15 vintage beauty tips you need to try right now

These are 15 vintage beauty tips you need to try now.

The team at www.hairtrade.com have put together some ideas, along with some 21st century updates.

And the best thing about them is you'll find most of the products in your kitchen cupboards, so much cheaper than getting an expensive facial or buying a new make up kit!

1. Sea salt bath

It sounds weird, but adding sea salt to your bath will really help your skin, as it can flush away infections and exfoliate, leaving skin silky soft. Vintage beauties used to bathe in it to get a glowing complexion.

21st century update: Try using scented bath salts with a sea salt base, this way you’ll get all the benefits without smelling like a pack of ready salted crisps.

2. Baking soda

Back before we had super advanced toothpastes, baking soda was used to get sparkling pearly whites. Big in the 60’s and 70’s, vintage beauties would rub baking soda onto their teeth then rinse.

21st century update: To make the taste a bit more bearable, try adding lemon and peppermint oil to create a paste then use once or twice a week.

3. White eyeliner

Using a white pencil to line the inner water line of the eye is a well-known trick of the trade from Marilyn Monroe.  The Hollywood starlet loved her signature sultry eye look to make her blue eyes pop.

21st century update: Try using pastel coloured eyeliner with white undertones for a playful nod to this classic beauty tip.

4. Strawberry cleanser

Now we have access to all kinds of face washes but English roses in the swinging sixties would blitz strawberries in a blender then use as a cleanser. The pink colouring of the fruit acted as a natural glow as well as smelling gorgeous.

21st century update: Try adding strawberries to a mixture of mashed banana and honey, apply as a facemask and sit back and relax…

5.  Banish dark circles

Hollywood pin-ups like Rita Hayworth and Sophia Loren were all about having fresh, wide-awake skin so ladies of the time were desperate to get this flawless look. One vintage beauty tip was to crush mint leaves and leave them under the eyes to banish dark circles.

21st century update: For a less messy version, dab a tiny amount of toothpaste under your eyes before going to bed to wake up bright-eyed and bushy tailed.

6. Spritz your hairbrush

Coco Chanel famously said that women should wear perfume wherever they would like to be kissed. Having a feminine smell was extremely important in those days so women would spritz their hairbrushes with perfume to carry their scent with every swish of their locks.

21st century update: Try this using a perfume designed specifically for hair that will nourish it as well as smelling good.

7. Petroleum jelly on eyelids

The vintage look is all about having dramatic eye make-up. Women would apply thin layer of petroleum jelly over eyelids and then cover with neutral skin toned powder all the way up to brow line and blend a darker shade into crease for theatrical deep crease impact.

21st century update: Use an eyelid primer instead of petroleum jelly for long-lasting vintage peepers.

8. Ban the tan

Before the days of fake tan, porcelain skin with a flawless complexion was seen as beautiful. Women would use parasols and wear huge hats to protect their skin from the sun’s glare.

21st century update: Carrying a parasol on the bus to work might attract some strange looks so try investing a moisturiser with a high SPF to protect your skin from harmful UV rays.

9. Cold water splash

Joan Crawford famously told how she splashed her face with ice cold water 25 times every morning to keep her legendary face smooth and taut.

21st century update:  If you can’t bear dousing yourself with freezing water, try mixing together sugar, warm water and lemon juice to cleanse your face for a fresh complexion.

10. Olive oil

A favourite trick of auburn-locked Rita Hayworth. To keep her hair looking lustrous, she would shampoo it then apply olive oil to the ends and wrap up in towel for 15 minutes, After, she would rinse with hot water, cleanser and lemon juice to get rid of any residue.

21st century update: If you haven’t got time for all this in the morning, try using an oil-based serum on wet hair then leave wrapped in a towel while you do your make up. The serum will absorb into your hair without needing to rinse.

11. Two shades of blusher

In the days of black and white photography before forgiving Instagram filters, having high cheekbones was highly desirable.  A trick credited to Grace Kelly was using two shades of blusher, a lighter shade on the bone and darker in the hollow.

21st century update: Try using a highlighter on your cheekbones and dab above your brows for the ultimate minimalist chic.

12. Talcum powder

Even retro beauties suffered from greasy roots! Their saviour came in form of talcum powder, which they shook onto hair then ruffled up.

21st century update: This tip only works well for blonde-haired babes. Brunettes may want to try dry shampoo to give their hair a boost.

13. Beer-y nice

Rinsing hair with beer is an old wives’ tale that some still swear by today. After the liquid evaporates from the hair, a residue of hops and barley is left giving hair more body and weight.

21st century update:  If you don’t fancy smelling like a brewery, try using a deep-conditioning treatment on your hair once a week to keep it thick and well maintained.

14. Rosy cheeks

Back in the days of old school romance, a lady’s gentleman caller would always present her with a bouquet of roses. Before they withered, these blushing dames would rub the petals together until they produced liquid then dab this onto cheeks and lips for a rosy glow.

21st century update: Try mixing the petal liquid with a cheer lip gloss to create a natural colour with some extra shimmer to take you through the night.

15. Retro rollers

In the 1950s, having thick curly hair was all the rage but hot rollers were expensive and uncomfortable to sleep it. Pioneering vintage beauties worked around this by rolling damp hair around pieces of fabric or rag, tying off and leaving overnight.

21st century update: Use the same trick but spritz your hair with sea salt spray once in the ‘rollers’ for a more tousled, bedhead look.