[By Carol E. Saunders]
“We are all of us stars, and we deserve to twinkle.”— Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962)
In a time before the birth of reality tv stars, social media bloggers, models and influencers, beauty standards were set by untouchable silverscreen goddesses put high on the pedestal and idolized in awe. Defining that eternal allure of classic, old school glamour during Hollywood golden age of yore, bombshell Marilyn Monroe stood out as the undisputed beauty icon, even after 55 years of passing. Possessing a genuine, fresh-faced innocence despite the sultry on-screen image of a sex symbol, Monroe’s style is often mimiced, scoured over by countless women who remain captivated with her timeless beauty from then till now. Here are some wellness tips conceived from the exact words of the legendary screen siren herself, all ready to be wisely adopted as part of your very own beauty mantra to glam things up the Monroe way.
Skip the sun for better skin
Skip the sun for better skin“Despite its great vogue in California, I don’t think suntanned skin is any more attractive, or any healthier, for that matter. I’m personally opposed to a deep tan because I like to feel blond all over.”— MM.
We now know for sure the long term repercussions of unprotected sun exposure, so shielding yourself from harmful UV rays with adequate sun protection is the surest way to stave off the ill-effects of solar aging for as long as possible, keeping your complexion akin to Monroe’s signature mien, alabaster creamy and youthful-looking.
To work your lackluster complexion to illuminating, red-carpet worthy effects, the Monroe Hydrafacial exclusive to SW1 spa is a pampering, no-frills beauty sidekick that truly lives up to its namesake. With the help of patented Hydrafacial MD technology, dead skin cells that dull your complexion are gently removed to allow healthier and more youthful-looking cells from beneath to show through. Hot on the heels is a dual complexion-rejuvenating photobiomodulation with LED Red and i-Clear, prepping your skin to that perfect clean slate for enhanced absorption of Vitamin C and Glutathione, two extremely potent ingredients in the Pearl éclat skin rejuvenating serum, infused trans-dermally via Sonophoresis to ensure optimal delivery to the deeper layer of skin. Rounding up with an intensive gel mask to lock in the skin brighteners delivered for an extra burst of whitening goodness , fair skin that radiants under the spotlights is no longer exclusive to the well-guarded turf of celebs, A-listers and other luminaries. No girl should let up the opportunity to take centre-stage and be a star in her own rights, shining bright and paparazzi-ready as the leading actress of her destiny.
Read More: These 2 Lasers Are the Secret Weapons to Anti-Aging and Smooth Skin
Raising the bar with great hair
Raising the bar with great hair“In Hollywood, a girl’s virtue is much less important than her hairdo.”—MM.
One of the biggest beauty irony of all times got to be the fact that the world’s most famous and beloved blonde was hardly one to begin with. True to the adage “there are no ugly women but lazy ones”, Monroe’s signature shade of platinum blonde dubbed “pillow case white” goes to show what hard work can achieve. Meticulously reproduced with peroxide bleaching and highlights done every three weeks by a rotating team of hairstylists, not only did it manage to hide the actress’s natural reddish brown roots, the infamous coiffure played a pivotal role in allowing her well-crafted persona to shine through.
A woman’s hair is not known as her crowning glory for nothing. A potent cross-cultural symbol that transcends different ethnicities, it has come to represent and reaffirm a woman’s femininity and sexuality. Most women are able to live with an extra crinkle around her eyes, and remained largely unperturbed with an added wrinkle here or there, but when it comes to hair loss and a progressively thinning scalp, that’s an entirely different story. In a nationwide poll, over 30% of women believed hair loss would affect how attractive they were to their partner or opposite sex, whilst 69% believed that healthy hair was a major part of their self-image.
The Revage 670 Laser is widely recognised as the gold standard for rejuvenating thinning scalps back to its former glory. With a total of 30 laser diodes, this FDA-approved system provides critical coherent beams as a direct source of laser light in a hood that goes over the scalp to ensure maximum laser energy contact over the area(s) to be treated. Working both as a therapeutic and preventive measure, Revage 670 maximizes stimulation of each hair follicle at a much higher level with its Rotational PhotoTherapy (RPT) system, setting its reliability and efficacy way above that of traditional hand-held lasers.
“Revage 670 engages low-level laser energies and is completely safe and painless with absolutely no downtime.” Explains Dr. Kenneth Lee, senior medical consultant and co-founder of the SW1 Clinic (formerly from The Sloane Clinic). “This lunchtime procedure is paired with Revitascalp in our signature Keramax Scalp Program, specially designed to help both women and men with hair loss issues. By thickening fine, miniaturized hair as seen in cases of diffuse thinning or general weakening especially in the fairer sex; it doubles as a preventive measure for premature hair loss to help maintain density, volume and lushness.”
Read More: 15-Minute Remedies for Dry Skin, Hair, Lips and Eyes
Scent of a million dollar diva
Scent of a million dollar diva“You know, they ask me questions. Just an example: What do I wear to bed? So I said, ‘Chanel No. 5,’ because it’s the truth!”— MM.
With a sharp wit that belies her ditzy dumb blonde persona, Monroe once famously declared that she wore nothing else but five drops of Chanel No.5 to sleep, cementing the cult status of her favorite perfume and immortalized by photographer Ed Feingersh in an iconic black & white shot. Trying to smell great with a signature scent may very well boost your womanly’s charm, but not having awful body odour is certainly a prerequisite for not driving men away!
Body odour or BO is a perceived unpleasant smell our bodies can give off when bacteria living on the skin break down sweat into acids. Women who sweat too much, known medically as Hyperhidrosis, may therefore be susceptible to body odour. There are different types of sweat, and the worst offender of all is that produced by apocrine sweat glands found in abundance in the underarms, which no amount of washing or deodorant-applying can deter.
To save yourself from social suicide, stop excessive sweating in its tracks with Botox microinjections for Hyperhidrosis is a somewhat surprising alternative use for the wrinkle erasing elixir. Underarm sweating reportedly decreased by 90% within 48 hours, with full effects seen within a week. The drying benefits often last for 6 to 10 months after a single treatment, and the decreased sweating is often associated with the simultaneous disappearance of body odour in most cases treated.
Always show off your best side
Always show off your best side“If you’re gonna be two-faced at least make one of them pretty.”— MM.
Surviving a perilous childhood of material and emotional penury, Monroe was determined to emerge by recreating herself as an icon of her time. Leading a life that blurred the lines of separation between reality and make believe, she remained much of an enigma till today as we aren’t quite certain who exactly the real Norman Jean is. But one thing that we know for sure, throughout her illustrious short-lived career, the iconic trailblazer always presented her prettiest side to the public eye.
One often wonders if it’s harder for a woman who was beautiful to get older, or a woman who had never ever been looked at. It is never easy for any woman to face up to the undesirable physical signs of aging, understandably more so for those bestowed with beauty. While aging is a natural process that cannot be denied, thanks to advances made in the Medical Aesthetics field in recent years, brakes to decelerate the signs of growing old can now be applied to make the journey smoother, and more bearable.
If you’re on the lookout for a straightforward, sans bells and whistles kind of treatment, Quattro Toning is a no frills, no nonsense, FDA-approved treatment that can help one regain some of the youthful glow robbed by the passage of time. With a new Californian picosecond technology that allows laser energies to penetrate deep into the dermis where it matters to stimulate natural collagen production without disrupting the top layer of skin, The Porcelain Skin Program addresses wrinkles, fine lines, textural irregularities and uneven skin discoloration at their root with minimal downtime and shortened recovery period. Depending on your skin condition, a series of to 6 sessions done consecutively at 4 to 6 weekly intervals is recommended for optimal results, giving overall skin rejuvenation with a pore-perfect porcelain complexion that Monroe herself will be proud to wear.
Read More: 10 Things Women With Clear Skin Do