Grace Kelly's Vintage Glamour Came Courtesy Of Beauty Tips & Tricks You Can Still Use Today

While there have been plenty of beautiful and glamorous women to have walked this planet, Grace Kelly is a cut above the rest. By the time Kelly was 22 in 1951, she landed her first film role, and within just a few years, became known for both her talent and exquisite timeless beauty. Although Kelly probably could have had any man she wanted, it was Prince Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, who ultimately won over Kelly. The two were married on April 19, 1956, and, to this day, Kelly's lace wedding dress is still inspiring brides because of how epically stunning it was.

"Grace Kelly's style was a perfect blend of modernity and classic femininity," former Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour told Monaco Reporter in 2025. "She epitomized the kind of beauty that didn't rely on over-the-top glamour but instead on simplicity and sophistication." In other words, Kelly was in a league of her own — a league that doesn't have many members anymore.

Although not everyone can be born looking like Grace Kelly — nor should we want that, because individuality matters — you can still achieve her traffic-stopping vintage glamour. To do so just takes embracing some of her beauty tips and tricks that are still accessible — and easy! — today. Also, be sure to lean into the concept of less is more. When you can do that, you're practically halfway there.

As every fashion icon knows, red lipstick is always a good idea. Not only is it a classic shade, but red lipstick has an interesting past due to how it's been perceived throughout history. For example, it's believed that Cleopatra was one of the very first to popularize red lipstick, using a paste created from crushed bugs. When a certain lipstick color starts with Cleopatra, you know it's destined to never go out of style and reach iconic heights. 

Grace Kelly's introduction to red lipstick came from French designer Christian Dior. As Claudia Poccia, CEO of Grace de Monaco, told New Beauty in April 2024, the House of Dior sent Kelly a box of 14 lipsticks. After carefully considering each one, Kelly landed on Dior Rouge 999 as the one she loved most, making it her signature color for the rest of her life. It's also worth noting that once you find the right shade of red for you, there are mental health benefits that come with it too. 

"Wearing lipstick can be a huge mood booster," Priceline Hair and Makeup Director, Sarah Laidlaw, told The Australian Women's Weekly in August 2023. "Looking at ourselves with more color in our faces makes us instantly feel better... Red is a color of action, power, and passion, so wearing a red lip can give you the feeling of confidence, a go-getter vibe." So find your best shade of red lipstick, then never let it go.

Although we think of sight as the most important of the five senses (for beauty purposes, anyway), when it comes to the most powerful, it's the sense of smell. "The primitive areas of our brains still have connections from when our ancestors relied on smell to survive," psychiatrist Dr. Drew Cumming told the Cleveland Clinic in January 2025. "These connections are the basis for scent memories." Because of this, having a signature scent, as Grace Kelly did, matters. 

"Her perfumes reflected her refined sensibilities and were a signature element of her personal style," Claudia Poccia said in her New Beauty interview, adding that over time, Kelly's scents evolved, while staying true to a particular floral blend — roses, especially, were always incorporated. In 1956, Prince Rainier III commissioned the House of Creed to create a scent that perfectly complemented Kelly's wedding-day bouquet. That's when the perfume Fleurissimo was first created. "[It's] an elegant blend of bergamot, tuberose, iris, and Bulgarian rose, and is forever intertwined with their timeless love story," Poccia told New Beauty.

When choosing your next signature fragrance, put some thought into it. Just because a perfume smells good on one person doesn't mean it will smell good on everyone. Also, your scent may have more of an impact than you realize. The body processes smell differently from the rest of your senses, and certain scents become strongly associated with specific memories. Your scent is going to linger in one's memory long after the moment has passed, so choose wisely.

As much as starting a self-care routine that will actually work with your life can feel daunting at first, it's crucial. For her own self-care routine, Grace Kelly made it a point to stay hydrated, avoid smoking, and keep active. "Though she followed occasional diets during her Hollywood days, she later embraced a more relaxed approach to food and well-being," President of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA, Diana Kemppainen, told New Beauty in the April 2024 Grace Kelly feature, adding that tennis, horseback riding, and ballet were among the activities that Kelly enjoyed.

Our culture tends to glorify a heavy workload, and it can lead to individuals not taking time for themselves to take care of their bodies and minds. When you're mentally, emotionally, and physically healthy, it shows everywhere — especially in your face. You simply can't expect to attain the glowing complexion for which Kelly was known or have a body that feels strong and empowered if you don't make self-care part of your beauty routine. Kelly's plan of more hydration and activity with less smoking and drinking isn't a bad place to start when considering your own self-care plan.

While facial contouring with makeup is everywhere these days, it's nothing new. In fact, long before influencers, who give endless tutorials on contouring, even existed, Grace Kelly was already using two blush tones to sculpt her face in a way that lifted her cheekbones. The best part? Her look is basically a beginner's guide to face contouring because of how minimalist it is. Kelly always started with a blush that was slightly darker than her natural skin tone under her cheekbones, then went for a barely-there shade of pink on her cheekbones, giving them the overall appearance that was hard to ignore.

"Lighter or fair skin tones like Kelly's tend to have more blue or cool undertones and should look for pastel, classic pinks, light mauves, or even light plums," celebrity makeup artist Genn Shaughnessy told Women's World in June 2023, regarding blush used under the cheekbones. He added that those with medium skin tones should look for shades like light reds, peach, and coral; and anyone with darker skin tones will want to work with shades a little deeper in color, like wine or brick red, terracotta, and berry. Then, when it comes to the blush that will be used on the apples of the cheeks, you want a shade that's extremely light to create the illusion that the cheekbones are far more pronounced than they actually are.

Just like her signature red lipstick and scent, when Grace Kelly found something that worked for her, she stuck to it — which is exactly what she did with her skincare. While looking at her complexion might have one thinking she went to great lengths to achieve such flawlessness, the reality is that Kelly kept things very simple. Like many celebrities at the time, Kelly was a devotee of Dr. Erno Laszlo's skincare products, which were so top-secret at the time that his office on Broadway in New York City became known as "House of Silence."

Kelly religiously followed Laszlo's double-cleansing method, which started with detoxing the skin with an oil, then, without rinsing, immediately cleansing with a bar of soap. This process included splashing one's face 30 times with warm water, which Kelly did. She also used Laszlo's Phormula 3-9 Repair Cream regularly, and as more evidence about the damage that the sun can cause came into the mainstream, Kelly was adamant about hydrating her hands as much as possible, understanding it was the best way to reduce signs of aging in hands. After all, the hands don't lie when it comes to someone's age.

Another essential part of Kelly's routine was never leaving home without a makeup bag. Even after becoming a Hollywood star, then a royalty, not only was Kelly never above doing her own touch-ups, but she preferred to do her own makeup and hair. Kelly knew that when you're the best at something, it's silly to entrust others with doing it as well as you do.