Victorian beauty

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  The Victorian period begins in 1837(when Victoria became a Queen) and ends in 1901(the year of her death).
    In that era the beauty was all aboput the inner beauty: the women should be pure, virtuous and who knew where their place is. The most important aspects of this era were- modesty, morality and a life devoted to conservative religious values. Women were expected to govern in private spheres, even if the industrial revolution changed the way how people worked and lived. They should have been safe from dirtiness of the factories, but also silent and out of sight.
       In that era the beauty was all aboput the inner beauty: the women should be pure, virtuous and who knew where their place is. The most important aspects of this era were- modesty, morality and a life devoted to conservative religious values. Women were expected to govern in private spheres, even if the industrial revolution changed the way how people worked and lived. They should have been safe from dirtiness of the factories, but also silent and out of sight.
    Victorian beauty standarts dictated that women where pale, quite, gentle and delicate creatures. This is why, the elaborate cosmetics, hairstyles and fashion from the previous times were considered vulgar in Victorian era. Hairstyles were very modest, wearing soft curls. If a respectable woman wore make-up, it was with a very light touch and soft natural colours. If someone wore bold make-up, they were none of whom were considered a respectable woman.
    "Compacts and Cosmetics (Beauty from Victorian times to the present day)" is a book written by Madeleine Marsh where I could improve my research with much more details.
     It starts with a description of the clothing: "...They wore pointed buttoned boots, tight kid gloves,ect." The Victorian beauty was expected to sacrifice comfort for costraint.It was also dangerous, because of the massive volume of the dresses, they had to be very attentive while walking near a fireplace,etc. The fashionable silhouette was immobilising and rampantly artificial, but the one area of the body , where in theory at least, no artifice was allowed- was the face.
    The classic image of the Victorian beauty was: a peaches or cream complexion, cherry ripe lips, a pair of sparkling eyes, fringed by soft, fluttering lashes. All these aspects were expected to be natural, a gift from God. As the author says: "... Improving the mind was sure-fireway of improvising the appearence."
 

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•     Home-made remedies and secret make-up: Fair skin and lily-white complexion for hands were de rugeur to distinguish a lady from the weather-beaten working classes. Fashion journals advised never stepping outside without a protective armoury of accessories including gloves, bonnet, veil and parasol.
      "The Toilette of Health"(1834) recomended a concoction of bitter almonds,oxymurite of quicksilver and sal ammoniac to remove suntan; suggested distilled joice from green pineapples for taking away the wrinkles and pimpernel water to blanch the complexion. "Fresh beans, boiled in water, crushed and applied as a poultice on the freckles", will produce excellent effects. Greasy skins are benefitted by washing in the juice of fresh cucumbers.
      Basically as long as make-up was virtually imperceptible, worn only in the evening, and preferably, home-made, you could get away with a little bit of it.
      " The Toilette of Health " suggested darkening the eyelashes and brows with elderberry juice, burnt cork and burnt cloves; recomended rouging the cheecks bu rubbing them with a red ribbon soaked in brandy.
• Buying a perfect skin: Skincare was a booming industry. By the late 19th century, the cold cream(was a long established cooling moisturiser) was produced by everybody from provicial chemists to the smartest Bond Street perfumers, who supplied their upper class clientele with "delicately fragranced" preparations. Complexion whiteners were another Victorian favourite. There was a huge range of mass-produced potions designed to blanch the skin, and remove spots, freckles and socially inferiorsign of sunburn.



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• The Fragrant Lady: Face creams were not the only acceptable Victorian beauty products. In a world of a certain hygiene, perfume was another requisite...Etiquette manuals advised ladies to stick to gentle and natural fragrances: eau du cologne, rose, violet, lavander and orris root. A refined woman will always reject odours which are too strong, advised Baroness Staffe in " The Lady's Dressing Room" (1893).

Books:  " The meaning behind the mask( Why women wear make-up)" by Madeleine Ogilvie

    " Compacts and Cosmetics (Beauty from Victorian times to the present day)" by Madeleine Marsh