References:
Quote from: https://theperfumemistress.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/courtly-beauty-secrets-from-the-17th-century/
http://cleopatrasboudoir.blogspot.co.uk/
Online Book: Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History by Victoria Sherrow
In the 16th Century, women wanted to look like Elizabeth I, she was an iconic figure who women wanted to be like, at the time pale skin, slightly red cheeks and pink lips was seen to be a sign of health and pristine, where only wealthy people could afford to have white skin and poor people were outside working. Elizabeth I with her pure as snow pale white skin and vibrant red hair, she was distinctive and important. Her look was iconic, symbolising purity, wealth and virginity 'Virgin Queen'; this was reinforced with 'trying to keep her age' with the use of white cosmetic recipes to give her a pale complexion. The sign of her pale skin, also was worn to hide any signs of age and hide the truth of complexions.
He red vibrant hair, many semi precious jewels worn, pearls, huge vibrant coloured, detailed dresses all symbolised her importance and how she wanted to show her superior as the Queen.
They would not bathe regularly, shampoo was not available so they cleansed their hair dry by combing it with a fine textured clay powder that absorbed excess oil and dirt. Those with grey hair would use white powder or even flour, whereas dark haired ladies applied violet powder. You see high foreheads during the Elizabethan time this was seen to be attractive and the ideal appearance even though it was mainly caused by the chemicals used in their face make-up base recipe that damaged the hair line making the hair frazzle and break, caused by the harsh chemicals to create the desired look. Rhubarb Juice and oil of Vitriol (Sulfuric acid) is corrosive so this caused hair loss and damage, therefore wigs and hair pieces were essential to maintain look.
It became popular among people to carry a portrait of Elizabeth in their wallets or purses. She only sat a few times to have her portrait done, where they took templates of her, so other artists could draw her. She really wanted to show her empowerment through her portraits and especially her make-up.
How did she get that pure, elegant white skin?
Her white complexion was a sign of wealth, as people would associate paler people to be wealthier then people who were not, as the could afford to keep up the practice of make-up. She was a woman of greatness, she was powerful in her own right, she was strong and determined to be the best she could possibly be.
It became the older she got the more she painted on the white complexion, as it damaged her skin so much it showed her complexion was blemished and damaged with along that she became mature where she needed to use more to cover up lines, wrinkles, caused by the harmful ingredients. Others would use white paint made of plant roots as an alternative, the white lead was the common method for paint, though powdered borax was preferred by some women.
Queen Elizabeth I http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2013/feb/13/elizabeth-first-portrait-face-age-unhappiness
This portrait portrays how you can see her age coming through, as during the Elizabethan times they wore thick pale make-up to cover signs of age and to keep youthful, however I uploaded this portrait because you can see lines, imperfections and also I am surprised the artist was able to paint this as Elizabeth would become angry if unsatisfied with a picture and didn't show her youth, however, I like this portrait and how it shows her becoming an older lady, it reflects how powerful she still is and how well she holds her presence in this portrait. This could of also been caused by the harsh chemicals used to whitener their faces that added to her becoming less youthful, by damaging the skin and drying it out. It was a catch 22, they used more products to cover their age but by doing this it caused more damage under the make-up, it was a never ending battle.
Queen Elizabeth I :http://www.historyextra.com/article/elizabeth-i/elizabeth-i-monarch-behind-mask
Elizabeth's complexion was blemished, she had small pox which was burned by applying lead to her face, her teeth were blackened by decay, this was all caused by the ingredients in the cosmetics used day in day out to keep her appearance up.
Elizabeth and other wealthy privileged women would go through this transition daily in order to get the look she wanted, she was a powerful, wealthy, passionate Queen who was determined to show her wealth and power through make-up usage, she also wanted to 'keep her age' to not look old.
Recipes during the Elizabethan Era
Elizabeth would also dye her hair yellow with saffron, cumin seed, celandine and oil to show of her vibrancy of her hair colour. It was believed the lighter and richer the hair the richer and more desired you were was a person.
Recipe for sagging skin- Brew up a mixture of chicken and goose grease, pine, rosin, pitch and turpentine in an earthware pot. This was then mixed with wax, cooled and then set it into a plaster which was placed on the face. How a lot has changed from then till now, we now have products that are good for your skin that help your skin but then they weren't worried about the harm they had other things to think about, that was their attitude to it.
Also expensive dyes such as- Cochineal (crushed Beatles) was used to redden the cheeks and lips; I found this fascinating as this is also an ingredient in some red lipstick which is used today on the market.
Kohl was also used to darken their eyelashes, Ochre and mercuric sulphide were both used for various rouge colours for the cheeks; cochineal, blended with gum arabic, egg white and fig milk provided rouge for lips, also other cosmetics were manufactured from pigeons wings and claws, Venetian, turpentine, eggs, honey, lillies, shells, camphor, ground mother of pearl, musk and ambergris.
'Take eight spoonfuls of compound water, the weight of twopence in fine powder of sugar and boil it on hot embers softly with half an ounce of sweet marjoram dried in the sun with a small piece of powder of Benjamin'- This perfume recipe was very sweet, even women's fans were scented and jewellery was designed with cavities for holding scent, this all added to one smelling pleasant which they all wanted to achieve. This was to be a luxury expense, as only wealthy, powerful people could afford this, it seemed that everyone looked up to wealthy especially the queen as she was their ruling their icon.
I was truly shocked by what she used on her skin as in pictures and portraits of her, her skin looks flawlessly white, she holds herself together well, even though despite the fact of the pain and damage she was going through in order to get that true whiteness. I asked myself why would someone put poisonous ingredients on their face in order to look superior? Then I told myself back in the days they didn't have products like we do now that can portray the look that was wanted and health and safety wasn't really a thing back then. The extreme extent these women would go through, the desire to look a certain way.
For skin toning and softening they would as the quote references:
“wash in your own urine, or with rosewater mixed with wine, else make a decoction of the rinds of lemon”.
Mercury was a common ingredient to help clear spots and to help with wrinkles, but in fact was removing the top layer of the skin and corroding the flesh. Also other cleansers were created with the use of urine mixed with either wine or milk. But we now use creams with gentle ingredients in to help the skin not destroy it. Women in the Elizabethan times used red face paint instead of blush to give them more vibrant colour, this was called 'Fucuc' this was used mainly on the cheeks and lip area. They would often blend beeswax with cochineal to create tones for their cheeks and lips.
They used Belladonna drops to make their eyes 'pop' and appear more luminous. Creating eye shadows with grounded mother of pearls, make-up pencils were created by the mixture of plant pigments with something called 'Plaster of Paris' these were blended then left in the sun to dry.
Contemporary cosmetics compared to Elizabethan cosmetics
I chose my favourite classic Perfume Coco Chanel Mademoiselle, I like this one cause it's distinctive, fruity and sweet. I had a look through the products that are in the perfume to compare to recipes back in the Elizabethan time, the ingredients included: Citrus, Patchouli, Rose, Vanilla, earthy, white floral in the perfume of mine.
http://www.parfumdepub.com/en/publicite-Coco-Mademoiselle-3148.html
Coco Mademoiselle
Comparing this to what they used to use is different, they used anything that had a potent smell, they would crush down the herbs, use egg whites.They would also use similar ingredients that we would use now as essential oils in perfumes etc.
An example of a recipe of a perfume used back then: Two pounds of rose water, a pound of blossom water, a pound of benzoin and half a balsam, an ounce of amber and half a musk and also However, nowadays we have extraction methods of plants in a liquid form and some ingredients they would use be so strange for us to use e.g. egg whites in a recipe. In the Elizabethan times they would rub the solid mixture over there bodies to make them smell 'nice'. They also used other essential oils such as sweet majoram which is a citrus herb and a lot of use of rose water, this is also similar to my chosen perfume, as it contains both rose and citrus tones.
In the Elizabethan times they would tend to use stuff that was poisonous for their skin for covering up their poor complexions, but today we have so many cosmetics on that are good for the skin as well as covering up blemishes, we have prescription face washes that help fight impurities.
www.boots.com - Sudocrem picture
I tried Sudocrem for white coverage, because it is thick in consistency, white in colour same as their complexions in the 16th century and it helps with acne, dry skin. But I soon realised it is gloppy and greasy and not right to use, maybe if I mixed it with another product I could of got a better result. As I found it on its own uncomfortable and oily.
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