As we scroll through time and take a glimpse into the past of our ancestors to view the way cosmetics performed we find a colorful picture that depicts woman of all ages having a yearning to look better.

When we look into the Egyptians around 4000 BC we find women using brightly colored green paste made from copper minerals to provide color and definition. They used creams made from sheep’s fat, lead and soot.

In 1500 BC China and Japan used rice powder to paint the pasty white faces common in that era. Eyebrows were shaved and teeth painted gold or black. Henna was commonly used to stain hair and faces. In other words teenagers looked exactly as they look today.

1000 BC Greece – woman as well as men wore wigs mainly to hide the fact that they seldom bathed. And everyone wanted white skin so wearing chalk or white lead face powder was very common. They spread their palms with reddish henna, supposedly to look younger.

100 AD – In Rome, these super-civilized ancestors put barley flour and butter on their pimples and sheep’s fat and blood on their fingernails. They had specially dedicated slaves to apply their cosmetics.

In the 14th Century cosmetics were regarded as a health threat because many thought they would block proper circulation. Well to do women wore egg whites to create a whiter countenance and slept with slices of raw beef on their faces to get rid of wrinkles. I think some English playwright wrote something to the effect “ A beautiful woman is like a
delicatessen….” Then again, maybe not.

In the 15th and 16th centuries in Europe the aristocracy only used cosmetics. Italy and France became the chief centers of manufacturing cosmetics. The French perfected the art of creating new fragrances. This process was developed through the blending of ingredients that was very labor intensive and gave birth not only to the means for producing modern cosmetics but also for murder, as arsenic was sometimes used in face powders instead of lead.

Until next time we will continue to explore the world of beauty Where Time Stops and Beauty Begins.

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Although time and expensive ingredients were lavished on appearances, beauty in the 17th century was seen as fleeting. Poor health and hygiene, with the use of poisonous materials meant a woman was thought to be ‘past her prime at 20, decayed at four and 20, and old and insufferable at 30.’

The use of these powders and ointments, especially ones containing lead and mercury, was very bad for the skin, and after a while resulted in scars and blemishes. To hide these it became the fashion for both men and women to wear patches on the face. These were cut into a huge variety of shapes and patterns, including stars, diamonds, crescent moons and even a tiny coach and horses.

Urine was also considered good for the complexion. Samuel Pepys’ (who presents a fascinating picture of the official and upper-class life in Restoration London and his well known diary is an explicit account of life at that time) wife tried the urine of puppies, although he did not report the effect! Another recipe to soften the skin, was to wash in your own urine, or with rosewater mixed with wine.

In the 17^th Century painters like Peter Paul Rubens immortalized young women launching an era in which a fleshy woman was renowned, her buxom abundance signifying productiveness and lushness along with health and wealth.

Women of that era were not model thin nor were they obese but they did have concerns about their weight. To shed pounds quickly, bathing in claret wine infused with “wormwood, calamint, chamomile, sage and squinath” was recommended. The Oxford English Dictionary has no entry for squinath, but lists squinanth as a kind of rush, whose flowers were used for medicinal purposes.

Those wishing to target particular flabby or sagging areas had more of challenge.  They were told to brew up a foul mixture of chicken and goose grease, pine, rosin, pitch and turpentine.  This was then mixed with wax, cooled, and allowed to set into a plaster on the desired body part in need of a lift.  This particular remedy is recommended under the heading: “Breasts hanging down or large; how to make them Plump and Round.”

These days, complimenting a woman on her decolletage is a surefire way to end up before a sexual harassment tribunal. But in Restoration times, it was apparently the fastest route to a lady’s heart.  A man’s guide to chat-up lines, written in 1661, suggests that bosoms are the best conversation opener with “ladies and gentlewomen”.

Until next time we will continue to explore the world of beauty Where Time Stops and Beauty Begins.

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As in previous episodes we talked about cosmetics in history so now we will have a look at the Roman Era and some interesting facts about the women of that time.  Roman women used a variety of cosmetics and make-up – everything from foundation creams to eye make-up, rouge and lip color.  The higher the status of women the more makeup they wore.  Since women had no special dress that distinguished their status unlike men whose status was reflected in the clothes they wore, wealthy women wore expensive make-up together with elaborate hairstyles.

Slaves were taught the fine art of hairdressing, make-up application and were highly skilled and valued.  These slaves were called ornatrices and every wealthy woman had her very own team of beauty experts to keep her looking flawless.

The Romans were very particular about hygiene and spent a great deal of time at the Roman Baths.  Following the bath the women enjoyed pampering and had their bodies lathered from head to toe in moisturizing creams.   They spent hours having elaborate hair designs as it was an important sign of status and it became necessary for slaves to create the latest fashionable hairstyles and make-up.

Face creams consisted of orris root and chalk, some fat and starch and in some cases white lead, which was poisonous.  (No report on the incidence of lead poisoning was like in ancient Rome).   Rouge was applied over the foundation to tint their cheeks. The same rouge was used to tint their lips and was mixed with a salve mixture of alkanet root and ochre.  The red coloring came from red ochre a pigment made from hydrated iron oxide a naturally tinted clay.  The Roman women paid particular attention to their eyes emphasing the eyebrows.  The black makeup worn around the eyes was kohl made from galena a mineral form of lead sulphide and was used as eyeliner.   Eye shadows were made from saffron and eventually changed when the Romans conquered Egypt from whence they obtained malachite, which was crushed and mixed as a green eye make-up.

100 AD Rome Platus wrote, “A woman without paint is like food without salt” so even back in history we find that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the quest for beauty continues today.

Until next time we will continue to explore the world of beauty Where Time Stops and Beauty Begins.

This show is brought to you by the La Donna Fina Spa

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The 20th Century has seen a huge interest in physical beauty particularly for women.  Plastic surgery has thrived on women’s quest for beauty.  Definition of beauty in the 20th century , when referring to physical beauty, are nearly always constructed in terms of outward appearance and sexual attractiveness.

A truly beautiful woman makes the best of her physical assets but more importantly she radiates a personal quality that is attractive and this is so in any century.  The beautiful, it would appear, are those who are exciting to almost all of the opposite sex.  In the Victorian era that we talked about last episode it was considered a woman’s duty to make herself beautiful.  Some of the more bizarre and painful beauty aids of the Victorian era continued to be marketed well into the 1920’s.  One of the main ingredients of the 20th century that sets us apart from the 19th century is the popularity of cosmetics.  From puberty onwards-young girls use cosmetics in order to look older to attract older boys, unlike their mothers who use cosmetics to do the reverse and to disguise the flaws of age.  Many feminists believe marketing of cosmetics to be an exploitation of women by the male industry mogul and some women resent being part of a ritual with cosmetic application.  It is not purely for the benefit of men that most women wear cosmetics but for themselves and each other.

The growth of the film industry has had a huge influence towards beauty especially in this century.  Have you noticed that the bar is continually being raised on exactly what physical characteristics define beauty?  Is it the pouty lips, perfect bone structure, flawless skin, size 2 waists, and hair that resemble spun silk?  Take these same beauties and plop them back in time when the advent of modern cosmetic technology had not even begun to reach its full potential.  True genetics play a role in physical beauty, but with the likes of total extreme makeover reality shows and abundant publicity, we see that beauty can be achieved with a few thousand dollars and a good plastic surgeon.    Not only that, today’s cosmetics in general are so technologically advanced you can improve your looks by makeup applications and home treatments.

Cosmetic marketers and science have joined forces to give women everything they ever wanted to be their most beautiful and feel better about themselves.  After all isn’t this what makeup and beauty is all about.  Beauty ultimately is an investment in your well being, self-esteem and many times mental and physical health.  For many women it’s fun to experiment with different looks and products.  It feels good to be noticed and when you feel beautiful you tend to radiate confidence and power.  It’s inherent in women’s nature to want to feel feminine and look and feel great.

Hey, women have come a long way, and they deserve to feel sexy and confident – beyond smoke and mirrors.

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A woman with a high forehead was considered beautiful during the Elizabethan era, and upperclass Elizabethan women plucked or shaved their frontal hairs to achieve this look.  These women also covered their skin with lead based makeup which caused many deformities from chronic eye problems to disfiguring scarring which in turn required a greater application of the lead based makeup.

The wealthy used belladonna eyedrops to dilate their pupils which gave them that doe-like appearance but the risk was great. In the court of Louis XVI, noblewomen drew blue veins onto their necks and shoulders to emphasize their exalted status.

Ladies in this century were more discreet and despite a gradual acceptance of makeup it was still not considered nice to admit to its use.  These women liked to preserve the myth of being naturally beautiful much like some of today’s Hollywood’s film stars who will not admit to cosmetic surgery.

As we look through history we can see the comparisons with the status of women in all classes.  The quest for beauty continues at whatever costs.

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Egyptians were famous for eye makeup.  Although cosmetics were occasionally applied to lips and mouth it is difficult to envision an image of an ancient Egyptian without the characteristic eye-makeup.  It was also believed to have magical properties and protected against the evil eye. In fact the Egyptian word for eye-palette seems to derive from their word for “protect”.  Eye makeup also had medicinal purposes.

We have only to look at the images of the Egyptians to see for ourselves how stylish, meticulous and beautiful they were.  The images that they created were very often idealized rather than realistic, very much like those of our own times.  If thousands of years from now the only remaining images of our society were fashion magazines and videos of couture shows, would an observer think that all women from our time resembled super models?  Does the Egyptian history, their concerns about weight and wrinkles indicate something of our own insecurities. They too felt the pressure to embody an ideal.

Anti-Wrinkle Cream

Here is an Ancient Egyptian Anti-Wrinkle Cream Updated

One-Teaspoon Sweet Almond Oil
Two Drops of Essential Oil of Frankincense
Apply to a cleansed face nightly with a gentle massage.

Almonds were a popular ingredient in ancient Egypt.  It has a light, mild aroma, is light in texture and is absorbed into the skin very quickly.  If, however, Frankincense may be a little too reminiscent of a church and if expense is no deterrent, add one drop of Rose Atter instead.  Rose Attar is a very gentle oil reputed to heal and strengthen facial skin and well known to the Egyptians.

Until next time we will continue to explore the world of beauty Where Time Stops and Beauty Begins.

For more information about the La Donna Fina spa visit our website at www.ladonnafinaspa.com

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