One big thing was the white skin, every one wanted to be really pale, is Elizabeth was pale they wanted to be pale.
Having red lips and red cheeks was also one thing in fashion back then, having no eye brows or very round ones to make the fore head appear larger was too and having red hair.
White Skin
Woman wanted to be fair skinned back in the Elizabethan times, as having fair skin was a sign of wealth. If you was a worker you would be outside and you would get a tan from the sun but, rich people didn't work and didn't really go outside so they would be pale.
A recipe known for making the skin whiter and fair -
'Wash they face with Rosemary boyled in white wine, and thou shalt be fair'
This is just to make the face fairer, I have no idea how this worked but it must have if woman were using it to get the paler complexion they wanted.Ceruse, was also a very he cosmetic back then. This made the face paler by using the two man ingredients 'White lead and vinegar'.
It was very poisonous on the skin making it crack, blister and even caused hair loss. The mixture was very white and they rubbing it all over the skin which was visible, the face, neck, chest and hands.
Queen Elizabeths face over time became cracked and she used everything she could get her hand onto keep the youthful look. A lot of woman used this minute on their face and it could even could have caused Elizabeths death.
Red Lips
Having red lips and red cheeks were all the craze against the pale white skin. There was plenty of different receipes to get the perfect red for the lips and cheeks but these are two that I have found.
Recipe for fucus (red facepaint): "Mix Cochineal with the white of hard-boiled egs, the milk of green figs, plume alum, and gum arabic."
Recipe for fucus: "steep brasil well in water for two days and then mix it with two ounces of fish glue that hath itself been steeped in white wine for five or six days."
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-make-up.htm
Milton Carrol, The Elizabethan Woman
Red Hair
Red or golden hair is what everyone wanted and some of the recipes that were made even made women bald so wearing wigs and head pieces were worn instead. Putting things on the hair such as urine was used (gross) to get the hair lighter.
"To make the hair yellow as golde. Take the rine or scrapings of Rubarbe, and stiepe it in white wine, or in cleere lie; and after you have washed your head with it, you shall weatte your hairs with a Spoonge or some other cloth, and let them drie by the fire, or in the sunne; after this weatte them and drie them againe."
Giovanni Ruscelli (Alessio), The secretes of reverende maister Alexis of Piemount, 1568
Mouth Wash
Mouthwashes were created to
'keep your teeth white and uncorrupt, and also have a sweet breath'
You would have to 'pick and rub your teeth', but firstly wash your mouth when you have eaten and sleep with your mouth just open and in the morning spit out. Using the cloth
'rub your teeth well within and without to take away the fumositie of the maenad the yellowness of the teeth'
A mouthwash recipe included ingredients such as -
Half a glass of vinegar and as much of the water of the masticke tree, of rosemarie, mire, bole, arkmoniake, dragons herb, roche aloe of each of them an ounce and of fountain water three glassfulls; mingle all well together, adnd let it boil with a final fire, adding to it half a pound of honey, and taking away the scum on it, then put in a little bengwine, and when it hath sodden a quarter of an hour, take it from the fire, and keep it in a plane bottle and wash your teeth therewithall.'
To me, I would never use anything like that in my mouth as a mouthwash but in those days making up mixtures and recipes was the norm to create new exciting things and cosmetics for people who would pay for them, even if they didn't work or were very dangerous to peoples health.
All these recipes and ingredients that were used in the Elizabethan era are crazy to me and today I would never use any of these on my face or hair or in my mouth. At the time I suppose they probably seemed like the did the job but with more technology and knowledge our products are much more safer for us.
All these recipes and ingredients that were used in the Elizabethan era are crazy to me and today I would never use any of these on my face or hair or in my mouth. At the time I suppose they probably seemed like the did the job but with more technology and knowledge our products are much more safer for us.
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-make-up.htm
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