Queen Elizabeth I was a trend-setter of her time. Her curly, copper hair and pale complexion led many women dressing like her, she was considered to be the most beautiful of her time.
Face - Had to be of the palest complexion they could achieve, often using poisonous white lead and vinegar, or being bled from the face. Egg whites were also used to hide wrinkles and fake a paler complexion.
Eyes+Eyebrows - Eyes were outlined with kohl, and Belladonna was often used to enlarge the pupils, making the eyes look much larger. Kohl was also used on the eyebrows to create a high arch and high forehead - a sign of aristocracy - many women would pluck out their eyebrows and draw them back on.
Cheeks+Lips - The rosiness of red could be achieved by many ways on the cheeks, most often used was plant or animal dyes. Madder was most commonly used as the plant dye, whilst beetles were popular for the cheeks. They could also be reddened by egg whites and ochres. Lips could be reddened by madder and beetle, but also vermillion, a pigment found in mercury sulphide.
Hair - Not only was it that makeup had to be pale, fair hair was a must for this look too. Women would bleach their hair with many substances, including urine, cumin seeds, saffron, oil and celadine. It was clear that women would go to extreme lengths to achieve this look! Some women would shave their own hair and use a wig to have fashionable hair for the time. The hair once at the right pigment, would be adorned with jewels of all kinds, as a status symbol.
(Linda Alchin, June 2014, 'Tudor Makeup'(online), [viewed 3/10/2014], available from: http://www.sixwives.info/tudor-make-up.htm)
(Dean Love, NatGeoTV, May 10th, 2013, Secrets of The Virgin Queen - Documentary(13:50), [viewed 3/10/2014], available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MjR0r1yN7A)
Men also had a fashion to follow, particularly with their hair. At the beginning of the era, many men wore their hair short, but as time went on, the fashion became longer hair. This long hair had to be curly, so many noble men used hot irons and wax to hold it. Facial hair also had to be long, and held in place with starch.
(Dean Love, NatGeoTV, May 10th, 2013, Secrets of The Virgin Queen - Documentary(13:50), [viewed 3/10/2014], available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MjR0r1yN7A)
Men also had a fashion to follow, particularly with their hair. At the beginning of the era, many men wore their hair short, but as time went on, the fashion became longer hair. This long hair had to be curly, so many noble men used hot irons and wax to hold it. Facial hair also had to be long, and held in place with starch.
Studio of Marcus Gheeraerts?
Government Art Collection, UK.
This portrait by an unknown artist, to me shows the Elizabethan ideal of beauty. Elizabeth's face is face, her rosy cheeks and lips contrasting this. Her eyebrows are high-arched, and she has a high forehead (showing aristocracy). I found this portrait on a website called 'luminarium' on a page specifically for 'The faces of Elizabeth I'. This is relevant to my project, as this gives me clear reference as to how the Queen herself wore the makeup, the ultimate Elizabethan ideal. I find this painting interesting particularly, as the face protrudes from the image. Central to the canvas is the queen's head, lighter than everything else in the image so it pops out at the viewer. All attention is on her stare, then the eye starts to study the rest of the portrait, around the neckline and up to the hair, then flowing back down the hairpiece to the busily embroidered dress. I believe this piece would have been created in one of the Queen's drawing rooms, but due to it being a portrait, all attention needed to be on her and nothing else, so the artist has not included a busy background. The colours are all of a sepia tone, very warm and inviting, this conveys a feeling of warmth and care towards the Queen. If more blue tones were used, it would create a harsh, cold feel towards her.
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