TUDOR COSMETICS

The rich women of the Tudors, royalty and the nobility wore makeup as an indication of their status. Makeup also had a practical use to hide the scarring of diseases such as small pox.

The use of heavy makeup was not fashionable during the reigns of the early Tudors such as Henry VIII. Perfumes were popular together with the use of creams and unguents to soften the skin. These were made from ingredients such as using honey, beeswax and sesame seed oil. 

Perfumes were popular and produced from flowers such as roses, water lilies and violets. Makeup was developed in the Middle East and used by he ancient Egyptians as far back as 3000BC. The eye makeup used in the Middle East concentrating in providing colour to their eye lashes, eyelids and eye brows. A type of rouge made from red ochre was used to stain their lips and cheeks and a form of henna was used to paint their nails and colour their hair. 

The Elizabethan Era

Queen Elizabeth I set the fashions and as she grew older she wore more elaborate makeup which useful for hiding wrinkles and other signs of ageing. Queen Elizabeth had contracted small pox which had eft some slight scarring on her face. As she grew older the heavy white makeup which she favoured helped to hide this and maintain her illusion of beauty and image as the "Virgin queen". 

The "ideal" Tudor Woman 

The Tudor view of pure beauty during the Elizabethan era was a woman with light hair and a Snow White complexion which was complimented with red cheeks and red lips. A pale complexion could only be achieved by a wealthy woman of the upper class. Poor women were expected to work outside and therefore acquired a suntan. The pale complexion was therefore a sign of wealth and nobility - an immediate identification for a person from the rich upper class. 

White makeup used by Elizabethan women

Queen Elizabeth did have the natural attributes of this ideal image of beauty but she enhanced and exaggerated the image by using white makeup. This explains the odd white face makeup seen in many of her portraits. Ceruse was a mixture of white lead and vinegar and was favoured by the Elizabethan upper class women. Unfortunately it was poisonous. Face paint made from plant roots and leaves was also applied. The look was completed with an application of an expensive rouge made from cochineal to stain the cheeks and lips. Madder and vermilion was also used to achieve this reddening effect. Kohl was used to darken the eyelashes, another element of makeup which was imported from the Middle East during the crusades. 

Hair dye

 Rich Tudor women followed the fashion of light hair by dying their hair yellow the yellow hair dye was made from a mixture of saffron, cumin seeds, celandine and oil. Wigs and hairpieces were also popular and Queen Elizabeth I had a wide variety of wigs, periwigs and hair pieces which numbered over eighty.