Tuesday, 13 October 2015

The process of transformation through Make-Up

The process of transformation through Make-Up

The ideal Tudor women wanted to have a pale completion and rues cheeks which were caused by staying inside and not working in the sun like the lower class showing they were rich because make-up was expensive and they never had to work because they had other people to do that for them. There were many cosmetics in the Tudor times and Queen Elizabeth 1st always wanted to look her best as she was the Queen of England and to show she was a powerful, independent women. This further showed off her glowing white completion with outfits e.g. she wore big ruffs around her neck which would almost act as reflects of light which made her face appear even more white/glowing. Even though make-up was frowned upon by Preast such as 'Philip Stubbes'(1585) as he says its not a natural aspect and it hides a person emotions or even illnesses, which did relate to Queen Elizabeth as she wore her white make-up to cover up her scares from small pocks.

What Ingredients were used in Tudor Cosmetics?:

1. The white face completion was made with powered white chalk or white lead, mixed with whites of an egg and vinegar. This created a smooth finish to the skin and the women who wore it could not laugh or smile much as the skin would crack.

2. Urine was also considered good for the complexion, some used to try puppies urine which they believed that it would soften the skin and keep it fresh.

3. To achieve rue/red blushed cheeks they would add red colourings to white lead or sometimes have this Spanish paper that was bought dyed red and they would rub into their cheeks.

4. To colour the lips they would either used juice from red berry fruits or cochineal (crush beetles).



In my opinion these cosmetic show how far the we have come in the cosmetic industry but then this recipes still show how we started off and without these original ideas we may not have the same ideas and products today. For example cochineal is still used in a lot of make-up products today so even from the !6th century to 2015 we still used some of the same ideas. But the reasons for not using a lot of these products now is due the side affect they had on the people at that time e.g. the white foundation had lead in it which is highly poisoness to the skin.

By Amelia Richmond-Knight


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