The Most Beautiful Women I Know Use These Products

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The first time I slept over at a friend’s house, around age 13 or so, I was shocked by the number of bottles on their bathroom counter — lotions, gels, foams, anti-aging products, perfumes and tubes of who knows what. In contrast, I’d grown up seeing my mother and grandmother — the most beautiful women I knew — use very few. They got their “glow” from sitting outside on sunny days, and their counters, purses and showers held hardly any products.

My family immigrated from a remote mountain village in Greece, which was the origin of my family’s eye toward natural beauty and fewer chemicals. There were no six-step skin treatment lines there. While my friends tried to blast their acne with numerous masks, creams and sprays, I was perplexed. They didn’t seem to be working, and their skin and hair didn’t look much different from mine at all.

Thinking back, that simplicity was a gift in my childhood and teen years. I never noticed face wrinkles until a commercial pointed out the need to eliminate them with Botox or Retinol cream. I didn’t see unmade-up faces as “not put together,” just typical faces. As I approach 40, wrinkles are coming through on my own face, and I realize how fortunate I was to have a lifetime of training in natural beauty.

In place of the numerous beauty items women think are must-haves today, the most beautiful women I know only used these:

Vaseline

Sure, it might be outdated, and the container isn’t cute enough for a Sephora shelf, but this stuff was slathered on almost anything that seemed dry, sore or cracked. From wintertime lips to less-than-smooth elbows, my grandmother kept this right by the couch where she watched Oprah every day at 4 p.m. You never know when you’ll need a dab. When I look at the extensive products made for everything Vaseline does, I realize what a multipurpose gem it is. She skipped expensive pedicures by slathering this on her feet and covering them with warm socks. Today, numerous petroleum-free products are available as alternatives, but for decades, this was a must-have.

Olive Oil

A bit of olive oil takes the place of numerous cuticle oils and even hair moisturizing treatments if yours is dry or brittle. Only years later did I learn the reason — the antioxidants and fatty acids in olive oil make it a perfect, chemical-free product for hair, skin, nails and more.

Plain Soap

And by plain, I do mean plain — unscented, unfancy and understated. This meant that we rarely had any sort of rash, reaction or bump that I’m sure numerous people suffer from extra fragrances and added chemicals in more expensive products.

Red Lipstick

Before you think we were the boringest lot of makeup-free women around, there was an exception to the rule — we each owned a serious tube of bright-red lipstick from an early age. We didn’t wear it on Sundays because at our traditional church it was thought to be just a little too provocative (??). But we wore it everywhere else, and it didn’t have to be more intense than a few dollars’ worth of drugstore lipstick to have an impact.

Sunlight

I distinctly remember my mom acting significantly confused when I came back from college asking about “bronzer.” Our family’s skin would instantly tan on its own after a few minutes of sun. Against all recommendations, of course, we rarely used sunscreen for this reason. But as an adult, even after sunscreen became a part of my routine, I realized that just 15 minutes of vitamin D was the perfect bronzer — and mood booster — to last all day.

Though I love a slow sauntering trip around a makeup store, when I think about beautiful women, no products come to mind — just their inner light, love and wrinkly-eyed cackles as they cracked up at something hilarious together.

 
Which of the above do you use? Or what's your go-to beauty product? Let us know in the comments below.