Top 10 Beauty Tips from Audrey Hepburn

Top 10 Beauty Tips from Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn
If you’re a fan of Audrey Heburn’s, or have just been around the Internet for a while, you’ve probably seen her list of beauty tips – as she quoted it often, and it became something of a meme on the ‘net. However, the list was not authored by Hepburn, but by humorist Sam Levenson. Despite the fact that when she quoted it, she attributed it, the mistake persists. But regardless of its author, Heburn’s beloved list of beauty tips echoes through much of her life, and has a great deal to offer to people of all generations. Here are the top 10 beauty tips from Levenson’s list, as cherished by Audrey Hepburn.

Audrey Hepburn in a Hat

10. Speak Kindness



The list begins:

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

The simple quality of kindness can make an angel of anyone, and it takes very little effort to do a kind act. It can be as small as paying the toll for the car behind you, or as grand as a significant donation to a charity. But kindness lights you up inside, and that warm glow is clear to all who encounter you. Hepburn clearly knew this.

Audrey Hepburn in a Tiara

9. Seek Good




The list continues:

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

In the present-day world it’s easy to be negative, especially if you pay attention to the media and talking heads. It may take a little more effort to be positive, but there is goodness all around us, every minute of every day. We only have to look for it. For every horrible thing that happens in this world, there’s something miraculous to counter it. And maybe if we focus more on the good in people, people will be good, period.

Audrey Hepburn in Color

8. Feed the Hungry




The list goes on:

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

When I was a child, ever year around Easter we’d receive a milk carton from our church into which we could place our spare change throughout the season. The money would go to help feed the poor. These sacrifices, however small – one penny at a time – moved me. Such gestures must have moved Hepburn, too, because she spent much of her life working tirelessly for several charitable causes.

Audrey Hepburn in Nature

7. Cherish Children




The list continues:

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

In her later years of life, Audrey Hepburn was named the official spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Her work with UNICEF made this point on Levenson’s list ring particularly true.

Audrey Hepburn Smiling

6. You’re Not Alone


The list continues:

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

Anyone who’s ever been moved by the poem “Footprints” is familiar with this concept, but for all of us, it’s absolutely true. And what a hopeful statement, indeed. Even in our darkest, loneliest hours, there is someone somewhere willing to wait with us for the dawn. Whether it’s a call to a hotline, a support group, a doctor, an old friend, a sibling or a parent, we can turn to people when we’re in need. And for those who are religious, there is often the belief that God is an ever-present companion.

Audrey Hepburn with a Dog

5. Value Others



The list goes on:

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

There are two salient points in this statement. First, how wonderful would it be if we lived in a world where each of us was valued, respected and loved, and never cast aside? Enacting a change like that in our world begins with each of us refusing to cast aside any other human being. Second, in the Sims, they say friendships are like plants: they need to be nurtured now and again or they’ll wither away. If you value your relationships with people, you need to work at them. Don’t take your loved ones for granted.

Audrey Hepburn with Short Hair

4. Helping Hands



The list continues:

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

There is a saying that “the gods help those who help themselves.” We certainly are our go-to guy when it comes to solving our own problems. We often have the resources we need to get out of a bind whether we realize it or not. We have our own helping hands. But once in a while we need to reach out to others, and others need to reach out to us. For that, we should offer a helping hand to our fellow man, as well. It all goes back to those little matters of kindness and valuing others. And when we need someone, someone will be there – because what goes around comes around, too.

Formal Audrey Hepburn

3. In Your Eyes



The list continues:

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

If you are a person who feels love and gives love, you are a person who will radiate love. And love is a beautiful thing. If the doorway to the heart is through the eyes, one needn’t look much further than Audrey Hepburn for proof that a loving, giving nature complements beauty, too. During World War II, when she was just 13, Hepburn’s giving nature and a heaping dose of patriotism drove her to act as a secret messenger for the Resistance in Holland. It is such acts of selflessness that we saw reflected in her soulful, brilliant eyes.

Older Audrey Hepburn

2. Show Your Love




The list winds down:

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode, but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives and the passion that she shows.

The old adage “beauty is on the inside” is an adage for a reason: it’s stood the test of time because it’s true. Being beautiful isn’t about putting on make-up, dressing to the nines or injecting Botox into every wrinkle. Being beautiful is about having a zeal for life, and a love for ourselves as well as other people. When we truly love ourselves we open ourselves up to happiness, and that shows on the outside. And by extension, we make room in our hearts for other people, which lets us display acts of caring like Audrey Hepburn did throughout her life.

Aging Audrey Hepburn

1. Aging is Graceful


The list ends:

The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years.

While few people would argue that growing old is physically easy, there’s every reason to argue that growing old only lends itself to emotional beauty, and carries with it a natural grace. With every passing year we grow a little more wise, have new opportunities to be kind and to receive kindness and display a bit more maturity. The beauty of youth is fleeting, but the beauty of old age is a beauty that’s rooted in the very core of our being, because it’s a reflection of who we have become through years of experience and walking upon this sometimes trying, but always awe-inspiring Earth. Embrace your age.