beauty history

You’d think an 18 year old girl becoming queen would give the beauty industry a boost. Surely, such a young girl loved to play with makeup, try the latest lotions and potions, and launch trends, no? Wrong. Queen Victoria loved to party and dance into the wee hours of the morning – but sans makeup. […]

Pale, alabaster skin. Curly, red hair. Thin, arched brows. Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry XVIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn, perfectly personified the beauty ideal of the era. All the women at court wanted to look like her. Here’s the lengths they went through to make that happen: Face Back then, a pale complexion […]

Did you know that the Ancient Romans started using cosmetics for ritual purposes only? But as time went on, makeup and skincare became a natural part of women’s everyday lives. Wealthy people bought imported makeup from China and Germany, while the poor could only afford cheaper knock-offs of such “high-end” cosmetics. Due to the weather […]

We all want what we can’t have. The Ancient Greeks were no different. Dark-haired and bronze-skinned, their ideal of beauty was the total opposite: long and curly golden locks, and pale porcelain skin. So they faked it. Here’s how: Skin In Ancient Greece, pale skin was a sign of prestige and beauty. It meant women (and […]

Beauty was big business in ancient Egypt. It didn’t matter if you were a man or a woman, rich or poor. Everyone used makeup and ointments. It was part of life. Blame it on the climate. They Egyptians needed something to protect their skin from the boiling desert sun and the incessant insect bites. Cosmetics […]