Elizabethan Beauty
The Elizabethan era beauty and cosmetic techniques are far different to what women do today. For Elizabethans pale white faces, rosy cheeks and no brows were seen as fashionable. These days people are more likely to tan and enhance their brows using pencils or powder.
Elizabethans would use harmful substances to create their look, sometimes causing skin damage. They would apply a mixture of white lead and vinegar (ceruse) to create a snow white like complexion this would also cover any signs of aging. Egg whites and talcum powder was also used to smooth out any wrinkles and fine lines. Vermillion, Cochineal and madder was used for their rouge. They would also pluck their brows to enhance there foreheads and add more emphasis to the brow bone.
Women of this era liked to have red or golden hair and would use oils, cumin seeds, celandine and saffron to achieve this colour to their hair. When unachievable wigs were highly in fashion also, some would shave their heads completely and wear wigs on a regular basis.
The above portrait of Queen Elizabeth shows a clear picture of what a woman of the Elizabethan era looked like, well one of status.
