Despite the glamour, luxury, notoriety, sparkling jewels and all-around iconic status, those who knew Elizabeth Taylor best say she was one Dame who love her drugstore beauty products.
According to the House of Taylor/Elizabeth Taylor Estate, three drugstore products Taylor relied on “regularly over decades” included Jergens Ultra Healing Face & Body Lotion ($9) as face cream, Sea Breeze to freshen up, and Johnson’s Baby Shampoo ($7), which she paired with an Oral B toothbrush to clean the 33-carat Elizabeth Taylor Diamond (formerly known as the Krupp Diamond).
“No doubt Elizabeth had access to any luxury items she wanted, but she wasn’t a snob and had a very democratic approach to people, places and things,” her estate shares. “She didn’t believe that a high price tag or a designer label made something better. It simply came down to whether it worked well or not. For her, it was often the usual that was special.”
“During the time of the old movie studio system, they would create personas for their rising stars. Once Elizabeth became a teenager and moved past roles involving horses and dogs, they started branding her as a privileged rich girl. Elizabeth got a kick out of pushing back on that persona and became rebellious. She embraced the unexpected and found ways to define herself away from the public’s perception of her.”
Her famous portfolio of scents carried the same approach. “When Elizabeth created her blockbuster White Diamonds fragrance, she designed it as it was an aspirational luxury perfume, but with the idea that every woman could be able to afford it, making it a little luxury and one that would be available at both at prestige department stores and drugstores most people frequent, like Walgreens and CVS.”
Plus, the estate shares, “ordinary” destinations like drugstores often captivated Taylor. “Elizabeth had never stepped foot into a bank until she was in her 50s and was only there for an AIDS foundation board meeting. It was the same with grocery stores and drugstores. Working from the age of nine and having had such an unusual life experience it was rare for her to visit places the rest of us regularly frequent, but on the very rare occasion that she did she became like a kid in a candy store. Embracing everyday items that to her were unique and special.”
