Queen Elizabeth’s makeup – A Frightening History in beauty the face, neck and chest. Because lead is poison, smearing it all over one’s skin caused some serious skin damage. Not only did it make the skin look “grey and shriveled” there was lead poisoning, hair loss and if used over an extended period of time could cause death. Another way to get pale skin was to attach leeches to both cheeks which would suck blood out of the face. They lined their eyes with black kohl to make them look darker and used belladonna (also a poison) eye drops to dilate women’s pupils (dilated pupils were very romantic). Fashion required eyebrows to be thin and The cosmetics (makeup) that were worn by arched. a high forehead it was also considered women in the time of Queen Elizabeth were to be a sign of beauty and nobility. Women drastically different from those we wear today. would pluck out the hair from their eyebrows Not only were the materials they used very and forehead to achieve these looks. different but the look they were trying to Red Cheeks and red lips were very popular. achieve was very different as well. What is This was obtained with plants, beetle shell and considered “beautiful” changes all the time, animal dyes and then mixed with beeswax. depending on what period of time you are looking at. Queen Elizabeth had a great If women could not achieve the desired color of influence over what was considered “beautiful” light hair, they would wear wigs. Some women during her reign. even shaved their head bald and wore wigs all of the time. In the time of Queen Elizabeth I the ideal beauty for a female was to have bright wide-set This mass of makeup would be kept on for at eyes, snow white skin, rosy cheeks, red lips least a week and when they would finally take and fair (light) hair. Pale skin was a sign of it off they would use rosewater, lemon juice or nobility and wealth. The poor and middle class a mixture of eggshells, alum, mercury (also a had to work out in the sun, making their skin poison) and honey. Many people felt that the darker. In a time where sunscreen was mixture left their skin soft and flexible. In reality unheard of, skin problems and pox (think the mixture was actually eating away their skin. chicken pox) was a common thing. Smooth, unblemished skin was rare. The pale skin women (and men) wanted was achieved in a number of ways. The most popular being Venetian Ceruse (also known as Spirits of Saturn), a mixture of lead and vinegar. This white foundation was applied to .