Wanting to look very pure and virginal, Queen Elizabeth 1 favoured an alabaster skin tone. To make her skin look this pale, she used what were then high quality ingredients, white lead and vinegar, which created a mixture called ceruse. During the Elizabethan times, it was also extremely common for women to use egg white to glaze their faces, which helped to hide wrinkles and give a smooth, even complexion. Very often, they would also paint blue veins onto their faces, which made the skin look that little bit more transparent. Alabaster skin was highly desirable, and was a mark of good breeding and wealth.
Rosy Cheeks and Lips
Elizabethan women used crushed beetles (fucus) as rouge, this mixture was spread over the whole cheek to give the cheeks some colour as their natural rosy pigments would have faded under the thick paste they used to achieve the alabaster skin tone. Blushing was seen as a sign of innocence, and as Elizabeth wanted to be known as the Virgin Mary, applying fucus to the cheeks helped to portray this. The same beetle mixture was used on the lips. All of this Make Up helped to signify wealth, power and delicacy.
Image Credit: Revelations - The Initial Journey - Life Issues. 2013. (Online) Available at: http://www.theinitialjourney.com/lifeissues/life_dressingcourt.html . (Accessed 07 October 2013)
High Eyebrows
The Elizabethans also liked to create dark, high eyebrows. A large forehead was considered to be beautiful, so high arched and extremely plucked eyebrows, as well as their high hairline enabled them to follow this trend.
Image Credit: Turkey and Britain Since The Days Of Queen Elizabeth I. - The Backbencher. 2013. (Online) Available at: http://thebackbencher.co.uk/turkey-and-britain-since-the-days-of-queen-elizabeth-i/ . (Accessed 07 October 2013.)
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