Victorians had very strange beauty ideals and were more concerned about maintaining their appearance to be accepted and admired in society. Wearing cosmetics and skincare products was scandalous and unheard of as Queen Victoria, did not support cosmetics at all and it was often compared to prostitutes and performers. The Ideal Victorian beauty was all about natural beauty and never being associated with cosmetics and products, women would order their staff or bed maids to go and purchase these products for them in secret and also hide their cosmetics in pharmaceutical packaging so that people would never know they wore make-up. Any make-up worn by Victorian women was to be very subtle and natural so they looked as if they were wearing none at all.
Foundation, concealer and powders.
Victorian women used Lead as a concealer and also in their face powders as it had a beautiful silky full coverage finish, but Lead is deadly and overtime created serious health problems and even caused death. Zinc Oxide and white mineral powder was also used to create the perfect victorian complexion, this was a much safer method to use compared to the added Lead ingredient. Some Victorian women would paint fine blue lines on their skin to look like veins so that their skin would like perfect and almost translucent, this reminded me of the similar beauty ideas that Elizabethan women had. Some women would go to the extreme of emphasising their dark circles by using rouge lipstick under their eyes, but apparently this trend was short lived. Common ingredients used in cosmetics were;honey, rose water, belladonna, arsenic and lead. Victorian women used to also eat harmful poisonous cosmetic concoctions, such as arsenic as a 'beauty vitamin' to get most of its beauty benefits. Also similar to Elizabethan women, Victorian ladies used belladonna, citrus orange or lemon drops in their eyes to make them sparkly and doe like although it caused blindness.
Lipsticks, blushers and eyeshadows.
Eyeshadows were commonly made with lead and antimony sulphide, but most high class Victorian women would not wear this cosmetic, often the poor, prostitutes and performers who regularly wore bright coloured clothing. Victorian women created their own mascara by applying beeswax and then soot to their eyes to create the consistency of mascara.
Also, many women enhanced their eyebrows by creating a mixture of pitch, resin and frankincense and rubbed this paste onto their brows and lashes, pitch is usually used to create road tar. Lastly, lipsticks were made with mercuric sulphide and blushes were made from beet root juice.
Victorian Rimell's Cosmetics Ad. Image sourced from Google. Reference Below. |
Bathing and a good skincare regime often symbolised how high your status was in society, as washing was seen as something you could only do if you could afford it. Many wealthy Victorian men and women would bathe a few times a month were as poor victorians commonly bathed once a year. Victorian women often washed and exfoliated with bran to achieve a smooth and bright looking finish to the skin, bran is the same wheat we find in cereals today.
In Victorian times, Blackheads were often known as 'Flesh worms' as many victorian men and woman were unaware of the skins functions, and it appeared as if worms were escaping the face. To get rid of these 'Flesh worms' women and men would often, steam their face and then extract the blackheads each evening.
In the Victorian times, Whales became very popular and were often used for women clothing and cosmetic products. Whales were used for their bones to create corsets which were very popular in the Victorian period and Spermaceti, which is a wax found inside the whales head. Spermaceti would then be mixed with cold cream as it was considered great for removing make-up.
Many cosmetic and skincare products such as face washes, bath soaps, shampoos and foundations were laced with Arsenic. This was highly poisonous and ended up killing you or making you extremely ill. Women used and consumed arsenic to achieve bright sparkly eyes and a clear complexion. Skincare toners were mixtures of water, roses, lilies and violets
Victorian Hair.
Long thick hair with volume was considered beautiful and women often added hair pieces for more volume. Women rarely cut their hair and the most popular styles for you to wear your hair in were chignons and buns or free flowing in soft gentle curls enhanced with oils to look smooth and healthy. Men began to get rid of their long hair especially if their partners hair was long, but they kept long moustaches and beards
Interesting facts!
- Victorian Cosmetics were called 'Embellishments'
- A pale complexion and dark contrasting hair was deemed as attractive and ideal beauty
- Intelligence and wit was more important than appearance and beauty
References
http://www.xovain.com/makeup/victorian-era-beauty
http://hellogiggles.com/victorian-beauty-standards/2/#read
http://beautifulwithbrains.com/2010/08/06/beauty-in-the-victorian-age/
'Rimell's cosmetic poster' http://www.peterberthoud.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Soho-Bazaar-1893-8.jpg
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