Ever wondered just what makes those celebs glow and shine on the red carpet? Now Hollywood’s A Listers, such as Catherine Zeta Jones, Cindy Crawford, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Julia Roberts all offer up their secret remedies, preventions and cures for skin spots, dull hair and nail care.

Always under pressure to look great at any given red carpet event, many modern day celebs are leaving the brand name products on the shelves in favour of grandma’s remedies, potions and preparations. So here we share some of the tried and tested natural products used by the women we all admire.
Milk: Used in ancient Egypt by Cleopatra as she bathed in gallons of this white liquid, today, supermodel Cindy Crawford uses a pint daily to cleanse her face. Mixed with honey, the by-product is said to make the skin glow.
Toothpaste: Then there’s good old toothpaste which is not a food but we pop it in our mouths. But as the I Know What You Did Last Summer star Jennifer Love Hewitt has found, it helps with drying out skin spots overnight. It can dry out bug bites and is also rumored to get rid of cold sores, but don’t use the gel type!

Olive Oil: Pretty Woman star Julia Roberts is a slippery one when it comes to her beauty regime and favours olive oil to improve her nail health, having found that soaking her ten digits in the Italian product can improve brittle, dry nails. Olive oil is also good for your hair, skin and diet.

Wine: As long as you aren’t a desperate housewife who feels she can’t get through the day without a glass or two of the red grape juice, try an idea by an original Desperate Housewife, Teri Hatcher, and pour a glass of red wine into your bath water. Teri is a firm believer that wine is a natural skin softener and exfoliant, and that wine grapes can draw toxins from the body. Some spas have introduced the latest ‘vinotherapy’ into their beauty salons.

Yogurt: Jamie Lee Curtis, of A Fish Called Wanda fame, promotes this stuff for a good digestive system but yogurt can also add to your beauty from the outside by using it as a face mask. It’s soothing and cooling on tired skin, and takes the sting out of sunburn. Adding honey helps yogurt moisturize dry skin when applied for 15-20 minutes.

Cranberry Juice: Coming from the very dry land down under, Nicole Kidman, star of Australia, uses the red berries in juice form to pour on her hair after shampooing in a bid to boost its shine. The juice seals the cuticles to add shine and also highlights the colour of strawberry blondes and redheads. She should know, she switches between the two hues on a regular basis!
A. B. Barden