6 must-know beauty secrets from royalty throughout the ages


December 16, 2015
© Photo: Getty Images

The Duchess of Cambridge

Famous for doing her own make-up before major events – including her wedding to Prince William in 2011 – Kate is a fan of Urban Decay's NAKED Palette, a source close to the Duchess told HELLO!. The elegant royal is reportedly a fan of the eyeshadow for "enhancing eyes", which she pairs with Lancome’s Artliner eyeliner and their Hynpose Mascara.

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Princess Diana

Make-up artist Mary Greenwell, who worked closely with Diana, revealed some of the tricks she would use to create the mother-of-two's elegant beauty looks. "We always started with a moisturiser, a foundation to suit her skin tone exactly and then used a concealer to lift the eye area," she told Stylist. "Mascara – which is a gift of all gifts and a light blush and lip colour to suit her mood that day. I always taught her to make sure when applying mascara by herself that she covered the roots of the lashes too!"

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Grace Kelly

A beauty trick often credited to the actress and royal is to use two shades of blusher for a fresh-faced complexion that also gives the impression of high cheekbones: a light shade on the bone and a darker shade in the hollow.

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The Queen

The reigning monarch is a huge fan of lipstick – in 1952 she even commissioned her own lipstick shade, a soft red and blue hue named The Balmoral Lipstick, to match her coronation robes.

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Queen Victoria

The legendary British royal is said to have perfumed her gloves with pure essential oils from roses for a lovely fragrance that lasted throughout the day.

© Photo: Getty Images

Queen Marie Antoinette

The Queen of France is said to have had a signature face mask to keep her complexion healthy. The recipe? Two teaspoons of cognac, five tablespoons of dry milk powder, one egg white and the juice of one lemon. The mask was said to work because cognac can stimulate circulation and tighten pores, the egg repairs skin tissue, while the lemon's citric acid sweeps away dead skin cells.

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