Constance's Cosmetics

     Constance Bennett seems to have had a bit of a beauty empire.  Today it seems like every celebrity has a beauty line, from Drew Barrymore's Flower Beauty to what seems like the millionth Britney Spears or J.Lo perfume, celebrities have been in the beauty products game from the beginning.  The footage of Constance using her products survives and is incredibly intriguing.  Unfortunately it appears to be one of the sole surviving remnants.  Bennett's beauty empire lasted approximately a decade - an amazing feat since she began her empire during the Great Depression.  According to the author of The Bennetts, Constance was great at coming up with ideas, but terrible at implementation.  

How Well Do You Know Hollywood? - Question 14

According to Photoplay, July 1940

This star manages her own cosmetic business

Constance Bennett

Janet Gaynor 

Madeleine Carroll

Hedy Lamarr

View answer in comment section

Warner Archive Wednesday - The Unsuspected (1947)

The Unsuspected (1947) - Claude Rains (Victor Grandson), Joan Caulfield (Matilda Frazier), Audrey Totter (Althea Keane), Constance Bennett (Jane Moynihan), Hurd Hatfield (Oliver Keane), Ted North (Steven Francis Howard), Fred Clark (Richard Donovan)

Constance Snags Herself Another Beau

Joel McCrea and Constance Bennett

"Constance Bennett now sports two beaus, Joel McCrea is the new addition.  He is reported to be cutting in on the Marquis de la Falaise de la Coudraye.  He is tall, robust, and handsome chap who has been in movies since the early single days.

Joel McCrea and Constance Bennett

He doesn't have exclusive rights to Constance, however.  The Marquis and he both sometimes lunch with her.

Henry de La Falaise and Constance Bennett

McCrea has played in two of her pictures - Born to Love and Common Law."




[Source: Picture Play; July 1931]

The Marquis and Constance on Their Wedding Day; 1931

Bennett and McCrea would eventually star in a total of 4 films together.  And the Marquis really had nothing to worry about for he and Constance would marry later that year, a mere days after divorcing his wife, the formidable Gloria Swanson.  He and Bennett divorced in 1940.

Henry de La Falaise and Gloria Swanson

Constance Bennett gets a yummy diet

Madame Sylvia suggested this diet for Constance Bennett to fatten her up:

Breakfast

Glass of Orange Juice

Dish of hominy mixed with one over-ripe sliced banana with cream and sugar

Glass of certified milk (half milk/half cream)

Luncheon

Half avocado (alligator pear) on lettuce with mayonnaise (made in your own kitchen)

3 heaping Tablespoons of turnips en puree

3 heaping Tablespoons of fresh green peas

2 slices of whole wheat toast with plenty of fresh butter

1 dish stewed fruit

1 glass certified milk

Dinner

1 cup creamed fresh tomato soup

Mixed grill of lamp chops, kidneys, two strips of crisp bacon

Beets in fresh melted butter (make by the heat of the served dish)

Mashed potatoes

Cup of custard, vanilla sauce (the egg for the custard to be less than one day old)

Black Coffee

Recipes

Stewed Fruit
1. Cook the fruit whole, except those that must be peeled and cored
2. Cover with cold sugared water
3. Bring to a boil. Then take off the fire immediately and cool

Constance Bennett's diet sounds yummy! No wonder I like it, it's supposed to be fattening.

Gloria Swanson is top dog

In 1929, Madame Sylvia was under contract to Pathe. She was in charge of taking care of Gloria Swanson, Ina Claire, Grace Moore, and Constance Bennett.. Under her Pathe contract, Gloria got first dibs on Sylvia's services - everyone else had to work around it. During this time, Ina Claire's old beau, Gene Markey, started seeing Gloria Swanson in order to make Ina mad. Instead of Ina Claire becoming mad at Gloria, she became mad at Sylvia and stopped seeing her.


For info on Ina Claire, check out:
http://flapperdays.blogspot.com/2009/11/basil-rathbones-masquerade-leads-to-ina.html
http://flapperdays.blogspot.com/2009/11/ina-claire-and-alice-white-catfight.html

On a side note, Sylvia gave a pretty disgusting overview of the Hollywood hierarchy she observed while working at Pathe in Hollywood Undressed:

"In Hollywood you can high-hat some, and you can't high-hat others. On the lot you can high-hat writers, dialogue directors, the man who takes orders for custom-made shirts, people who act in Westerns, and Spaniards" (Hollywood Undressed, Page 105).

I'm not sure if that says more about Madame Sylvia, or the times in which she lived.

Up next, Carmel Myers gets on the wrong side of Gloria Swanson.

The Blondes Hair

Since the redheaded posts went so well, I thought I'd head on to the next group, the blondes of course! This advice also comes from Ruth Murin in Good Housekeeping from the 1940s.

Naturally a blonde's first consideration is her much-admired hair. If she appreciates her luck, she does everything she can to keep it fair and shining. Since it looks most beautiful when it has just been washed, she shampoos often. The least hint of oil darkens it and makes it stringy, so once a week at least she bends over a washbowl and rubs bubbly suds into her scalp. She sprays with clear water until each strand squeaks with cleanliness. Since a film of soap left on the hair will dull it, she uses the juice of two lemons in the last rinse, or she may prefer one of the prepared tinted rinses that not only cut soap but heighten the color of the hair. Or she uses a soapless shampoo which, even in hard water, leaves no deposit on the hair. - Ruth Murrin (Good Housekeeping)

I am a total clean hair addict, so I'm not sure I could handle the blonde's beauty routine. I need to wash my hair minimum daily. I understand in the past, people used to bathe like once a week. I just could not have done it. - A

In spite of the best care, some blond locks naturally darken as a girl grows older. The ripe-wheat tone may deepen to antique gold or honey. Bette Davis has hair like this and refuses to have it bleached. She likes the individuality of its caramel tone, the way it sparkles with gold glints when the light is on it. I admire her attitude and commend her example to girls who write me mournfully that they are "muddy blondes". - Ruth Murrin (Good Housekeeping)

Obviously this was written in the 1940s because at one time, Bette Davis did dye her hair bright blonde. I do admire her stance, though. It's hard to fight the pressure to dye your hair. That's why I stick to my red hair as long as it will last. Too bad all my stress is giving me so much white hair :) - A

Even when the fair hair of childhood turns decisively brown, I still think it is best to let nature take its course. After all, it is much nicer to be a brunette than to struggle with bleaches and such. - Ruth Murrin (Good Housekeeping)

Thankfully I have no experience here. Always had red-auburn hair, and totally been too afraid to dye it (My sensitive skin doesn't help either). - A

Tomorrow - 1940s Skincare and Makeup for Blondes

Vintage Inspiration July 24th

I love Constance Bennett. I know most people only remember Joan, but Constance was just as good an actress. Very intelligent.

She was also a very devoted mother, of course

She also had some major drama in her life including:

• Accepted the role of Ellie Andrews in It Happened One Night (1934), but later turned it down when Columbia Pictures would not allow her to produce the film herself.

• Her 1931 contract with Warner Brothers, $300,000 for 2 films. At the time this made her the highest paid actress.

Constance was considered one of the best poker players in Hollywood

• As a colonel's wife and in recognition of her work for the Berlin Airlift, she is buried in Arlington National Cemetery

• Bennett eloped with millionaire socialite Philip Morgan Plant (died 1941) in 1925, they divorced in 1929. In 1932, Bennett brought back from Europe a three-year-old child, whom she claimed to have adopted and named Peter Bennett Plant. In 1942, however, during a battle over a large trust fund established to benefit any descendants of her former husband, Bennett announced that her adopted son actually was her natural child by Plant, born after the divorce and kept hidden in order to ensure that the child's biological father did not get custody. During the court hearings, the actress told her former mother-in-law and her husband's widow that "if she got to the witness stand she would give a complete account of her life with Plant. The matter was settled out of court (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_Bennett)

And last but not least, one of my favorite beauty routines. I love when they play this on TCM. Not only does it give a window into the life of one of my favorite stars, but her house is gorgeous and it is wonderful to view true beauty in real time

And so, as Constance Bennett says, "To be Beautiful and Natural is the Birthright of Every Woman"

Have a Beautiful day Ladies and Gents!