The most recent assignment
that our class did was about the common folk in 17th century England. We used
the diary entries of Samuel Pepys to learn about what a typical day was like
for those who weren't nobles, kings or queens. The most interesting information
that I learned about when working on this assignment was about appearance,
especially for women.
The standards for beauty were
incredibly different from the way they are now. A woman was past her prime at
20 years old and was absolutely old at 30. These women spent their whole lives
trying to copy what the Queen looked like. There were lots of steps to achieve
this extravagant look and they were not easy. The first of which was getting that
famous pale complexion.
It was fashionable to have perfectly
white skin. The reason for this was if your skin was that white, then you
must have been rich enough not to have to work outside in the fields. Women
would smear a mixture of ingredients on their faces such as powdered white
chalk, white lead, egg whites, and vinegar. They had to be careful not to laugh
or their skin would crack. Imagine wearing a mask outdoors just to keep your
skin pale. It was the opposite of today when everyone wants to be tan.
Women would also redden their
cheeks and lips with powder from cherries and fruit juice. Clearly natural
beauty was not the look they were going for. Some of the things people did were
downright gross. For example, urine was believed to be good for your skin.
Samuel Pepys’ wife tried using dog urine on her face to even out her complexion.
That wasn't the only crazy
thing women did. Everything about the ideal look was exaggerated and unnatural.
Giant skirt, huge hair (often from hairpieces and wigs for extra height), and
a very tiny waist. To get this small waist they did unbelievable diets and
rituals, including bathing in wine and applying goose fat to their flabby
areas.
All of these ridiculous products
and routines had their consequences. Lead and mercury, used in nearly all of
their powders and creams, are poisonous. The women got the opposite of what
they wanted because these toxic chemicals resulted in scars and blemishes. It seems
like what they did wasn't worth it. I know I'm glad I was born in this generation.
Pictography:
“Woman's 17th Century Makeup.” Photograph. Cosmetics. August 29, 2012. http://nicolequinnnarrates.blogspot.com/2012/08/cosmetics.html. February 21, 2014.
Boucher. “Woman Applying Beauty Patches.” Painting. A Deadly Fashion: Beauty and Cosmetics 1550-1950 – A Review. February 29,2012. http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/a-deadly-fashion-beauty-and-cosmetics-1550-1950-a-review/. February 21, 2014.
Gainsborough, Thomas. “Woman with Patches, Pale Skin and Rouged Cheeks.” Painting. A Deadly Fashion: Beauty and Cosmetics 1550-1950 – A Review. February 29, 2012. http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/a-deadly-fashion-beauty-and-cosmetics-1550-1950-a-review/. February 21, 2014.
Bibliography:
“Beauty in the 17th Century.” Royal Museums Greenwich. National Maritime Museum. http://www.rmg.co.uk/queens-house/history/fact-files/beauty-in-the-17th-century (February 21, 2014).
“The 17th Century Women's Guide to Looking Good.” Mail Online. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-475753/The-17th-century-womens-guide-looking-good.html
(February 21, 2014).
Hi Nicole,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post. I learned a few new things from this post, you used great detail and kept me wanting to read more. Great Job!
Great Job! This was a very interesting post to read and you used a lot of details like the specific things women did to get the ideal look. It is very interesting that some of the aspects of a "perfect women" then were the opposite of what they are now. For example, women in the 17th century wanted to be pale white but now people want to be tan! Over all great job! This was a great post and you made me want to keep reading the whole time.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I found this very interesting considering it the complete opposite of women today. Most today want to be tan not pale, and we know so much more about the chemicals that damaged their skin in the 17th century. I already knew about the women using unhealthy mixtures to make themselves pale, but I had no idea about the other rituals like using dog urine to even out their complexions and bathing in wine to make themselves thinner. You made this very interesting, and made me want to keep reading. Overall, really good job.
ReplyDeleteI found your piece to be very intriguing at the lengths women would go to upheld what was considered beautiful at the time. Even if the ways they could become beautiful were not very pleasant, I mean putting dog urine on your face couldn't have felt very good. But this also reminds me of the crazy things people do today that are very risky to upheld what society considers "beautiful". Even today they way people try to fix themselves with all sorts of pills, diets and surgeries that can be quite risky and expensive. In a way people really haven't changed much in that perspective
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post. I learned more about the lengths that women of that time would go to, to appear "beautiful". I can't imagine putting dog urine on my face because that would absolutely repulsive. I also think that we go to great lengths to look pretty these days too, it is just the exact opposite then they did then. For example they wanted to be pale, and now we want to be tan.
ReplyDeleteI though the topic you chose to write about was a good choice ad very interesting to learn about. I liked how you compared what we do now to what they did then to be "beautiful". Your post was very well-written ad easy to follow and understand. I liked finding out how different their beauty rituals then are different from ours now. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI really like this blog post. I never knew that beauty was such a big deal in the 17th century! I can't believe the types of things that the women did to look "beautiful". Girls in today's world do a lot of different things to be beautiful too. Except we do not want big hair or to be pale. I can't imagine how hard it was to be a girl in the 17th century. I do not think I could do it. Some of the things they had to do were gross! I am also thankful I was not born in this generation.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your blog post. It was really interesting because i never knew that beauty was such a bug deal back then. What woman did to look beautiful was very different than what woman do today. I really liked how you compared beauty from then to now. Overall i thought you did a great job!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this post. It was well-written and easy to read. It also left me wondering, though, whether what women do today to be "beautiful" is really all that different. The details are quite different; they wanted to be pale and now everyone wants to be tan, they put urine on their skin which today seems repulsive, etc. But the basic ideas haven't changed at all: women will go to any lengths to be "beautiful." Sure, they did put lead on their skin, but we do some pretty dangerous stuff too. Girls inject themselves with plastic, burn themselves and start fires when using 400 degree heat on their hair, starve themselves, and put hot wax on their legs just to rip it off again, just to name a few. We may not be getting lead poisoning from our makeup, but girls these days do other dangerous things just to be "beautiful."
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post, it was well - written and had a lot of interesting information. Like Kristen said, your post was interesting because I never knew that beauty was important back then. It was cool to see how you compared make up from then to now. It must have been tough to be a girl back in the 17th century. But anyways, I thought you did a spectacular job!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like a few beauty trends from the 17th century have stuck around. Red lips, rosy cheeks, even complexion, and tiny waists are still common on the runway today. I'm glad that the other standards of beauty- ghost white skin and ridiculously large wigs have gone out of style, but our aesthetic mindsets haven't changed at all three centuries later. The old gimmicks and potions have led to new ones- just look at any of the beauty infomercials that fill our TV screens! Although we don't have a real "Queen" anymore, women still model their appearances after the rich and famous, who can afford extravagant makeup, clothing, and hairstyles, and photo editing. Three hundred years from now some of our beauty standards may seem ridiculous, but I doubt we'll be any less concerned about our appearances!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your informative and enlightening blog post! Your title was creative and immediately made me click on the link. I remember briefly talking about women’s beauty tips in history class and was intrigued to read more about the crazy makeup that they wore on a daily basis. You did a great job incorporating facts into your post while also making it interesting and fun to read. I liked that you included more than one picture, which enriched the blog post, and talked about multiple makeup strategies and tactics that were used. By quickly scanning your bibliography and pictography, I can see that you also did a fantastic job doing that, as well. However, I did notice a few wording mistakes, but a quick edit would have made the blog post perfect. Overall great job! And I would certainly agree with your ending statement; I am also quite glad that I was not a member of the 17th century English generation.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post. I think you did a great job including a lot of detail. I liked how you discussed all the different things women would do to themselves in order to make them look "fashionable". I never knew how many ridiuclous and dangerous things women would do to themselves back in the 17th century. It is absolutely disgusting how people would use urine to even out their skin. I also thought it was very interesting how women wanted to be so pale back then, and now people want to be super tan. I also am really glad I was not born back then!! I really liked the pictures you included, I think they really added a lot to the post. Overall, I think you did a great job!
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