As famous for her love life as for her beauty, Cleopatra seemed a good place to start.
Cleopatra
Most of us have heard how she bathed in baths of milk and honey, but I was interested to read that she also like to use apple Cider vinegar as this is a form of alcohol, alcohol is widely used to help close the pores on the face it also will tighten and tone the skin, and interestingly enough it is rumoured that actress Scarlett Johansen uses this on her face as toner. Cleopatra was also a lover of fragrances and fragrant flowers most famously frankincense, Neroli and Myrrh. And Neroli is still a popular ingredient found in many products today:
- Massage oils- said to sooth tired and ached muscles
- Perfume- blends well with other oils and fragrances and on its own has a sweet, citrus floral smell.
- Food and drink- (this is my favourite find) is rumoured to be the secret ingredient in Coca Cola!
As Queen Elizabeth came to the throne, cosmetics and make up we're thrown away, the Victorian ages were about showing your wealth, pale skin was extremely desirable as it showed that you were not out in the sun all day working, women were known to put various lotions and potions on their skin to lighten their complexion, some of which were extremely dangerous however a popular one used was Zinc Oxide still dangerous but safer then previous recipes!
It was also popular to make your own skincare from your kitchen, herbs and essential oils and not forgetting secret recipes passed down from grandparents. One of the scariest stories I read was the Victorian face peel, they would dilute sulphuric acid and brush it onto the skin, burning away the wrinkles. Another popular treatment was a beef lard face mask! I'm guessing that will by for dryer skins? Yuk! But at least after Sunday dinner the fats not gone to waste!
http://vl203.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/victorian-beauty-tips/
http://www.historyundressed.com/2010/04/victorian-ladys-toilette-by-kathleen.html
http://vl203.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/victorian-beauty-tips/
http://www.historyundressed.com/2010/04/victorian-ladys-toilette-by-kathleen.html
World war 1
During these tragic years it amazed me that Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden opened boutique salons. and intresntingly Vogue featured Helena Rubinstein's products as an "antidote to wrinkles and gloom caused by wartime struggles"!
So despite or the pain and suffering, beauty still carried on evolving, As George Selfridge brought cosmetics to the front of the shop in the world famous Selfridges, Woman started to discover more readily available skincare, Coco butter, Almond oil and Lanolin had now started to become available, which meant woman had more choice and options, though i imagine during the war it wasn't as easy to get hold of!
http://glamourdaze.com/history-of-makeup/1900-1919
During these tragic years it amazed me that Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden opened boutique salons. and intresntingly Vogue featured Helena Rubinstein's products as an "antidote to wrinkles and gloom caused by wartime struggles"!
So despite or the pain and suffering, beauty still carried on evolving, As George Selfridge brought cosmetics to the front of the shop in the world famous Selfridges, Woman started to discover more readily available skincare, Coco butter, Almond oil and Lanolin had now started to become available, which meant woman had more choice and options, though i imagine during the war it wasn't as easy to get hold of!
http://glamourdaze.com/history-of-makeup/1900-1919
So there you go a little taste of how woman have always been concerned about how beautiful they are, make sure you come back to read part 2 to discover more secrets of skincare
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