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"How do I look so young?" Lovely Donna Reed laughed, saying, "That's impossible for me to answer, I'd say perhaps because I don't feel older. I feel young. I feel the mental attitude of feeling beautiful is important."

However, Donna has formulated definite ideas, philosophies and habits and unlike many Hollywood beauty queens, she's happy to share her secrets.

"I think you will find that everything in my life is based on the old Greek philosophy...everything in moderation...nothing in excess," Donna explains. "I believe this is the best formula for happiness all around...not only physical but mental, too."

Of course, one of the most important ingredients not only of physical and mental happiness, but of beauty, is good health. Donna has firm ideas on this.

"I was born on a farm in Iowa," she says. "And I feel the basis of good health is laid when you're a child. Good health comes from good nutrition and in spite of all the wonderful things we have available in this country food-wise, many young children don't eat properly. It's very important for parents to see that their children have well balanced diets..."

Donna herself is small, stands 5'5", weighs between 110 and 112 pounds and wears a size 8 dress. How does she do it? Donna is the first time admit that she's lucky when it comes to dieting.

"I don't follow any special diet because I have no weight problem. The only time I did have a weight problem was once in my life when I was 16 or 17. I finally got myself down to the proper weight for me--and I've stayed there by eating lots of fruits and vegetables and proteins.

"Really--I eat everything I want. I believe it's a terrible mental strain to deny yourself anything for which you have a craving. The trick is not so much what you eat, but the amount you eat. If you crave a chocolate--eat it! But not the whole box!

"As for vitamins...I try to remember them. But sometimes I forget to take them."

Still another important ingredient of good health and beauty is exercise. Donna says, "I do about ten minutes of sitting-up exercises in the morning--not for any particular corrective thing...not to take inches off any particular part of me. I exercise mainly for circulation. I do deep breathing and stretching.

"Then, too, I swim and play tennis. At our home in Beverly Hills we have a heated pool so we swim all year. Incidentally we just bought a small home in Palm Springs which has a pool, too. The house is set up so that we can go down for weekends and I can keep it up myself without help.

"Now that my three older children are grown--Penny 16; Tony, Jr., 15, and Timmy, 13 (Mary, the baby is 5 1/2), we have our own tennis team...doubles for tennis so to speak. We play at the Beverly Hills Tennis Club, at a friend's home in Beverly Hills and at the Racquet Club in Palm Springs.

"Also, my whole family loves to bowl and we go whenever we all can."

Another of Donna's secrets is that she keeps her range of interests as wide as possible. This leads people who know her to say, "She's one of the most stimulating women because she reacts to everything you say so interestingly. Donna doesn't just wait for you to finish what you're saying to rush in with what she wants to say, just listens to you! She's charming and gracious and has a natural feeling of interest in everything that's going on around her."

One of Donna's major interests is, of course, her work. "I feel that keeping busy, keeping your mind active and having many interests besides yourself reflects in your face and in your health," she enthuses.

"I thought I was busy before I started the TV series. I thought I was busy with a family of four children and an occasional movie. But when you make a TV series, it's every day and every week. I really didn't know whether I could do it or not. But I found that I have even more time. I've discovered you can do anything you want to do. You find the time and a way to do just what you want."

Yet another way Donna keeps her interests wide is by reading widely.

"I read in bed at night before I go to sleep. I find that this relaxes me in preparation for sleep."

Actually, reading serves a dual purpose for Donna. She is well aware of the value of sleep as an aid to looking beautiful--not just the amount of sleep, but the kind of sleep you get.

"Most people sleep too much," she believes. "You can condition yourself to less sleep. For instance, I get 7 to 8 hours every night. If you get early sleep--not late sleep--you can get along on much less. By early sleep, I mean those hours before midnight. You get twice as much good from one hour before midnight as one hour after midnight.

"Because of this, I'm an early riser. Usually I'm up by six. You know, I have to report to the studio by seven. But before leaving for the studio, I breakfast with the children. Incidentally, I always manage dinner with them too. If, for instance, we're going out for dinner on the weekend, we always sit down with the children and visit with them while they're eating."

To get back, however, to the physical aspects of Donna's beauty, we asked her about that common bugaboo--complexion problems.

"I don't have any particular skin problem," Donna admitted. "I'm fortunate in that I have good, healthy skin. I remember my grandmother recommended I use a brush...so I tried it once and it just made my face burn."

Here's what Donna does today to keep that no-problem complexion:

"Whether it does any good or not, I don't know, but it makes me feel better to use some creams at night. I use an eye cream and a throat cream and a night cream

"Any actress's skin gets a workout. So I believe in letting my skin breathe when I'm off camera. That's why I don't wear make-up when I don't have to.

"After a day on the set, I remove the studio make-up with a cleanser. But I don't feel any cleanser can get the pores completely clean, so I use a good soap, too."

Next to Donna herself, the two people who know her beauty secrets best are her make-up man and her hairdresser. Here are their special tips on how they glamorize their favorite star.

"On Donna, I use a homogenized liquid make-up," says Clay Campbell, Donna's make-up man for the past five years. "It's a panchromatic color; all make-up for films are of a panchromatic color. Many companies make this type base but very few have come out with a homogenized liquid.

"Under her make-up--while she is still sitting under the dryer--I apply a moisturizer on her face. This moisturizer keeps the water in her skin and protects it from the heat of the dryer. Let me say this: Your skin needs water more than oil. The water in your skin evaporates and you need to replace it. The oil doesn't evaporate.

"Donna has a pretty perfect eyebrow line..actually a very distinctive one (She has great bone structure in her face.) I use a brown eye brow pencil--medium brown. And I use a dark brown line over her eyelashes.

"Although some will argue with this I use rouge on Donna quite close up under the eyes...blended well into a triangle and on into her hairline. But this I stress--rouge must be applied differently for everyone. For instance, if someone has been using sunglasses, you must blend color into the white area under the eyes. Incidentally, I use a transparent type rouge on Donna...from a manufacturer who makes only one color rouge. But it has to be the proper manufacturer...the correct product.

"I use a liquid black eye liner over her eyes...a little black mascara...but none on the lower lashes. No black line under her eyes. A little brown eye shadow.

"If Donna's going out for a special occasion, I do her make-up and use a lighter shade than is required for on-camera. We change her eye shadow for these occasions to a translucent green.

"For daytime wear off-camera, Donna is very capable and does a beautiful job on her make-up. She uses a thin, natural base. She doesn't go in for heavy suntanning so her skin is in excellent condition.

"Usually Donna prefers a melon red lip rouge and a translucent powder. For at-home wear, she uses only lipstick; she doesn't need eyebrow pencil.

"I would say her make-up secret is to strive for naturalness."

Gertrude Wheeler, Donna's hairdresser for the last three years, revealed these secrets about the star.

"When she's working, we shampoo Donna's hair every morning with a clear liquid shampoo and apply a moisturizing agent type of cream rinse which keeps her hair from drying. The whole process takes about an hour. Right now Donna's wearing her hair in a semi-bouffant. Her hair is one length all over except for the front which is cut short to sweep over her forehead. I keep Donna's hair cut in a blunt cut, for her hair is fine--but she has lots of it. We use only a light hair spray to hold it.

"As for styling her hair, Miss R. is the most cooperative person I've ever worked with. She likes to change her style, although we don't make any extreme changes because of the show being the type it is.

"On occasion, when she goes out for the evening, we do an evening-type hairdo which is built up on top. As long as we keep it soft around the face, she can wear her hair almost any way.

"Often I've gone to her home to do her hair...when she's doing a layout...actually any time when she's apt to be photographed. We keep a regular type hair dryer there for such times.

"Only occasionally will Donna do her hair herself. Then she'll just roll it up on rollers.

"As for her changes in style--I design whatever changes there are. I work them out in advance, in my mind. Having worked with her so long I know ahead of time what will look well on her and on the screen. Since she's so photogenic it's quite easy. She looks well in almost any style."

Of course, not every girl can say that. Not every girl looks like Donna Reed. But everyone can learn something from the hints Donna and her friends have given. Because they've shared with you her secret recipe for staying young and beautiful.