Victorian Make-Up (From Worcester News)

Victorian Make-Up

10:04am Monday 5th July 2010 in Retail Therapy By Lydia Johnson, Fashion and beauty writer

BY taking one look at a painting of Queen Victoria, it is apparent that she did not care much for make up. Her stern, severe face is devoid of any rouge, lipstick or eye shadow. The Victorians prized a healthy, natural beauty above the mask of any make up.

In fact, make up was very much frowned upon in general society, and the puritanical era very much treasured a humble, natural beauty. The society placed a great emphasis on health and hygiene, warning against the dangers of toxins in make up, especially after seeing what happened to Queen Elizabeth some years before. Before Queen Victoria condemned make up in society during her reign from 1837 to 1901, women were still poisoning themselves, although unbeknownst to them. As well as the face powder containing lead, lip-redenner contained the poisonous compound mercuric sulphide, whilst a certain powder that gave a sparkle to the eye was made from belladonna, also known as the delirium inducing deadly nightshade.

Despite the restrictions on make up, women still made attempts at making their skin almost deathly pale. To avoid lead poisoning, women drank vinegar or starved themselves of fresh air to try and capture the highly prized pallor, although obviously this had its own dire consequences. This snow-white complexion, treasured through time, was seen as interesting and beautiful, which meant that any lady of class could not work out in the sun and must walk with a parasol to protect herself from the coarse obscenity of tanning. Not only this, but although we may think it vulgar today, it was considered beautiful when a lady painted on the blue veins of her neck against her pale skin, thus enhancing the translucent appearance.

Make up was only acceptably wore by actresses and entertainers, such as Victorian beauty Lillie Langtry, who used it to enhance their stage presence and to set themselves apart from the audience. On the other hand, make up was less acceptably worn by prostitutes, of which there was a vast amount around in that specific time.

Therefore, it is plain to see that make up was not something greatly treasured in Victorian society, unlike that of the Ancient Egyptians or Tudors. However, we can see that no matter what is frowned upon, women, and men, will always go out of their way to enhance their looks, some by stranger means than others.