Elizabeth Taylor Became A Beauty Icon With This Legendary On-Screen Eyeliner Moment

When it comes to the elite of Old Hollywood, Dame Elizabeth Taylor was at the pinnacle of it all. Although Elizabeth Taylor was known for her many wedding dresses, she was also renowned for her beauty — particularly her bewitching violet eyes. But there was no moment in her career that truly accentuated her eyes more than her role as the doomed Egyptian queen in 1963's "Cleopatra". As seen in the image below, her iconic eye makeup consisted of cat-eye liner and blue eyeshadow, which went from her eyelids all the way up to her eyebrows. The look would not be forgotten, and there are numerous tutorials online directing fans on how to achieve it, cementing Taylor's place as a style and beauty icon. 

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Surprisingly, the "A Place in the Sun" actor revealed that she actually did that memorable makeup look herself. "When I was younger, for a long time I didn't wear any makeup in films," she told designer Michael Kors, as per Harper's Bazaar. "When I did start to wear makeup, I always did it myself." And Taylor was also very particular about her eyeliner — it was a non-negotiable in her makeup routine. "There was one eyeliner that she always used and it was a Clinique eyeliner," makeup artist Francesca Tolot recounted, per Vogue. Her personal assistant, Tim Mendelson, also spoke up about Taylor's love of eye makeup, telling The Hollywood Reporter that Taylor would spend 90 minutes on her eyes "just because she enjoyed it." It's evident Taylor knows best when it comes to bringing out her eyes.

As someone considered the most beautiful woman in the world during her heyday, it's not surprising that Elizabeth Taylor took great care in her appearance. And some of her beauty techniques were comparable to the ones popular in the modern era. In fact, Taylor regularly exfoliated her face using a technique we know today as dermaplaning. She would do this religiously before applying makeup, using a razor to delicately shave off dead skin and other nasties off her face to prevent breakouts and keep her skin spotless and smooth. 

Elizabeth Taylor would agree that radiant skin is the perfect blend of dewy and matte, but she had her own way of getting the perfect glowy finish. In lieu of setting sprays or setting powders created for this specific purpose, the "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" star would hop into a bath with a full face of makeup on. The resulting humidity would leave an ethereal sheen on her face, which is exactly as the Oscar winner intended.