apply all over your face before makeup as a primer, or use a dab on the cheekbones, under brows, and in the T-zone as a highlight. We're positive Marilyn would appreciate the dazzling effect.
Legend has it that Marilyn Monroe wore nothing but "a few drops of Chanel No. 5" to bed, but it was only last month that the world got an explanation for her famous quote.
"You know they ask you questions," Monroe said during an April 1960 interview with French journalist Georges Belmont. "Just an example: 'What do you wear to bed? Do you wear a pajama top, the bottoms of the pajamas, or a nightgown?' So I said, 'Chanel No. 5!' Because it's the truth! And yet I don't want to say 'nude,' you know? But it's the truth."
The rest of the interview made it into an issue of Marie Claire, but the bit about Chanel wasn't used in the article. In October, Chanel uncovered the recording of the interview and used it to make the fascinating video below.
Need some Halloween inspiration? Makeup artist Neil Young from MAC Cosmetics shows us how to transform any woman — blond, brunette, and any hair color in between — into iconic entertainer Marilyn Monroe. So bust out the red lipstick, flirty smile, and your best 1950s garb. This blond bombshell metamorphosis is a must-see.
With her bouncy blond curls and signature red lipstick look, silver-screen legend Marilyn Monroe has inspired a whole litany of modern-day celebrities. And now MAC has channeled the superstar's sex appeal into its latest collection: MAC Marilyn Monroe. From shimmery shadow to creamy red polish and all you need to get the star's perfectly lined eye makeup look, the entire lineup is sure to be any girl's best friend. Available online Sept. 27 and in stores Oct. 4.
We're happy to present this article from one of our favorite sites, Real Beauty.
We know Marilyn Monroe's the epitome of sexy glamour, reducing men to jello, and so on and so forth, but it's nailing the look we're most inquisitive about. Thank goodness a gloProfessional makeup artist, Kate McCarthy, was thoughtful enough to whip up this quick face chart outlining what to do to copy Miz Monroe's classic bombshell makeup.
For the eyes, she suggests using a shimmery white like Diamond in the inner corner and contouring with a warm, sandy brown like Twig. Finish it up with a swipe of cream eyeliner on the upper lid only. Try blush in an apricot hue, like Sandalwood, and finish with a generous swipe of lipstick in classic red. And just like that, you're ready to sidle on up to the hottest dude at the bar and purr something along the lines of, "Happy birthday, Mr. President." If he looks confused, don't worry—he's just wondering who is this sex goddess that strolled up.
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Marilyn Monroe still captures public imagination, almost 50 years after she died. The new movie My Week With Marilyn, out today, explores the starlet's life intimately, giving us a more detailed picture of her personality by looking through a smaller window of time. And we're giving away a $1,000 gift certificate to Tiffany & Co. and a bottle of Marilyn's favorite perfume, Chanel No. 5 to celebrate the movie. In it, Michelle Williams's performance aims to show audience members, who often have no contemporary memory of Marilyn, a different side of the troubled actress than the glamorous image that's survived. Marilyn herself also left us clues about her playful, seductive, but also lonely nature. Let's look back at some of Marilyn Monroe's most famous quotes on life and love to understand more.
With My Week With Marilyn about to hit the theaters, we're in the mood for some Marilyn-inspired vintage eye candy. The new movie follows the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl and explores Marilyn's tumultuous relationship with one of her leading men, legend Sir Laurence Olivier. While many actors who starred alongside Marilyn raved about her tremendous vulnerability and ability as a comedienne, almost all said she was rather difficult to work with. Now let's learn a little bit more about the gorgeous gents who shared the big screen with Marilyn Monroe in some of her most memorable films.
With the My Week With Marilyn film set to debut on Nov. 23, many of us have Marilyn Monroe on the mind. And as it turns out, she's inspired plenty of beauty products along the way. Mirabella Beauty's new Madame Rouge collection, for instance, features three lip shades that will make you feel (and look) just as blond bombshell as the actress herself: Velvet Lip Pencils ($20 each) in Crushed Velvet and Red Velvet and an UltraShine Lip Gloss in a shimmery berry tone ($26).
There's also CMG Worldwide's Marilyn Monroe Classic ($46), an inspired-by-Marilyn blend of peach, cantaloupe, freesia, lily of the valley, musk, and orange woods. Speaking of perfume, Marilyn famously once quipped, "What do I wear in bed? Why, Chanel No. 5, of course." And besides her classic choice of fragrance, Marilyn was also known to use Erno Laszlo's pHormula 3-9 (which was created just for her), Shu Uemura's Cleansing Oil, Yardley's English Lavender, Vaseline (reportedly), and Nivea products.
Love seeing what beauty products the stars of old Hollywood used? Be sure to check out some of Audrey Hepburn's favorite beauty products, too.
The trailer for My Week With Marilyn Monroe is out, and while we want to see the whole movie before we decide how well Michelle Williams pulls off the iconic starlet, we're already intrigued by the story. In 1956, Marilyn flew to London with her new husband, playwright Arthur Miller, for their honeymoon and also to film her new movie The Prince and the Showgirl. The film catches up with Marilyn after her husband leaves England and Marilyn really begins to explore Britain with her escort, 23-year-old Colin Clark, a gofer on the set of the film.
In his book, The Prince, the Showgirl, and Me: Six Months on the Set With Marilyn and Olivier, Clark shares his diary from the experience. He describes Marilyn as being sad, insecure, medicated, and surrounded by manipulative sycophants. Of his first introduction to Marilyn, Clark recalls, "She looked absolutely frightful . . . Nasty complexion, a lot of facial hair, shapeless figure and, when the glasses came off, a very vague look in her eye." Not quite the Marilyn who comes across in pictures and on film.
While Clark's first book gave a lot of gossipy insight, one week was missing. When Arthur Miller left for a trip to Paris for a week, Clark was free to help Marilyn escape the pressures of the set and the constant hanger-oners. For his second book, Marilyn and Me, Clark shares this part of his diary describing how he escorted the starlet around Britain, and readers learn how they gained each other's trust and affection. Clark's experience with the "real" Marilyn over the course of this week is what the movie aims to portray. Are you intrigued?
