Elizabethan Era

The Elizabethan era is certainly one of the most memorable eras in our history. With the pale faces and desirable large foreheads, it is one time era that has made an unforgettable impression on people.
During this time period, the person everyone looked up to, of course, was Queen Elizabeth.

Queen Elizabeth started to wear larger amounts of makeup as she aged to hid her wrinkles and small pox. This created a fashion trend, and soon all of the upper-class of nobility were following in her footsteps.

The ideal beauty concept all branched out from nobility and queen Elizabeth. Their idea of beauty consisted of a pale complexion combined with rosy cheeks and a red lip. The pale complexion, however, could only be achieved by the upper levels of society. Since the lower-class members were expected to work outdoors, and of course acquired a tan, disabling them from obtaining that ideal beauty. Thus, the white, pale face symbolized wealth and higher nobility.

You may be wondering, how did the upper-class obtain such pale skin? There were a few methods, obviously, since it has been shown humans will do anything to obtain beauty. One method was too combine white lead and vinegar, also known as ceruse. It was toxic. Women were also bled, yes you heard me correctly, bled, to achieve that desirable pale complexion. Face paint was also a method used to achieve a white face, by mixing certain plants and leaves.

To go a step further, some fashion-forward folks might even dye their hair yellow, or even darken their eyelashes with kohl to resemble the beautiful Queen Elizabeth. They also concealed their eyebrows to make their forehead appear larger.

 

Works Cited:

 

"Elizabethan Make-up." Elizabethan Make-up. Web. 30 Apr. 2016. <http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-make-up.htm>.

 

 



 



Beauty in Ancient Rome

When starting this little project of mine, I expected to find an exorbitant amount of information regarding cosmetics in history rather than the overall beauty expectations. As I have found, so far, I was correct. I have also come to find that many websites have a different idea of how historical beauty was created and emphasized.
In Ancient Rome, I found the Romans enhanced what the Greek created; cosmetics. In fact, most Roman women were not even considered pretty if they did not wear these cosmetics. These cosmetics covered not only the face, but all parts of the body, including their skin, eyes, nails, and even their teeth. Also, like nowadays, many counterfeit versions of expensive items were invented and used by most Roman women.
As for what the makeup did, the Romans had many of the same beliefs as the Greeks did. The Romans saw a pale face as beautiful, and that it represented wealth and high position. The Romans created methods to conceal freckles, blemishes, sun spots, skin flakes, and wrinkles. Eyes were painted in a way to make their eyelashes appear fuller and longer. As for their eyebrows, brows that met in the middle was considered attractive. This look was achieved by coloring in the parts with missing hairs. Of course, white teeth was the golden look. They even achieved making fake teeth with ivory and paste. However, when the Egyptians wore lipstick regularly, there is no evidence of the Romans ever doing the same. As for men, cosmetics were not worn, and if they were it was extremely rare.
I searched through many websites and found no trace of what their ideal body type was. Maybe there wasn't one, or maybe it wasn't as heavily embraced as it is nowadays.
The picture below visually represents beauty in Ancient Rome.

Works Cited:

"Cosmetic in Roman Empire." Ancient Cosmetics. Web. 26 Apr. 2016. <http://www.historyofcosmetics.net/cosmetic-history/cosmetic-in-ancient-rome/>.

Ancient Greek Beauty

Ancient Greece; the next time era on my list of major historic eras to research. With a little research, I discovered the Ancient Greeks' are actually the ones we have to thank for thinking of the concept of beauty. They defined beauty, giving it the meaning that specific looks of physical features are considered more appealing to the eye than others.
The ancient Greeks' would not use makeup to camouflage their flaws, as most women do nowadays.  Instead they used makeup to enhance their natural beauty. For instance, the Greeks' often let their unibrows grow out. If they couldn't grow it naturally, animal hairs were glued on to imitate a natural-looking unibrow. For their makeup, beeswax was used as lipstick, charcoal was used as eyeliner, and chalk was used to etiolate the skin for an overall paler completion. This is most definitely different than nowadays, where girls usually turn to spray tans or tanning beds to achieve that golden glow.

The beauty standards didn't stop there, the ancient Greeks' had standards for their bodies, rather than just their faces. Their overall appearance even indicated their social ranking. Short hair meant you were a slave whereas long hair symbolized a free women, which was usually worn in a bun.
One of the most commonly known Greek beauty standard is the idea of symmetry. The Greeks believed symmetrical features on a woman/mans' face was hands-down the most visually appealing.
Overall, the ancient Greeks' developed the foundation for the beauty standards we have today.

                            "Ancient Greek's Concept on Beauty." Ancient Greek's Concept on Beauty. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.    
                             "Would You Be Beautiful in the Ancient World?" BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.                                                                                                

Ancient Egypt

In this current day and era, beauty and fashion desires for women come out as often as fries do at McDonald's, everyday. These desired assets for women change progressively as time ticks on. This had me thinking: if beauty standards change as often as they do now, how often did, and what were, the beauty standards for women throughout history? Obviously the term 'history' could range from the dinosaur era to the swingin' sixties. I decided to narrow my research into twelve major time events; Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Elizabethan Era, Japanese Geisha, Pre-French Revolution, Victorian Era, Roarin' Twenties, Swingin' Sixties, Fifties, Eighties, and the Modern Era. I started at the beginning of it all; Ancient Egypt.
Egypt
Prior to typing my search into Google, I knew as much about Ancient Egyptian beauty as any another typical teenage girl. The one key concept I knew was that the Egyptians valued symmetry. Other than that, I had no clue on what to expect.
Body Image
Every era seems to have a desirable body for both men and women. In a buzz feed article, I discovered the ideal body for a woman in Ancient Egypt; boyish. Tall, slender, flat-chested, and broad-shouldered was the ultimate body goal. Practically the exact opposite of nowadays. The Ancient Egyptian society also valued a symmetrical face. Below is a picture of the ideal body type in Ancient Egypt.

Cosmetics
Egyptians, as women nowadays do, wore cosmetics. The most famous trend from this era, bold eyeliner, was actually used quit often. Several key components of their everyday look all followed the same goal; a symmetrical face. Here are a few:
-Oils: to moisturize skin due to hot air
-Black, white, and green were the most common colors used
-Henna was used to paint nails
Below is a visual representation of the most desirable face:

 I was surprised to find many similarities between the modern day beauty standards and the ancient Egyptian's idea of beauty. After all, I guess that is where the idea of beauty in general was created.

For the cosmetic section, I used the website below. This website was informative, however it wasn't as interesting as the other website I used.

                           "What Was the Ideal of Female Beauty in Ancient Egypt and Crete?" What Was the Ideal of Female Beauty in Ancient Egypt and Crete? N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2016.                                                 

I used this buzz feed article for the body image section. The article included a video, and was entertaining to look through.

                           Yang, Eugene Lee. "Women's Ideal Body Types Throughout History." BuzzFeed. N.p., 27 Jan. 2015. Web. 18 May 2016.