12 Scandalous Facts About Audrey Hepburn's Love Life You Should Know

The naughtiness behind the picture perfect lady. Actress, dancer and humanitarian, Audrey Hepburn was, for all of her life, the ideal of femininity, gentility and all around perfection.

But what kind of secrets did she keep? Read on to find out the fabulously scandalous things you never would have guessed about Audrey Hepburn's love life.

1. Hepburn's first serious love was with James Hanson (a young British businessman). They were engaged in 1952, but after setting a date and having the dress made, she realized that the nature of both their careers would keep them apart for too long. Hepburn gave the dress to an Italian couple, who have it to this day.

Audrey Hepburn with her fiancé James Hanson in Rome, Italy, August 27th, 1952.

2. Also in the 1950s, Hepburn dated the American theatrical producer Michael Butler. Butler would go on to produce the musical Hair.

Audrey Hepburn at the Creek Club, Locust Valley in 1952. Photograph by Michael Butler.

3. During the filming of Sabrina, Hepburn began a relationship with actor William Holden, who was already married. Hepburn had planned to marry Holden and start a family with him, but dropped the idea when she learned he’d had a vasectomy.

Audrey Hepburn and William Holden chat on the set of Sabrina, 1954.

4. In 1954, Hepburn met the American actor Mel Ferrer at a cocktail party hosted by lifelong friend Gregory Peck. After working together on the play Ondine, they eventually fell in love and married in Bürgenstock, Switzerland in September of that year.

Mel Ferrer buttons up his coat around Audrey Hepburn on a country road outside Paris, 1956.

5. With Ferrer, Hepburn had two miscarriages (the first in 1955 and the second in 1959), before giving birth to the couple's only child, a boy names Sean Hepburn Ferrer born in July of 1960. She would have two more miscarriages, in 1965 and 1967.

Audrey Hepburn pictured with her husband, Mel Ferrer, and new born son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer. Audrey gave birth to Sean on July 17, 1960.

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16 Interesting Facts About Julia Gardiner Tyler, a Scandalous First Lady of the 1800s

Before the revolutionary Eleanor Roosevelt or the glamorous Jackie O, there was Julia Gardiner Tyler, the second wife of President John Tyler. Despite the fact she became First Lady in the 1800s - a stifling and oppressive era for women - Julia Gardiner Tyler was bold, brazen, and fabulous.

The wild side of Tyler's young bride was much gossiped about, but rather than letting the headlines dictate her life, Tyler dictated the headlines. She branded herself into the first celebrity First Lady through her opulent and dramatic lifestyle. She was the opposite of modesty in a time where women were meant to be modest to the core.

Wild stories about Julia Gardiner Tyler make her one of the most scandalous first ladies in history. She was a strong, independent woman who did what she wanted when she wanted. These facts about Julia Gardiner Tyler and her unconventional life might make her story even more interesting than that of her husband.

1. She Scandalously Posed In A Handbag Ad

In her youth, Julia Gardiner was known as a very attractive and spirited young woman. Since she came from a rich Long Island family, she was highly regarded as a prospective wife for societal big wigs. But Gardiner made the wrong kind of headlines in 1839, when she secretly posed in an advertisement for a middle-class clothing emporium. For an upper-class woman to model in a newspaper ad at all was completely inappropriate and unheard of at the time. Her parents whisked her away to Europe to avoid further damage to her reputation.


2. She Was Labeled 'The Rose Of Long Island' By A Secret Admirer

Adding to her scandalous reputation, someone anonymously wrote an ode in honor of Gardiner to the paper, which forever dubbed her "The Rose of Long Island." Again, this type of exposure of a woman in the news was unacceptable at the time. It was essentially the modern-day equivalent of getting your naked pictures hacked and released on the web.


3. She Had A Slew Of Suitors And Was A Known Flirt

Despite her reputation for scandal, Gardiner never had any trouble gaining the affection of prestigious men. Among her romantic dalliances were a German baron, a Belgian count, bachelor and future president James Buchanan, and married future president Millard Fillmore. Gardiner had game. She and her sister Margaret had so many suitors their father had to rent an extra room to entertain them.

Adding to her sex appeal was her reputation as a flirt. At the time, her explicit indications to potential suitors that she was interested in them was unheard of - and her parents were reportedly mortified by this.


4. She Refused To Marry John Tyler For Years

President John Tyler became infatuated with Gardiner almost immediately upon meeting her. He even chased her around the living room furniture in an attempt to kiss her. He first proposed at the White House Masquerade Ball in 1843, only five months after his previous wife had passed away.

Gardiner enjoyed flirting with the President, but found him to be too old for her (he was 30 years her senior.) Despite his position, Tyler was an unpopular president who had only took on the role after the death of William Henry Harrison. He was not especially rich, either, so her parents did not push her into the union. Tyler was undeterred, however, and continued to propose to Gardiner and publicly woo her for the next year.


5. She Survived An Explosion Onboard The USS Princeton

Gardiner and her family attended the christening of the USS Princeton in 1844, alongside the President and other big names in Washington. The ship boasted the largest cannons ever built on a boat, and the guns were ceremoniously blasted during the cruise. One such blast misfired and exploded on the ship, killing six passengers including Julia's father, David Gardiner.

Distraught over the death of her father, Julia Gardiner found support and kindness in John Tyler and finally fell in love. At least according to some versions of the story. David's death also made her family's financial situation precarious, and the marriage now offered her the most stable option to maintain her status.

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Surprising First Products of 10 Famous Companies Before They Achieved Fame

Some companies find their niche and stick to it. Others, though, have to adapt to changing markets in order to thrive. Here's a look at some companies that switched industries at some point in their histories, usually for the better.

1. L’ORÉAL – HAIR DYE

Before L’Oréal hit the scene, a safe, effective hair dye was hard to come by. Seeing a hole in the hair care market, a French chemist named Eugène Schueller took it upon himself to fill it. He spent years tinkering with hair colorant formulas in his kitchen, causing several small explosions and attracting visits from the police in the process. He finally perfected the product by 1907 and founded the company that would become L’Oréal two years later.


2. NINTENDO – HANAFUDA PLAYING CARDS

Nintendo, the video game brand that launched such 1980s and '90s-era franchises as Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokemon, is actually one of the older companies on this list. It was founded in 1889 as a playing card company based in Kyoto, Japan. The cards (named hanafuda, or "flower cards" for their ornate floral imagery) were popular among the organized crime gangs that inhabited Japan’s gambling halls. The company's origins are even reflected in its name: When separated into three characters, "Nin-ten-do" roughly translates to "Leave luck to heaven," or "Work hard, but in the end it is in heaven’s hands."


3. HOOVER – THE ELECTRIC SUCTION SWEEPER

The first Hoover vacuum ever assembled consisted of a tin soap box, a sateen pillow case, a broom handle, and a fan. Originally dubbed “The Electric Suction Sweeper,” it was built by Henry Hoover’s wife’s cousin, James Murray Spangler, in an attempt to deal with the dust that aggravated his asthma. Hoover bought the patent for the invention from his cousin-in-law in 1908, and it was marketed as the Hoover Electric Suction Sweeper from that point forward.


4. IKEA – PENS, NYLON STOCKINGS, ETC.

IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad showed entrepreneurial promise from a young age. At age 5, he began buying matches in bulk from Stockholm and selling them to neighbors for a profit. He later moved on to selling flower seeds, greeting cards, Christmas tree decorations, and more. In 1943, when he was 17, Kamprad founded IKEA from his uncle's kitchen table. It began as a mail-order business, selling a variety of items like stockings, jewelry, watches, pens, and picture frames. Kamprad added the first piece of furniture to the company's offerings a few years later. Furniture sales got even bigger with the introduction of the famous IKEA catalog in 1951 and the first showroom in 1953. IKEA's furniture soon became the focal point of the company as it began phasing out all other products over the next few years.


5. NESTLÉ – BABY FORMULA

Nestlé is one of the largest food companies in the world, owning hundreds of brands that range from candy to dog food. The product that started it all, though, was baby formula. In 1867, German-born pharmacist Henri Nestlé debuted his easy-to-digest breast milk alternative named farine lactée or “flour with milk.” After it was used to nurse a premature baby in poor condition back to health, the product took off. Nestle’s annual sales reached more than a million tins of formula in less than a decade.

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10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Eva Braun, Hitler's Infamous Wife

Eva Braun was the mistress and later the wife of Adolf Hitler. Braun and Hitler killed themselves on April 30, 1945, the day after their wedding—a decided alternative to falling into the hands of enemy troops.

1. Eva Was Sent To A Convent School

Galerie Bilderwelt/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Eva Braun was born in February of 1912 in Munich. As she crept up into her teen years her only interests seemed to be clothes, makeup, and boys. Although her parents lavished all three of their daughters in various lessons, Eva got average grades and didn’t seem to be excelling in any particular subject other than sports. Eva was described as a bit boy crazy during her teen years and as a cautionary measure, her parents felt it was wise to keep her in a convent-school environment. Eva decided it wasn’t a good fit and in efforts to gain financial independence from her parents, she applied for a job in a photography studio. She got the job and it would change her life forever.


2. Eva Had No Idea Who Adolf Hitler Was When Their Flirtation Began

Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The shop that hired her belonged to Hitler’s personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann. Eva Braun first met Hitler in October of 1929, when she was only 17 years old and had just begun working there. There was an instant attraction between the two of them and he was introduced to her under a false name. She called him Mr. Wolf in diary entries, and in a letter to her sister describing her first encounter with her new crush 23-years her senior. Even after she was told his real name and about his work in politics she was completely clueless and simply stated that she didn’t follow politics.


3. She Was Far More Influential Than Historians Give Her Credit For

Express Newspapers/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Eva may not have been a decision maker where the criminal acts of the Nazi party were concerned, but she was an important part of Hitler’s inner circle. While she was completely uninterested in politics, her loyalty to Hitler earned her a strong position in the hierarchy. In fact, Albert Speer and Joseph Goebbels worked hard to gain her favor and get closer to Hitler. Some even claimed if Eva Braun didn’t like someone, they wouldn’t be invited to Berghof, Hitler's home in the Alps.


4. Eva Created A Creepily Calm Image Of Hitler

Galerie Bilderwelt/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Eva was quite the shutterbug and her photography was used to create an image of Hitler that simply wasn’t true. She amassed quite the collection of photos and film of Hitler, and creepily enough they portrayed him as a normal, caring person.

She took portraits of Hitler with the children of family friends and shot home movies that depicted him as a family man. Eva captured it all and perhaps these staged photographs are how she truly saw him or what she’d hoped he could be.


5. Eva Braun Played An Artistic Role In Nazi Propaganda And Profited Greatly

Galerie Bilderwelt/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

She sold her photography of Hitler's intimate life to Heinrich Hoffmann. In fact, much of his famous picture books of Hitler’s so-called private life, were actually shot by Eva. She made a sizable living off these Kodak moments. She was a rich young woman, one home movie alone earned her 20,000 marks.

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13 Things You Didn't Know Were Named After People

Have you ever wondered where names of things or words we regularly use came from? There are so many products and words we use on a regular basis that we don’t even realize were named after a real person. Here are 13 things you had no idea were named after people (some of them actually did not even invent them):

1. Bowler Hat

In 1849, the bowler hat (a.k.a. derby hat) was created by Thomas and William Bowler. This was so the high top hats of the Earl of Derby’s gamekeepers would not be hit by branches while on horseback. This was also said to be a compromise between social classes’ top hat and flat cap. Famous owners include: Hardy and Laurel, as well as Dick Van Dyke (inherited Stan Laurel’s bowler hat in 1965).


2. Mesmerize

During the 18th Century in Vienna, Dr. Franz Mesmer became controversial because of his animal magnetism (‘hypnosis’) healing to his patients. He had to move to Paris for this reason. However, by the king’s order, he was investigated by a scientific task force including Ben Franklin and Joseph Guillotin, the inventor of guillotine. Again condemned, he left Paris but continued his practice until his death in 1815.


3. Maverick

In the 19th Century, Samuel Agustus Maverick did not want to brand his cattle. He coined the term “maverick” for anyone who is unbranded and roams free. Historians thought this was a ploy so he could own any unbranded calf in the area.


4. Bakelite

Can you imagine makeup cases, telephones, tool handles, radios and crib toys to be made of other materials? This unique early plastic was introduced to us in the 1930s, but was actually invented as early as 1907 by Leo Baekeland, a Belgian chemist in the U.S.


5. Macadamia Nut

Though named after John Macadam, macadamia nuts were discovered in Australia in 1828 by an English explorer, Allan Cunningham. Moreover, it was given the name and scientific attributes by Ferdinand Mueller, a fellow scholar and personal friend of Macadam.

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The Real “Ma” and “Pa”: 20 Rare and Amazing Vintage Photos That Show What the People From ‘Little House On The Prairie’ Really Looked Like

The Little House on the Prairie books series is a children’s literature classic that’s not only entertaining, but provides a unique snapshot of life in the Midwestern United States at a time when that area was rapidly changing.

Little House on the Prairie has a special place in the hearts of Americans and many others around the world. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s stories, based on her real-life experience of growing up amid the hardships of the Midwest during the late 19th century, have struck a chord with generations of readers and viewers.

Though the book series and the popular TV show based on it are fictional, they draw heavily on author Laura Ingalls Wilder’s real life and family. Take a look at these rare photos of the people behind the timeless stories...

1. 1860: The Real "Ma" and "Pa"

Charles and Caroline Ingalls, the original "Ma" and "Pa" from Little House on the Prairie, on their wedding day on February 1, 1860.

Charles was born in 1836 and spent the majority of his youth in the tallgrass prairie of Campton Township, just west of Elgin, Illinois. He met and quickly married a 21-year old Caroline Lake Quiner, who was working as a schoolteacher at the time, and they made a home in Pepin County, Wisconsin. They had their first daughter, Mary Amelia, in January, 1865, followed by the birth of Laura in February, 1867. Despite being a high-spirited, outgoing man, Charles wasn't much for people, and he had an insatiable wanderlust. In 1869, before Laura was two years old, he packed up the family and moved to Missouri, then to a town near what is now Independence, Kansas, where their third daughter, Carrie, would be born in 1870.


2. Carrie, Mary, and Laura Ingalls, ca. 1882

From left to right: Carrie, Mary, and Laura Ingalls around 1882. Mary had lost her sight three years earlier.

The young family would soon realize that the Kansas land wasn't open to settlers, so over the next few years, they spent time in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. Grace Pearl was born in May, 1877, and the family was struggling to make ends meet. In 1879, Charles accepted a job as a clerk and bookkeeper with the railroad in Dakota Territory, which sparked the move to the town of De Smet in 1880. The following winter's terrible storms and conditions would be the basis for the novel, The Long Winter.


3. Laura in De Smet, 1884

Laura in 1884 at age 17

Laura quickly got involved with life in the newly-formed (and growing) town of De Smet. She attended school, made friends, and obtained her teaching certificate, which enabled her to begin teaching in 1882, a full two months before her 16th birthday!

At the same time, she began courting Almanzo Wilder, a young homesteader whom she called "Manly". Though 10 years her senior, Almanzo fell deeply in love with Laura and would drive her back and forth between De Smet and the town where se was teaching 12 miles away. They married in 1885 and settled on the Wilder's claim and began their life as farmers.


4. Laura and Almanzo, ca. 1885-86

Laura and Almanzo in their first year of marriage, likely 1885 or 1886.

5. The Ingalls Family in 1891

From left to right: Caroline ("Ma"), Carrie, Laura, Charles ("Pa"), Grace, and Mary.

The family took 1890 and 1891 to rest and recover, and the photos from a studio session in 1891 shows that Laura was of good health and vitality at the end of her rest.

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15 Interesting Facts About 'American Gothic' You Might Not Know

No American artwork has been parodied more than Grant Wood's American Gothic. The story behind the painting is that he was driving around the town of Eldon Iowa and saw an old farmhouse that had a fancy window in it, and he thought it was a bit silly to have a fancy window on such a plain house. So he paid his sister and his dentist to pose as a farmer and his daughter.

While this deceptively simple portrait has clearly captured the imagination of the nation, the story behind its creation and rise to fame makes it all the more compelling.

1. It Was Instantly A Big Hit.

American Gothic, 1930 by Grant Wood.

American Gothic was submitted to the 1930 annual exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, where it won a bronze medal and a $300 prize. But that's not all. The Art Institute acquired the piece for its collection. From there, a picture of the prize-winning painting ran in the Chicago Evening Post, then in newspapers across the U.S., gaining fame and popularity with each printing. Eighty-five years later, American Gothic still calls the Art Institute home.


2. American Gothic Made Wood Famous.

Grant Wood, 1941. (Image courtesy of the Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa)

Before this breakthrough, Wood was an unknown 39-year-old aspiring artist, living in the attic of a funeral-home carriage house that he shared with his mother and sister. Although he was toiling in obscurity, artistic training in Europe had taught Wood techniques that led to his big break. Following the success of American Gothic, he became a bit of a media scamp, often rewriting the history and meaning of his painting to best suit a given trend or narrative. And his fans became ravenous, sometimes traveling to his family's home, and walking right into Wood’s quarters uninvited.


3. American Gothic's Inspiration Was A Real And Really Distinctive Home.

American Gothic house.

In the summer of 1930, Wood was visiting Eldon, Iowa to attend an art exhibition. While there he was struck by a little white cottage with a "carpenter Gothic" window on the second floor that Wood found “pretentious” for such a humble home. He sketched out the house on an envelope, providing the base for what would become his most famous painting.


4. It Combined Americana With European Technique.

Inspired by the window that recalled the cathedrals he'd seen in Europe during his training and travels, Wood posed his quintessentially American figures in a "rigid frontal arrangement" that recalls Northern Renaissance art, while mimicking that movement's close attention to detail.


5. The Farmer Was Really A Dentist.

The models: Nan Wood Graham (sister of painter) and Dr. Byron McKeeby with Grant Wood's American Gothic, ca. 1940s.

Seeking a model for the male in American Gothic, Wood asked a favor of his dentist, 62-year-old Byron McKeeby. It's likely McKeeby felt a bit obligated as Wood's constant craving for sugar—even putting it on lettuce—made him a client worth keeping happy. All that time in the exam chair gave Wood ample opportunity to examine McKeeby's strong hands. Of them, he said, "This is a marvelous hand. This has strength. This has character.”

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15 Interesting Facts About Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Queen's classic “mock opera” Bohemian Rhapsody was released on October 31, 1975, the song remains one of Queen's most popular songs and is frequently placed on modern lists of the greatest songs of all time.

Bohemian Rhapsody first charted on November 8, 1975. Taken from the ambitious album “A Night At The Opera”, the song was a game changer in rock music, and a song that has gone on to transcend generations. It has inspired an array of cover versions from The Muppets to Weird Al Yankovic1, while its use in the famous Wayne's World scene – one of the most iconic moments in film history – introduced the song to a whole new audience and propelled it to Number 2 on the US Billboard Charts in 1992.

Here, below are 15 interesting facts about Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody...

1. It was originally called 'The Cowboy Song.'

The working title was eventually ditched for "Bohemian Rhapsody." Mercury was working on lines for the song as far back as the late '60s.

2. Freddie Mercury wrote the song in bed.

The double-jointed singer would wake up in the night and reach back to his headboard and play what he'd heard in his dreams.

3. He composed the whole thing on scraps of paper.

The whole song was in Mercury's head, Brian May says, with the frontman carrying around numerous scraps of paper.

4. It was recorded in six different studios.

The band tested contemporary tech to its limits.

5. 180 overdubs were used in the final recording.

The laborious process took weeks and weeks.

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Did You Know: The First and Last Photo of The Beatles Together Taken On The Same Day 7 Years Apart

Here’s a strange coincidence... The Beatles (John, Paul, George and Ringo) took their first and last photo together on the same day seven years apart. The magical date is August 22.

The first photograph of all The Beatles (with Ringo Starr as their “new” drummer) was taken at the Cavern Club on August 22, 1962...

And the last time they were all photographed together was at Lennon’s home in Tittenhurst Park on August 22, 1969 two days after their last recording session together.

(via feelnumb)

12 Things You May Not Know About Halloween

Halloween. Odds are, you think of it as one of the best holidays of the year. If you really stop to think about Halloween and all the bizarre traditions that go along with this beloved holiday, however, you may start to actually wonder… where in the world did all these crazy traditions come from? Costumes, monsters, trick or treating, jack-o-lanterns… well, all this batty stuff had to start somewhere, right? Here are 12 things about Halloween that you may not know!

1. Ireland Is Believed To Be The Birthplace of Halloween.

The ancient Celtic Festival called Samhain was first celebrated more than 2,000 years ago in County Meath. The Celts believed it was a time of transition, when the veil between this world and the next came down, and the spirits of all who had died that year moved on to the next life. But if the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped, the deceased could come back to life and wreak havoc among the living. Not a good thing.

Today the ancient past and the twenty-first century come together at the annual Spirits of Meath Halloween Festival, where a re-enactment of the Celtic celebration kicks off with a torchlit procession through town. The Irish welcome Halloween with bonfires, party games and traditional food, including a fruitcake that contains coins, buttons, rings and other fortunetelling objects. In ancient times, it was believed that if a young woman found a ring in her slice, she’d be married within the next year.


2. People Wore Masks So Ghosts Couldn’t Recognize Them.

Back in the day, the Celts worried about bumping into the ghosts they believed came back to the earth on Halloween. To avoid being recognized, people would don masks when they left their homes after dark in hopes the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. These days folks are willing to spend a bundle in their attempts to be mistaken for pop culture icons and internet memes.


3. Jack-o’-Lanterns Were Once Made Out of Turnips, Beets and Potatoes — Not Pumpkins.

The jack-o’-lantern comes from an old Irish tale about a man named Stingy Jack. According to folklore, Stingy Jack was out getting sloshed with the Devil when Jack convinced his drinking partner to turn himself into a coin to pay for the drinks without spending money. Jack then put the Devil, shaped like a coin, into his pocket, which also contained a silver cross that kept the Devil from transforming back. Jack promised to free the Devil as long as the Devil wouldn’t bother him for a year, and if he died, the Devil could never claim his soul. Jack tricked the Devil again later, getting him to pick a piece of fruit out of a tree and then carving a cross into the bark when the Devil was in the branches. This trick bought Jack another 10 years of devil-free living.

When Jack finally died, God decided he wasn’t fit for heaven, but the Devil had promised never to claim his soul for hell. So Jack was sent off to roam Earth with only a burning coal for light. He put the coal into a turnip as a lantern, and Stingy Jack became “Jack of the Lantern” or “Jack o’ Lantern.” Based on this myth, the Irish carved scary faces into turnips, beets and potatoes to scare away Stingy Jack or any other spirits of the night.


4. While Pumpkins Are Typically Orange, They Can Also Be Green, White, Red, Yellow, Even Tan.

Pumpkins are orange... everybody knows that. But they come in lots of other colors too. You can find pumpkins that are green, white, red, yellow, blue, even tan.

Most pumpkins are orange because of the high amounts of lutein, alpha- and beta- carotene. But don’t assume the absence of orange in the skin means the absence of one or more of these substances – almost all pumpkins have some variation of orange flesh which is rich in Vitamin A and lots of other vitamins, minerals, and heart-healthy antioxidants.


5. Trick or Treating Was Put On Hold During WWII.

Trick or treating has been part of Halloween festivities since the early 20th century but like so many aspects of this holiday, it evolved from an ancient European custom. On All Souls Day, poor people would visit the houses of their wealthier neighbors for a "soul cake" — a form of shortbread — in return for which the beggars promised to pray for the dead of the household. Known as “souling,” the practice was later taken up by children, who would go from door to door asking for gifts such as food and money. Irish and Scottish communities in the US revived the tradition, although it was put on hold for several years during WW II due to sugar rationing.

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9 Old School Beauty Tricks That Still Work Today

Back in the day, people didn't have as many product options as we do now, and they had to make do. And you can, too!

Recent technological advancements in the beauty industry are changing the average beauty routine in major ways. High-tech products and expansive rituals are popping up at a rapid pace, taking simple techniques and complicating them into oblivion. Sometimes this is for the best, but often simple beauty tricks from history can get the job done just fine. From livening up dull skin to creating the perfect curl, there are dozens of new products that could be used to get the job done, but a quick search throughout history will reveal a cheap, quick, and easy solution using items you probably already have around the house. To ensure these quick fixes don't get lost to history, here is a list of some of the very best old school tricks.

1. Mix sugar and honey for an all-natural facial scrub

This mixture is a surefire way to achieve silky smooth skin. The sugar gently sloughs off dead skin cells, while the honey — a natural humectant, meaning it captures and retains moisture — will leave your skin feeling soft and hydrated. The combo is so effective, reports of its use date back to 65 A.D. when it is said that Poppea Sabina — the wife of Nero, the 5th Emperor of the Roman Empire — opted for the use of a mixture of sugar, honey, and facial lotion up to seven times a day.

Note that some add lemon to this mixture in an effort to reduce dark marks and redness, but lemon is actually a big skincare no-no, as its harshly acidity dries out your skin and increases your chances of sunburn.


2. Use olive oil as an overnight moisturizer

Sure, those $100+ night serums leave your skin feeling supple, but an even better solution to dull, dry skin can be picked up at any grocery store. Olive oil is 100 percent natural, non-comedogenic, and chock full of antioxidants, meaning that it is a safe and effective path to supple skin. Hey, if it's good enough for the Ancient Greeks, it's good enough for you!


3. Use witch hazel to depuff eyes

Witch hazel is sourced from a flower that grows across North America and is one of the world's most effective anti-inflammatories. Because it is also eye-safe, the astringent can be dabbed under the eyes to quickly reduce puffiness and discoloration. Can't find pure witch hazel? You might want to check around for, well, hemorrhoid cream, which usually contain a large amount of witch hazel (and might be a bit easier to apply!).


4. Try coconut oil to cut down on frizz

The people of Papua New Guinea have been using coconut oil to tame their locks for centuries, having discovered its power as a natural, lightweight conditioner. It is also said that conditioning with coconut oil will not only leave your hair looking shiny and manageable, but it will also help control dandruff and help scalp ailments like psoriasis or eczema.


5. Use eggs to strengthen your hair

It seems strange to say the least, but eggs have been used as a hair treatment since at least the 1940s. The yolk is full of vitamin A, which increases your hair's ability to create moisture, making it perfect for dry hair. Egg whites, on the other hand, are perfect for oily hair as they contain bacteria-eating enzymes that remove excess oil. Normal hair can see benefits from the entire egg, with is full of helpful proteins and vitamins that increase the strength of your hair. Using either the yolk, whites, or both depending on your hair type, apply the mixture to dry hair and let sit for 30 minutes before shampooing and conditioning as normal. The protein in the egg will leave your hair strong and less prone to breakage.

Oh, and make sure you rinse with cold water, or you might end up with scrambled eggs on your head!

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