For most women, finding that one perfect make-up or hair product is a lot like laying your hands on that elusive pair of jeans that fit perfectly, accentuating all the right curves. When you do manage to find them, you hold on to them. In the case of beauty secrets, they’re often passed on – just like these classics that have been revered down the years. Whether they make your lashes look ultra long or bring that gorgeous radiant glow to your skin, they all have our grand mum’s or mum’s seal of approval. After all, some things just never go out of style.

1. Eye Opener: Shu Uemura Eye Lash Curler
He started off as one of the leading make-up artists for Hollywood movies in 1955. Five years later, he developed his first product, the Unmask Cleansing Oil. After that there was no looking back for Japanese cosmetics genius, Shu Uemura, who blended elements of ‘nature, science and art’ to create innovative skincare and professional tools. His eyelash curler remains a cult classic till date. This tool is legendary. From a fleeting mention in the über-snooty, The Devil Wears Prada to getting a nod from widely acclaimed beauty artistes, magazine editors and celebrities like Sally Pressman from the popular serial, Army Wives, this old-time favourite gives you voluptuous, oomphy lashes. Now redesigned to deliver even more curl, this one will continue to find a place on most best-of-the-lot lists.

2. Tress Truth: L’Oréal Professionnel Elnett Hairspray
Launched in 1961, this lacquer-free spray has acquired quite a following, especially since the brand managed to rope in Penélope Cruz, Claudia Schiffer and Laetitia Casta as ambassadors. This micro-fine spray manages to hold even the most complicated styles without leaving any sticky, messy residue and protects against humidity. And the brand has still retained the gold can it originally came in although they have introduced different versions. With the same fab results. After all, stylists still swear by it.

3. Fab Fixer: Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant
Celebrities who list this product as a must-have in your vanity case include Catherine Zeta-Jones, Cate Blanchett, Thandie Newton and Gisele Bündchen. In fact, actress Amanda Peet has gone on record saying it’s “a magical ointment” while Jennifer Beals calls it her “dessert island product.” And most women agree completely. Ever since it was created in 1930 by Elizabeth Arden to soothe skin, this multi-purpose Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant was great for softening hands, nails, feet, ankles and toes, healing skin, shaping brows and sealing in moisture. In fact, it proved to be such a success that Arden even applied it on her famous thoroughbred horses’ legs to soothe them. It got its name after a client used it to treat her child’s skinned knee and exactly eight hours later, the skin was cured.

4. Wonder Whiff: Chanel N°5
When Coco Chanel commissioned Ernest Beaux to make perfumes, he was inspired by a trip inside the Arctic Circle, where during the midnight hour, the fragrance given off by the lakes and rivers made him want to recreate the smell. At the time, jasmine oil was exorbitantly priced. And the N°5 scent he created with notes of jasmine was the one she loved most. In May 1921, she gave her friends the fragrance to test; since then its fans have ranged from Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve, Carole Bouquet, Vanessa Paradis, even Andy Warhol who immortalised it as a 20th century icon of the in a series of nine silkscreen prints in 1959, which earned the perfume a place in the permanent collections of the Museum Of Modern Art in New York. But what catapulted it to iconic status was Marilyn Monroe’s endorsement. When asked what she wore in bed, she said, “Why, Chanel N°5, of course.” Till date, women across the globe continue to heed Coco Chanel’s advice and wear the perfume “wherever she expects to be kissed.”

5. Pure Pleasure: Dove Beauty Bar
In 1955, the Lever brothers introduced the Dove ‘beauty bar’ with one-fourth cleansing cream that promised to not dry skin like regular soap – a fact that was intensely advertised in their campaign which showed cream being poured into a soap bar. Women tried it and it worked. Before long they all hankered after the soft, moisturised skin that this bar delivered. And thus the brand’s legacy was established.