Victorian Make-up

Queen Victoria rose to the throne in 1837 and marked the decline of the use of cosmetics. In the Victorian era there were lots of strict moral codes including the use of makeup products. Cosmetics such as make up were frowned upon and only woman such as prostitutes or actresses would wear a lot of it. Make up was banned in a lot of religions and was labelled to be immortal and the tools of the devil. Victorian woman didn’t completely stop using make up products though they would just keep it to a very minimum amount. The Victorian era was very much about natural beauty woman of a higher class actually restraint from wearing a lot of make up as they knew it was frowned upon but it was found hard to not completely wear it. Ladies who were well of in this period wanted the allusion of delicacy, fragility and to be seen as very feminine as this was seen as desirable and beautiful. Actresses and prostitutes which at this time were seen as the same thing wore a lot more make up that was more visible to the eye than what most other woman as this time would wear. A pale complexion was still seen at this time to be a sign of nobility and wealth a lot like the Elizabethan era this meant that you had money and did not have to work outside in the sun resulting in tanned skin which was seen on as vulgar. To achieve this pale complexion woman started using zinc oxide which is a white mineral powder. This was considered to be a lot safer than products used in earlier periods, even though some of the deadly mixtures used in earlier decades were still around. Because there was a decrease in the use of cosmetic products ladies of the Victorian period would preserve their skin pale by avoiding the sun and fresh air. To avoid the sun when going outside they use to shield themselves with parasols so the skin couldn’t tan. Woman would also go to deeper measures such as drawing veins on the skin and also making the dark circles under their eyes more prominent so the skin would look even whiter. They would also drink vinegar to achieve a pale complexion or use a white powder which would tone down the shine on the skin and give the skin a slight glow powders were using very sparingly at this time. Eye shadows and lipsticks that were used at this time were very pale in tone and were applied very carefully to look as natural as possible. The eye shadows worn were made from lead and antimony sulphide and lipstick were made out of mercuric sulphide. They would apply beetle juice to the cheeks to give their cheeks a natural colouring; lemon juice was also applied to the skin to try lighten it.