Who is the Ultimate Beauty Icon Of All Time?

Well, it's Audrey Hepburn, according to new research from cosmetics and skincare brand ARTISTRY by Amway. The screen legend – best known for her role in Breakfast at Tiffany’s – fought off tough competition from Beyonce, who, despite being the most googled female of 2014, only came fifth. American siren Marilyn Monroe took second place, while fellow Hollywood star Grace Kelly came third in the survey which quizzed over 2000 Brits. Both Penelope Cruz and Charlize Theron missed out on a top-ten position with just 1% of votes apiece and supermodel Kate Moss didn't do much better, scooping a measly 2% of the votes. Even once-crowned ‘Sexiest Woman Alive’ Scarlett Johansson couldn’t compete with the big beauty hitters from Hollywood’s Golden Age to make the top five. Here are the Top Ten Ultimate Beauty Icons of All Time, according to the survey :

1st Audrey Hepburn

2nd Marilyn Monroe

3rd Grace Kelly

4th Sophia Loren

5th Beyonce

6th Brigitte Bardot

7th Jean Simpson

8th Kate Moss

9th Ava Gardner

10th Scarlett Johansson

The survey also asked 2,000 women across the UK to reveal their views about beauty and their beauty regime, with the following results:

Asked what is it that makes women feel more beautiful, over two-thirds (68%) said confidence is the Holy Grail of beauty, more than half (57%) claimed that being in love makes women more attractive and 38% said they felt better about themselves when they have their make-up on.

 Rather than being negative about the impact of ageing, women aged 55 and over are more content with their own beauty than younger women aged 18-24 (25.94% versus 22%). Also, younger ladies aged 18-24 admit to wearing a lot of make-up to help them feel more beautiful (19.8%) whilst the more mature lady is less inclined to rely heavily on cosmetics (3.74%).

Brits still remain pretty thrifty when forking out on beauty products, with just under half (46.67%) spending less than £10 a month.

Sheryl Franklin-Worth, Corporate Affairs Manager at Amway UK says: ‘The study by our cosmetics and skincare brand, ARTISTRY, not only reveals who British women see as the ultimate beauty icon - namely Audrey Hepburn - but also reveals some great insights into what defines beauty and what makes a women feel beautiful.

“Our ARTISTRY skincare and make-up collection has been making women feel beautiful around the world for many years now. Our ethos is to create the very best formulations possible to help women look and feel the most beautiful they can be, whatever their age and whatever their lifestyle.”

Artistry by Amway sent me through their Advanced Skin Refinisher (£53.35 for 30ml) to try out. They describe it as an intensive “Smart Pore Eraser” for instantly softer, more even-textured skin and a progressively more refined look and feel - so I may be topping the chart myself next year ! Well, maybe not, but it is making my skin feel beautifully refreshed and pampered, even with the biting cold weather that usually leaves it feeling dried out and tingly. It has been clinically tested to reduce the appearance of pores by 62% in 4 weeks, so even if I'm loving it already, I'm hoping the long-term results will be even more impressive. It has definitely tightened up the skin on my face, with the pores and I even think some wrinkles less visible too. Pierre stroked my face the other day and said it was nice and soft too - out of the mouths of babes ... ! The manufacturers claim that the results are comparable to a professional fractional laser treatment, so if you want to give your slightly more mature skin some serious pampering, it's ideal.

 for more information : http://www.amway.co.uk/product/117842,artistry-intensive-skincare-advanced-skin-refinisher#.VL5AykeG9gg

Disclosure : I received the product in order to write an honest review.