This is a 1952 Lydia lane article, where actress Betty Grable talks about lipsticks, perfume, her diet and hair color. Enjoy!

Betty Grable has received more fan mail than any other player at Twentieth Century-Fox and her name has repeatedly appeared among the top ten favorites of Hollywood. But despite her success, Betty Grable remains basically a simple person, grateful for the good things which have come her way. ; “How do you stay so modest?” ‘ I asked Betty one day last week as we were lunching in Beverly Hills. “That’s been easy, Betty said. “All my life I’ve had to fight a lack of confidence. Every time I try something new I die a thousand deaths. Even on radio I’m happiest when Fm doing a broadcast of one of my pictures.”

Perfectly her lipstick matched her pearl-bordered scarf. ,’ “I love lipsticks,” Betty said. T must have hundreds of them. But this pencil red is my favorite shade and I wear it more than any other. “I’m a great one for buying and trying something new,” Betty added. “But I always seem to go back to my favorites. but I always seem to go back to my favorites. “It’s the same with perfume.” Recognizing what scent Betty was wearing I remarked how much I liked it. “I’ve worn this perfume for so long I can’t smell it myself anymore. But I get more compliments when I use this than anything else.”

Betty’s hair has a new silver tinge Which is most becoming to her fair skin and blue eyes. “Are you a natural blonde?” I asked. “I was until I came to live in California,” she answered. “Then my hair began to darken. They say the chemicals in the hard water does it. So, in order to keep it light, I started rinsing with peroxide. “When my hair was dull in color, I felt dull,” Betty explained. “There is a psychological effect when the color of your hair is right. I’ve had mine every color even black.” “Black!” I repeated with astonishment. “How did that happen?” “I wore a black wig in a number I had to do and everyone remarked how becoming this was,” Betty explained. “So I decided I would dye it that way for a change.”

“But while it looked good in technicolor, I didn’t like it at all in real life without make-up. So I sat in a beauty parlor all the next day while they stripped the dye off. “I’m fortunate that my hair is strong and has a natural curl or I probably would be bald by this time,” Betty added jokingly. “Would you advise changing the color of your hair?” I wanted to know. “Not unless you’ can afford to put yourself in the hands of a professional,” Betty said. “I’ve seen too many who have lost their hair, especially when they’ve tried to mix dyes and permanents.”

Betty’s hair was so soft arid shining that I asked how often she had a shampoo. “Oh, I wash it once a week tinder the shower,” Betty confided. “I do everything myself even my make-up. “When I started in pictures I wasn’t important enough to have my make-up done, so I learned how myself,” she confided. “Now I don’t have it done because it takes so much less time when I put it on myself.” Even though the light of the open window was strong, Betty’s skin was clean and fresh as a child’s. “What’s your recipe for keeping such a lovely complexion?” I asked the famous Betty. “I never use soap on my face even as a child I didn’t like the way it drew my skin,” Betty said. “So Mother started washing my face with hot and cold water and afterwards smoothing on lotion. It may sound corny, but I’ve done this routine ever since.”

For lunch Betty had a salad, but when the pastry cart went by, she guiltily chose a piece of coconut custard pie. Are you on a diet?” I asked. “Not really. But about a week or 10 days before I go back to the studio for a picture I’ll go on one. I’m not much for counting calories and weighing myself twice a day. I’d rather it would be a feast or a famine. And with a pet diet of mine my weight just seems to melt away.” I asked Betty for a copy of this diet. “I think it’s important to choose a diet to suit your temperament. This diet is so easy for me and I never break it once I start on it.”

“Measurements count more than pounds and I know with my diet I slim down very fast,” Betty explained. “People can be fooled by weight, because so much depends on the size of your bones. A girl with small bones may not weigh too much but still look fat The important thing,” Betty concluded, “is to try to keep at your weight which makes you look your best.” “Very good advice,” I had to agree.