Grace Kelly was famous as the most impeccable of Alfred Hitchcock’s blondes before she made the rare and apparently tricky segue from actress to princess, becoming co-regnant of the jewel-box principality of Monaco.
Like all good princesses, Kelly juggled several philanthropic pursuits, including work with the Red Cross, opening Monaco’s first day care centre to support working women, and creating the Princess Grace Foundation in 1964. Among the foundation’s missions is the promotion of emerging talent in theatre, dance and film. It’s this combination of interests that is celebrated in its Grace de Monaco range launching in February, which will feature sustainably made fragrances, silk wear and accessories. All the profits will go towards the foundation and it will enable us all to be a little bit more Grace. But what — we wondered — if you want to be a lot more Grace? What were the secret health and beauty tricks that ensured that she always looked gorgeous while doing her good deeds?
In her book What Would Grace Do? the biographer Gina McKinnon reveals that Princess Grace didn’t smoke, drank lots of water and exercised regularly. As the daughter of an Olympic rower and a PE teacher, Kelly didn’t have much choice. She was known to swim, ride horses, take dance classes and play tennis. McKinnon notes that while the actress also adhered to the “occasional diet” in her Hollywood years, snacking on healthy bits like nuts and carrots on set, she happily chose to shrug off those pressures later in life. Wise lady.
Still, she always maintained a rigorous skincare regime. Like many of Hollywood’s most glamorous women, Grace was a devotee of the celebrity skin expert Erno Laszlo. Laszlo was a Hungarian dermatologist and aesthetician who found fame after helping to treat the scars of the silent-film actress Frida Gombaszogi after she survived a murder attempt by a gunman who shot her in the face. The miraculous results turned Laszlo into a household name and he transferred his operation to New York in 1939, launching a private skin institute. Laszlo’s client list included Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, and there was an impressively long waiting list. His Phormula 3-9 Repair Cream, still available today, was Grace’s particular favourite.
Laszlo created complex bespoke facials, equipping clients with protocols covering everything from how to treat a face after a formal event to which foods to avoid. Laszlo is also credited with creating the double cleansing method, although he typically coupled it with a less popular “splashing technique” which the princess is said to have followed daily. This involves cleansing with one of the brand’s face oils, immediately followed by one of its cleansing soap bars, and then washing off the treatment by splashing one’s face 30 times. (I can attest that by splash number 30, despite the soapy pool on the bathroom floor and a slight arm ache, the skin does start to look very vibrant and hydrated.) The splashing is followed with a thick layer of the Repair Cream, rendering skin smooth, glossy and prepped for make-up.
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Princess Grace was known for her hands-on approach to her beauty, continuing to do her own hair and make-up after becoming a royal. Her favourite lipstick was Dior’s Rouge 999, she favoured a silver or grey eyeshadow, and was also known for using two tones of blush as a contouring technique for her cheek bones. (For a modern interpretation, may we suggest Chanel’s Satin Finish eyeshadow palette in Mystic and the house’s Joues Contraste blushes in Reflex and Rose Glacier.) For scent we’d recommend Grace De Monaco’s newest Mediterranean-inspired eau de parfum, Danse Étoilée, which is a floral blend of lily of the valley, geranium and rose with notes of citrus and cassis. Alternatively Creed’s Fleurissimo perfume, custom-made for Grace for her wedding day. The make-up and hair stylist Peter Lamas was also quoted as saying that at the top of the princess’s beauty to-do list was keeping her hands hydrated, because she believed that was where the first signs of ageing would show. We’d suggest trying Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream.
In the 1956 film High Society Kelly’s character, Tracy, says: “I’m sensational, everybody said so.” Follow these steps and we think you may just start feeling sensational too.
What to buy
• Danse Étoilée EDP Grace De Monaco
• Erno Laszlo Phelityl Cleansing Bar
• Erno Laszlo Hydra-Therapy Phelityl Cleansing Oil
• Erno Laszlo Phormula 3-9 Repair Cream
• Dior Rouge 999
• Chanel Satin Finish Eyeshadow palette in Mystic
• Chanel Joues Contraste Blush in Reflex and Rose Glacier
• Chanel N°1 Red Camellia Revitalising Foundation
• Chanel touch-up face brush N°104
• Creed Fleurissimo
• Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream
