Within the Elizabethan period a pale face for both the male and female gender was considered, as in the Middle Ages, a desirable feature obtainable by only the wealthy. Tanned skin was associated with peasant workers due to long hours spent in the fields under the sun. To enhance these features a white powder made of white lead and vinegar was often applied to the face - this over time actually ruined the skin and made it turn grey. A small amount of rouge (made from crushed beetles) was also applied to the cheeks and lips, and coal was used to darken eyelashes.
The Queens ivory complexion was viewed as the perfect base for contemporary beauty, however, the means of which the white foundation was created proved highly toxic. The toxic combination of ceruse and white lead ate into the skin while the alabaster powder only worsened the sores. On top of this a rouge created from further lead and a red ochre colourant was added to the cheeks and a lip 'pencil' of alabaster and plaster of Paris was allowed to dry on the lips to create a red lip colourant. In addition to this blue paint was added to the skin over areas of exposed veins to enhance the illusion of the skin being almost transparent, the paler the skin the more beautiful the women. This aspiration for perfection was a daily task within the lives of Elizabethan women, often they would cover their faces with thin layers of egg white in the hopes of maintaining youthful skin (a technique still included in many natural facial treatments to this date) or during the later Elizabethan period it became fashionable to wear a white oval mask held in position by the teeth for the purpose of shielding the skin from the sun.
Book Reference: 'The Artificial Face, A History of Cosmetics', Fenja Gunn, David & Charles, 1973
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