Victorians began lightening their skin by first applying lemon juice to the face, they would then use a small amount of pearl powder in order to create whiten their complexion further. The powder was made by dissolving seed pearls in acid and then turned into a solid using alkali. Although this was the most desirable product it was also the most expensive, leaving many unable to afford it, therefore a cheaper option was then made available which was prepared from mother-of-pearl (the shiny layer found on the inside of shells) or oyster shells. The only problem with the use of this powder was that it created an unnatural sheen across the face.
There was one other powder used by the Victorians in order to whiten the face - Bismuth powder. At first it was considered a good imitation of the pearl powder, however it was very short lived as when it came into contact with sulphur fumes it turned black, drawing attention and embarrassing the wearer. In the later years of the Victorian era Zinc was also used which was considered to be less harmful and poisonous than some of the Victorian 'Chemists' previous concoctions.
ROUGE
There were several different products used by the Victorians in order to create pinker looking cheeks and lips. It was important for the rouge to look natural as any makeup too obvious and heavy was often associated with prostitutes and those with questionable morals. Due to the fear of being associated with these types of women some resorted to just pinching their cheeks and biting their lips in order to create a pinker/redder appearance. However for those who did use products, the items used to create this look varied from spanish wool to Chinese boxes. They also used mercuric sulfide as a lip reddener, however it later became apparent that this was extremely poisonous and caused the wearer to suffer from a number of different health conditions and reactions. However out of the variety of products available, the most desirable rouge was pure carmine - manufactured from cochineal.
ADDED EXTRAS
Mercuric sulfide was not the only poisonous product sold to the women of the Victorian era, their were also a variety of other makeup products, used mainly by prostitutes, which were unknowingly harmful to the wearer. The ladies of the night would wear eyeshadow concocted from lead and antimony sulfide, which would cause itching, redness and inflammation and eventually affected their eyesight as it seeped through the lid and into the eye.
Most Victorian women used the above products to represent what they defined as beauty, however their was also products used by both sexes in order to increase and improve appearance, one of which being eyebrow colouring.
In todays society we use eyebrow pencils to shape and define our eyebrows, however in the Victorian era a product was prepared using lamp-black (a black pigment made from soot) mixed with a form of cream and then applied using a brush made from camel's hair.
This idea was used by both males and females - men to create a thicker more smouldering look to attract a wife, and women to outline, highlight and draw attention to their eyes.
'Fashion in Makeup from Ancient to Modern Times' Author - Richard Corson
http://bbeautiful4u.co.uk/tag/make-up-in-victorian-times/
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