You've seen it on every Pinterest board since 2010. Maybe it’s tattooed on someone’s ribs or printed on a dusty TJ Maxx canvas. You know the one: "For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness." It is arguably the most famous beauty Audrey Hepburn quote in existence. But here is the thing—she actually didn’t write it.
Honestly, the real story is much more touching than a simple misattribution. Audrey didn't just stumble upon these words; she lived them. She was a woman who survived the Dutch famine of 1944, eating tulip bulbs to stay alive while the Nazis occupied her town. When you understand that background, her take on beauty stops being "live, laugh, love" fluff and starts feeling like a survival strategy.
The Secret Poet Behind the Words
The poem most people credit to Audrey is actually titled "Time Tested Beauty Tips." It was written by Sam Levenson, an American humorist, for his grandchild. Audrey didn’t claim authorship, but she loved the poem so much she read it to her children on her very last Christmas Eve in 1992.
Because she was, well, Audrey Hepburn, her recitation became the definitive version. It’s kinda funny how history works. A Jewish humorist from Brooklyn writes a poem for his grandkid, and a Belgian-born Hollywood icon makes it immortal.
The lines go like this:
- For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
- For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
- For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
- For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
It’s easy to see why it stuck to her. Audrey spent her final years as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, traveling to Somalia and Ethiopia. She wasn't just talking about sharing food with the hungry; she was literally doing it while her own health was failing.
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Rethinking the "Happy Girls are Prettiest" Trope
Another massive beauty Audrey Hepburn quote that floats around is: "I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls."
People use this as a caption for their vacation selfies, but for Audrey, "happiness" wasn't about being perky. She was famously an introvert. She struggled with deep bouts of melancholy and the trauma of her childhood during World War II. When she said happy girls are the prettiest, she was talking about a hard-won peace.
She once told a reporter that "true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul." She specifically noted that this kind of beauty only grows with passing years. That’s a bold thing to say in an industry that treats actresses like they have an expiration date at 30.
Why her "look" was actually a rebellion
In the 1950s, Hollywood was obsessed with the "bombshell" look. Think Marilyn Monroe or Elizabeth Taylor—curves, heavy glamour, and a certain kind of "come-hither" energy.
Then along comes Audrey.
She was thin (partially due to the malnutrition she suffered during the war), had thick "caterpillar" eyebrows, and rocked a pixie cut. She basically broke the mold. Her makeup artist, Alberto de Rossi, used to spend hours separating each of her eyelashes with a safety pin. Seriously. A safety pin. But the goal wasn't to look "perfect" in a plastic way; it was to emphasize her eyes, which she called the "doorway to her heart."
The "Two Hands" Philosophy
One of the most actionable pieces of advice she ever gave—often bundled with her beauty quotes—is about aging.
"As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others."
This is the bridge between her external style and her internal life. She didn't buy into the "anti-aging" frenzy. In her later years, her wrinkles were deep and visible. She didn't hide them. She viewed her face as a map of her life. To her, "elegance is the only beauty that never fades," and elegance was about how you treated the person standing in front of you, not the thread count of your scarf.
What most people get wrong about her style
People think Audrey was all about Givenchy and "The Little Black Dress." And sure, Hubert de Givenchy was her best friend and designed her iconic Breakfast at Tiffany’s wardrobe. But Audrey herself preferred simple slacks and polo shirts.
She once said, "Why change? Everyone has his own style. When you have found it, you should stick to it."
She wasn't chasing trends. She was cultivating a uniform. That’s probably why you can look at a photo of her from 1956 and a photo from 1991 and she looks like the same person. The "beauty" wasn't coming from the clothes; the clothes were just the frame for the person inside.
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Living the Audrey Philosophy Today
If you want to actually apply the beauty Audrey Hepburn quote philosophy to your life in 2026, it isn't about buying a specific lipstick or getting a fringe.
It's about the "restoration" of people.
She famously said: "People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone."
If you want "beautiful eyes," stop looking for flaws in the mirror and start looking for the "good" in the people you encounter daily. It sounds cheesy, I know. But coming from a woman who saw the absolute worst of humanity during the Holocaust and still chose to believe in kindness? It carries weight.
Actionable Steps for "Audrey-Style" Beauty:
- Audit your "kindness" output: Before worrying about your lip liner, think about the last three things you said. Were they kind?
- Simplify the routine: Audrey’s look was based on a "less is more" approach. Focus on one feature (like eyes or brows) and let the rest be natural.
- The "Two Hands" Rule: Dedicate a specific amount of time each week to helping someone else. It sounds unrelated to beauty, but the "glow" Audrey had in her 60s came from her work with UNICEF.
- Embrace the aging process: Stop viewing wrinkles as failures. View them as "passing years" where your beauty is supposedly growing, according to the legend herself.
Audrey Hepburn’s legacy isn't a collection of pretty words; it’s a blueprint for a life where your character and your appearance are the same thing. She proved that you can be an icon not by being the loudest or the curviest, but by being the most authentic version of yourself.