Pink tinted powders acted as a blush. Blue tinted powders counteracted the yellow glow of gas and candlelight. The powder was cheap and easy to make or buy, and easily passed as a medicine rather than face paint.
It was applied by placing a scoop into a cotton bag and dabbing it onto the skin. Face powder alone was prone to falling off the skin quickly. Applying a cream first held the powder on longer. This was the Victorian equivalent of applying foundation or concealer. However, it did not provide as much coverage as modern powders do. At best, it reduced the pinkest undertones and shine from oily skin.
Eyeshadow was not widely used until the late teens, however eyebrows and eyelashes were something that could be improved. Being born with fair hair was considered a birth defect. Darkening facial hair was necessary for many women to be attractive.
To darken facial hair, charcoal, elderberry juice, Indian ink, and burnt clove paste were applied using fingers before wiping away any excess. Some of it could also be applied to the eyelid, making it the first attempt at eyeliner.
Alternatively, a light smear of castor oil over the lid attracted light to the eyes without adding color. Eyebrows could be plucked into a natural arch. Sometimes, eyelashes were trimmed with tiny scissors under the myth that they would grow back fuller. Made of ground beetles or plants and mixed with animal fat, cocoa butter, or wax, it was applied to the fingers and rubbed onto lips and cheeks. Beet root was also a natural coloring aid for cheeks.
Another more subtle rouge technique was to mix water and color and soak a piece of gauze in it, let it dry, and then dust the face with the colored gauze. The result was a pinkish-red lip and cheek which contrasted against very pale skin. For those not bold enough for a colored lip, a dab of face cream or beeswax was sufficient to add a little shine. There are two choices when it comes to Victorian makeup: reproduction or modern makeup.
Both have their pros and cons. I applied makeup using both options below so you can see the subtle difference. Both started with a face cream and splash of violet water. On the right, I used BareMinerals face powder, black mascara and eyeliner, brown eyebrow pencil, powder blush, and red lip gloss. Can you see the difference?
Modern makeup provides better coverage and deeper colors. Reproduction makeup is light and natural. My usual choice is to use a bit of both. Modern face powder, repro blush, and gloss for my lips. Would you like to make your own Victorian makeup?
Try one of these recipes. They use historic recipes, but sometimes modern ingredients for a wide range of face lotions, lip tints, toilet water, rouge, powers, and hair pomades. Willow and Birch has a lovely line of Victorian beauty creams and scents. Besame designs makeup from the Edwardian teens to the 60s. Many of their early makeups will work for the Victorian era. Remember, for most of the Victorian era, wearing makeup was never supposed to be noticeable.
Do as the Victorians did and keep it light and natural — and never admit to wearing makeup! In addition to causing your thyroid glands to swell out of control, arsenic will also kill you. In two ways, no less—if you overdose, or from withdrawal if you ever stop taking the small doses.
So really, this was never a good idea. And then there were the lead-based face powders, which women often wore to conceal pock marks. Lead makeup had a lovely silky finish, until the lead started to seep into your body and cause paralysis, that is. And corsets? Home Beauty Weird Victorian beauty standards we thankfully don't deal with today. Weird Victorian beauty standards we thankfully don't deal with today. Lisa Lo Paro Updated Jun 18, am. FB Tweet More. Squirting citrus juice in your eyes for the same effect.
She reaches for a bottle of ammonia and washes it over her face, careful to replace the delicate glass stopper. Next, she dips her fingertips into the creams and powders of her toilet table, gravitating toward a bright white paint, filled with lead, which she delicately paints over her features. Because of this societal ideal, it came as no shock that the highly sought after look quickly became modeled after those suffering from consumption, or tuberculosis.
So just how was a look like that achieved? While belladonna would achieve the desired look, used over time it would render the user blind! To achieve the pale, translucent skin that would evoke purity, innocence and most importantly, class, women would go to extremes that would make some of us cringe today. Looking for longer eyelashes, without the use of mercury? It has even been recorded that in Bohemia former portion of the Czech Republic and Slovakia , women would bathe regularly in arsenic riddled hot springs to lighten their entire body.
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