Cosmetics, first used in ancient Rome for ritual purposes,[1] were part of daily life. Some fashionable cosmetics, such as those imported from Germany, Gaul and China, were so expensive that the Lex Oppia tried to limit their use in 189 BCE.[2] These "designer brands" spawned cheap knock-offs that were sold to poorer women.[3] Working-class women could afford the cheaper varieties, but may not have had the time (or slaves) to apply the makeup[4] as the use of makeup was a time-consuming affair because cosmetics needed to be reapplied several times a day due to weather conditions and poor composition.[5]
Cosmetics were applied in private, usually in a small room where men did not enter. Cosmetae, female slaves that adorned their mistresses, were especially praised for their skills.[6] They would beautify their mistresses with cultus, the Latin word encompassing makeup, perfume and jewelry.[7]
Scent was also an important factor of beauty. Women who smelled good were presumed to be healthy. Due to the stench of many of the ingredients used in cosmetics at the time, women often drenched themselves in copious amounts of perfume.[8]
Christian women tended to avoid cosmetics with the belief that they should praise what God gave them.[9] Some men, especially cross-dressers, did use cosmetics, although it was viewed as effeminate and improper.[10]
All cosmetic ingredients were also used as medicines to treat various ailments. Lead, although known to be poisonous, was still widely used.[7]
Men's attitudes
Roman attitudes towards cosmetics evolved with the expansion of the empire. The assortment of cosmetics available increased as trade borders expanded and the resulting influx of wealth granted women additional slaves and time to spend on beauty. Ideas of beauty from conquered peoples, especially the Greeks and Egyptians, greatly influenced the Roman paradigm of beauty.[10] Unlike their eastern trading partners however, the Romans felt that only the "preservation of beauty" was acceptable and not "unnatural embellishment". Despite exaggerating their makeup to make it appear in the poor lighting of the time, women still wanted to appear natural as a sign of chastity [citation needed]. Artificiality denoted a desire to be seductive, which made men question for whom exactly a woman was trying to appear attractive. In particular, Romans did not like unnatural colors on the eyes and overlined eyes.[11] This was why men generally viewed the use of cosmetics as deceitful and manipulative.[12]Vestal Virgins did not do makeup because they were supposed to look holy and chaste. Postumia, one of the Vestal Virgins, defied this convention and was consequently accused of incestum.[13]
The consensus was that women who used cosmetics in excess were immoral and deceptive and were practicing a form of witchcraft. Juvenal wrote that "a woman buys scents and lotions with adultery in mind" and mocked the need for cosmetics, believing that they were ineffective. Use of perfumes was further looked down upon because they were thought to mask the smell of sex and alcohol. Seneca advised virtuous women to avoid cosmetics, as he believed their use to be a part of the decline of morality in Rome. Stoics were also against the use of cosmetics, as they were opposed to the usage of all man-made luxuries. Although there are no surviving texts written by women expounding the attitude of women towards cosmetics, their widespread use indicates that women accepted and enjoyed these products.[2] Of all the surviving texts mentioning cosmetics (all written by men) Ovid is alone in his approval of their use. Archaeologist and Haaretz columnist Terry Madenholm writes:
“Ovid is one of the few who understood the sexist social system of his time, portraying in his poems the expectations and criticisms women were facing. Where men shaped their identity through public engagements, women were defined through the prism of being wives and mothers. In a society where women had little liberty, makeup was undoubtedly a tool of expression and, perhaps, for some, even a means of voicing their individuality. Women who were using makeup were consciously or unconsciously assuming some control over their lives. They were projecting a self-constructed image that they wished to present to others.”[14]
Skincare
Pure white skin, a demarcation of the aristocracy, was the most important feature of Roman beauty in women.[7] Pale skin gave the impression of a higher social status. It was assumed that if a woman had pale skin, she stayed inside because she could afford slaves that would go outside and do labor she otherwise would have done.[15]
Women would often prepare their faces with beauty masks prior to applying makeup. One recipe called for the application of sweat from sheep's wool (lanolin) to the face before bedtime,[16] emitting a stench often criticized by men.[17] Other ingredients included juice, seeds, horns, excrement,[18] honey, plants, placenta, marrow, vinegar, bile, animal urine, sulfur, vinegar,[6] eggs, myrrh, incense, frankincense,[19] ground oyster shells,[20] onions with poultry fat, white lead, and barley with vetch. Bathing in asses’ milk was an expensive treatment that worked like a chemical peel and was used by wealthy women such as Cleopatra VII and Poppaea Sabina.[21]
After their baths, they would then apply face whitener, such as chalk powder,[22] white marl, crocodile dung and white lead.[7] The Roman recognition that lead was poisonous underscored their point of view on how important white skin was. Other ingredients used in whiteners included beeswax, olive oil, rosewater, saffron,[3] animal fat, tin oxide, starch,[23] rocket (arugula), cucumber, anise, mushrooms, honey, rose leaves, poppies, myrrh, frankincense,[7] almond oil, rosewater, lily root, water parsnip and eggs.[8] In Ovid's Art of Beauty, he gives a recipe and directions on how to make a face whitener.[24] The Romans disliked wrinkles, freckles, sunspots, skin flakes and blemishes.[6] To soften wrinkles, they used swans’ fat, asses’ milk, gum Arabic and bean-meal.[7] Sores and freckles were treated with the ashes of snails.[7] The Romans pasted soft leather patches of alum directly over blemishes to pretend that they were beauty marks. Criminals and freedmen used these leather patches, which came in both round and crescent shapes, to conceal brand marks.[8]
With the exception of hair on her head, hair was considered to be unattractive on a Roman woman. Consequently, women removed hair by either shaving, plucking, stripping using a resin paste, or scraping with a pumice stone. Older women faced ridicule for their depilation because it was viewed primarily as preparation for sex.[25]
Rouge
Although Romans esteemed pale faces, a light pink on the cheeks was considered to be attractive, signifying good health. Plutarch wrote that too much rouge made a woman look showy, while Martial mocked women, believing that rouge was in danger of melting in the sun.[4] Sources of rouge included Tyrian vermillion,[10] rose and poppy petals, fucus,[26] red chalk, alkanet, and crocodile dung.[27] Red ochre, a more expensive blush, was imported from Belgium and ground against a stone into powder.[19] Despite knowledge that cinnabar and red lead were poisonous, they were both still used extensively.[7] Cheap alternatives included mulberry juice and wine dregs.[8]
Eye makeup
Roman glass perfume flask and two-part eye makeup container.
The ideal eyes, from the Roman perspective, were large with long eyelashes. Pliny the Elder wrote that eyelashes fell out from sexual excess, and so it was especially important for women to keep their eyelashes long to prove their chastity.[28]
Kohl was the main ingredient in eye makeup, and was composed of ashes or soot and antimony, with saffron usually added to improve the smell. Kohl was applied using a rounded stick, made of ivory, glass, bone, or wood, that would be dipped in either oil or water first, before being used to apply the kohl.[7] The use of kohl as makeup came from the east. In addition to kohl, charred rose petals[29] and date stones could be used to darken the eyes.[8]
Colored eyeshadow was also applied by women to accentuate their eyes. Green eyeshadow came from malachite, while blue came from azurite.[3]
The Romans preferred dark eyebrows that almost met in the center.[7] This effect was achieved by darkening their eyebrows with antimony or soot and then extending them inward.[3] Plucking began in the 1st century BCE to tidy their overall look.[4]
Lips, nails and teeth
Although evidence for the usage of lipstick appears in earlier civilizations, no such evidence has materialized to indicate that the Romans ever colored their lips.[30] The only evidence for painting nails comes from a red dye they imported that was produced from an Indian insect. Generally only the wealthy cut their nails, as they used barbers to clip their nails short, following the contemporary practice for good hygiene.[7]
Although oral hygiene was nowhere near today’s standards, white teeth were prized by the Romans, and so false teeth, made from bone, ivory and paste, were popular items. Ovid shed light on the way white teeth were viewed in society when he wrote the statement, "You can do yourself untold damage when you laugh if your teeth are black, too long or irregular."[4] The Romans also sweetened their breath with powder and baking soda.[6]
Perfume
Roman marbled glass piriform unguentarium (front and back)
Perfumes were very popular in Ancient Rome. In fact, they were so heavily used that Cicero claimed that, "The right scent for a woman is none at all."[4] They came in liquid, solid and sticky forms and were often created in a maceration process with flowers or herbs and oil.[5]Distillation technology, as well as most of the imported ingredients, originated in the east.[6] The most prominent perfume market in Italy was Seplasia in Capua.[17] Perfumes were rubbed on or poured onto the user and were often believed to be helpful against different ailments, such as fever and indigestion. Different scents were appropriate for different occasions,[10] as well as for men and women.[31] Deodorants made from alum, iris and rose petals were common.[32]
In addition to personal use, perfumes were used in food and to freshen the household aroma.[5]
Containers and mirrors
Makeup usually came in tablet or cake form, sold at marketplaces.[7] Wealthy women bought expensive makeup that came in elaborate containers made from gold, wood, glass or bone.[6] Kohl came in compartmentalized tubes that could store more than one color of eye makeup.[7]Glassblowing, invented in the 1st century CE in Syria, lowered the price of containers. The most common color for glass was teal.[2]Gladiator sweat and fats of the animals fighting in the arena were sold in souvenir pots outside of the games to improve complexion.[3]
Mirrors in Ancient Rome were mostly hand mirrors made from polished metal, or mercury behind glass.[4] Spending too much time in front of a mirror was thought to denote that a woman was weak in character.[33]
Cosmetics, and especially their overuse, were commonly associated with prostitutes, both being regarded as immoral and seductive. The Latin word lenocinium actually meant both "prostitution" and "makeup". Due to their low income, prostitutes tended to use cheaper cosmetics, which emitted rather foul odors.[34] This, combined with the strong, exotic scents used to cover up the stench, made brothels smell especially rank. As prostitutes aged, with their income dependent on their appearance, they opted for more copious amounts of makeup. Courtesans often received cosmetics and perfumes as gifts or partial payment.[30]
Men's use
Men are also known to have used cosmetics in Roman times, although it was frowned upon by society. Men seen carrying mirrors were viewed as effeminate, while those using face-whitening makeup were thought to be immoral because they were expected to be tanned from working outside.[35] Two of the more acceptable practices were the light use of certain perfumes and moderate hair removal. A man removing too much hair was viewed as effeminate, while removing too little made him seem unrefined.[33] The Romans found it especially inappropriate for an emperor to be vain, as was apparently the case with the Emperor Otho.[36] The Emperor Elagabalus removed all of his body hair and often donned makeup, which caused the Romans much grief.[37]
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Perfumes can be defined as substances that emit and diffuse a pleasant and fragrant odor. They consist of manmade mixtures of aromatic chemicals and essential oils. The 1939 Nobel Laureate for Chemistry, Leopold Ružička stated in 1945 that "right from the earliest days of scientific chemistry up to the present time, perfumes have substantially contributed to the development of organic chemistry as regards methods, systematic classification, and theory."
Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect the body or skin. Cosmetics designed to enhance or alter one's appearance (makeup) can be used to conceal blemishes, enhance one's natural features, add color to a person's face, or change the appearance of the face entirely to resemble a different person, creature or object. Due to the harsh ingredients in makeup products, individuals with acne-prone skin are more likely to suffer from breakouts. Cosmetics can also be designed to add fragrance to the body.
Mascara is a cosmetic commonly used to enhance the upper and lower eyelashes. It is used to darken, thicken, lengthen, and/or define the eyelashes. Normally in one of three forms—liquid, powder, or cream—the modern mascara product has various formulas; however, most contain the same basic components of pigments, oils, waxes, and preservatives. The most common form of mascara is a liquid in a tube with an application brush.
Kohl (Arabic: كُحْل, romanized: kuḥl), Kajal, Kajol, or Tiro is an ancient eye cosmetic, traditionally made by grinding stibnite (Sb2S3) for use similar to that of charcoal in mascara. It is widely used in the Middle East, Caucasus and North Africa, South Asia, West Africa, and the Horn of Africa as eyeliner to contour and/or darken the eyelids and as mascara for the eyelashes. The content of kohl and various ways to prepare it differ based on tradition and country. Several studies have questioned the safety of kohl due to the dangers of lead poisoning.
Guerlain is a French perfume, cosmetics and skincare house, which is among the oldest in the world. Many traditional Guerlain fragrances are characterized by a common olfactory accord known as the "Guerlinade". The house was founded in Paris in 1828 by the perfumer Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain. It was run by the Guerlain family until 1994, when it was bought by the French multinational company LVMH. Its flagship store is 68, Avenue des Champs-Elysées in Paris.
Eye shadow is a cosmetic applied primarily to the eyelids to attract attention to the wearer's eyes, making them stand out or look more attractive. Eye shadow can also be applied under the eyes, on the cheeks, or to brow bones.
The history of cosmetics spans at least 7,000 years and is present in almost every society on earth. Cosmetic body art is argued to have been the earliest form of a ritual in human culture. The evidence for this comes in the form of utilised red mineral pigments including crayons associated with the emergence of Homo sapiens in Africa. Cosmetics are mentioned in the Old Testament—2 Kings 9:30 where Jezebel painted her eyelids—approximately 840 BC—and the book of Esther describes various beauty treatments as well.
The word perfume is used today to describe scented mixtures and is derived from the Latin word, "per fumus," meaning through smoke. The word perfumery refers to the art of making perfumes. Perfume was refined by the Romans, the Persians and the Arabs. Although perfume and perfumery also existed in East Asia, much of its fragrances were incense based. The basic ingredients and methods of making perfumes are described by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia.
Cosmetics ingredients come from a variety of sources but, unlike the ingredients of food, are often not considered by most consumers. Cosmetics often use vibrant colors that are derived from a wide variety of sources, ranging from crushed insects to rust.
The preservation of fabric fibers and leathers allows for insights into the attire of ancient societies. The clothing used in the ancient world reflects the technologies that these peoples mastered. In many cultures, clothing indicated the social status of various members of society.
Face powder is a cosmetic product applied to the face to serve different functions, typically to beautify the face. Originating from ancient Egypt, face powder has had different social uses across cultures and in modern times, it is typically used to set makeup, brighten the skin and contour the face. Face powders generally come in two main types. One of which is loose powder, which is used to assist with oily skin in absorbing excess moisture and mattifying the face to reduce shininess. The other is pressed powder which conceals blemishes and maximises coverage.
Venetian ceruse, also known as blanc de ceruse de Venise and Spirits of Saturn, was a 16th-century cosmetic used as a skin whitener. It was in great demand and considered the best available at the time, supposedly containing the best quality white lead sourced from Venice, the global merchant capital at the time. It is similar to the regular ceruse, although it was marketed as better, more exclusive and more expensive than the regular ceruse variant. The regular ceruse white pigment is a basic lead carbonate of chemical formula 2 PbCO 3·Pb(OH) 2 while the mineral cerussite is a simple carbonate of lead.
Western cosmetics in the 1970s reflected the multiple roles ascribed to the modern woman. For the first time since 1900, make-up was chosen situationally, rather than in response to monolithic trends. The era's two primary visions were the feminist-influenced daytime "natural look" and the sexualized evening aesthetic presented by European designers and fashion photographers. In the periphery, punk and glam were also influential. The struggling cosmetics industry attempted to make a comeback, using new marketing and manufacturing practices.
Medicamina Faciei Femineae is a didactic poem written in elegiac couplets by the Roman poet Ovid. In the hundred extant verses, Ovid defends the use of cosmetics by Roman women and provides five recipes for facial treatments. Other writers at the time condemned women's usage of cosmetics.
Hairstyle fashion in Rome was ever changing, and particularly in the Roman Imperial Period there were a number of different ways to style hair. As with clothes, there were several hairstyles that were limited to certain people in ancient society. Styles are so distinctive they allow scholars today to create a chronology of Roman portraiture and art; we are able to date pictures of the empresses on coins or identify busts depending on their hairstyles.
Ancient Egyptian clothes refers to clothing worn in ancient Egypt from the end of the Neolithic period to the collapse of the Ptolemaic Kingdom with the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC. Egyptian clothing was filled with a variety of colors. Adorned with precious gems and jewels, the fashions of the ancient Egyptians were made for not only beauty but also comfort. Egyptian fashion was created to keep cool while in the hot desert.
The ancient Egyptians regarded beauty as a sign of holiness. Everything they used had a spiritual aspect to it, including cosmetics. Both men and women wore makeup. Traders traded makeup often, especially in the upper classes. In tombs, cosmetic palettes were found buried in gold with the deceased as grave goods, which further emphasized the idea that cosmetics were not only used for aesthetic purposes but rather magical and religious purposes.
Korea has an ancient history of cosmetics use, and today it is an important industry in South Korea.
Victorian-era cosmetics refers to cosmetic products used during the Victorian age. Victorian cosmetics were often toxic or otherwise damaging. Commonly used products included ingredients such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and ammonia.
Male cosmetics include all cosmetic products marketed towards men, such as makeup, skincare products, hair care products, body care products, sun care products, perfumes, and other decorative cosmetics.
↑ Peter Green, (Autumn, 1979). "Ars Gratia Cultus: Ovid as Beautician". American Journal of Philology (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press) 100 (3):pp. 390-1.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
