Elizabethan cosmetics.

When the Italian renaissance began it pushed forward the end of the middle ages. Men and woman began taking an interest in art, music, poetry and academia.  Europe was alight with culture and so this began the people's passion for personal appearance. When Elizabeth began her reign on the 15th of January 1559 she brought with her the richness of Europe. she took a strong interest in Italian fashion and culture and felt it deeply important to share with her own country. She took a specific interest in the cosmetics of the Italian renaissance.
To Elizabeth and the people of that era the epitome of youth and beauty was pale skin, grey eyes, rosy lips and cheeks and  light hair. They began making there own concoctions from natural resources and from imports from Arabian countries.

Recipes for white skin excerpts taken from The Artificial Face: A History of Cosmetics Author Fenja Gunn.

'Of white Tartar take two drams, Camphire one dram, Coperas half a dram, the whites of 4 Eggs, Juice of two lemmons, oyl of Tartar four ounces, Plantan water as much, white Mercury a penny worth, bitter Almonds 2 ounces, al must be powdered and mixed with the oyl and water and then boiled upon a gentle fire and strain it, and so keep it: the party must rub her face with a Scarlet cloath and then over night wash her with it, and in the morning wash it off with bran and white wine.'

To remove freckled skin

'To take away freckles from the face and hands.'

'The sap that issueth out of a Birch tree in great abundance, being opened on March and Aprill, with a receiver of glass set under the boring thereof to receive the same doth perfume the same most excellently and maketh the skin very cleer.'

'To Make the Face White and Fair'

'Wash they face with Rosemary boiled in white wine, and thou shalt be fair. 

 Recipes for cosmetics included:

Rouge for lips and cheeks - Red ochre. They also used white lead base with added dye and they also were known to use crushed beetles from the middle east.

White powder for face and hands - White lead ground down which was extremely dangerous to the skin but very popular to use. Ground alabaster was another and starch with perfume added.

Kohl for eyes - Powdered Altimony.

Lip Pencil was used for colour - Ground alabaster or plaster of paris powdered down into a paste with added dye. It was then rolled into a pencil shape and left out in the sun to dry.

Egg whites were used to create a fix for the makeup. As the egg whites went dry they create a thin mask that would prevent cracking.

A high forehead was also a favour of women in the Elizabethan era and women would pluck there eyebrows and an inch into their hairline to create this look.
Although the catholic church didn't like her wearing makeup Elizabeth continued to do so up until she died. The older she got the more obsessed she became with wearing makeup to preserve her youth. The makeup of this time would also be unsightly to modern eyes. It was caked on and had a hard exterior due to the egg white shell over the top. It was too much and not very attractive as Shakespeare was known to have said.  Elizabeth was also known for drawing on blue veins around her eyes she thought this would achieve a youthful translucent alabaster look. Her hands were also her favourite thing to show off so these of course had to be painted and adorned with jewels.
After having smallpox at the young age of 28 she became more obsessed because of the need to  cover her scars. The makeup also had a dangerous effect on women at this time and a damaging effect to their skin, due to their toxic ingredients like lead. It would seep into the skin and slowly poison them. This too affected women's skin greatly which would only make them want to use it more to cover the damage.

Not much has changed it seems, when it comes to strange and sometimes dangerous ingredients. We still have a long way to go to get completely safe cosmetics. Below are a list of cosmetics and some ingredients that are still found in them:

Foundation - water, silicone and minerals.

Nail polish can contain a shiny substance from fish scales to create the shimmer look.

Lipsticks - Traces of Iron rust, lead, arsenic and aluminium can be found in modern lipsticks.

Synthetic food dyes are also a remaining ingredient in makeup today.

Mascara - Some mascara's contain an ingredient that create's formaldehyde. This prevents the spread of bacteria. Old mascara doesn't have this so its advised you change your mascara every 3 months.

The first time I read about Elizabethans products I was so shocked to find out they put such harsh and toxic ingredients on their faces for the need to keep up with trends. Looking at modern cosmetics and skin creams and even cosmetic surgery, not much has changed. We are lead by the pressure to stay young and beautiful but luckily we also have the option to go vegan. Vegan products are becoming more prominent in the makeup industry with makeup brands like Kat Von D Cosmetics, Illamasqua, Urban Decay, Tarte Cosmetics and more we have the option to use safer makeup products. Vegan products do not use harmful ingredients or contain animal by products in them making them a lot better for your skin and a lot nicer to use because they are also not tested on animals.


   

References: 

Phillippy, Patricia (November 2005) Painting Women: Cosmetic, Canvases, and early Modern Culture. Baltimore. John Hopkins University Press. Pages 132-138.

Ribeiro, Aileen (2011) Facing Beauty: Painted Women and Cosmetic Art. London. Yale University Press. Pages 2, 6, 17, 18, 34, 40, 41, 96, 98.

Gunn, Fenja. (1973) The Artificial Face. UK. Hippocrene Press. Pages 64-85.

Eldridge, Lisa (2015) Face Paint. New York. Abrams Image. Page's 6, 19, 24, 25, 26, 27, 54, 57, 58, 59.