How To Look Beautiful A Long Time Ago
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011There are some familiarities between modern and Roman life. The Roman world was driven with an obsession with looking good. It was also quite a hard habit to maintain in comparison to daily life. This was because of the reality that makeup had to be reapplied several times per day. Make up in these times was badly made and consequently unduly affected by weather. Evolution of the Roman views on appearance occurred in conjunction with the growth of their territory. During the expansion of the Empire the Romans views changed considerably as they integrated with other cultures whose own perception of what beauty is, was already well established. Romans, however, felt that the preservation of beauty was more important than an exaggerated, less than natural look. The preference to appear naturally beautiful was born out of woman’s desire to look chaste. On the other hand, people who made use of cosmetics to a heavy extent were perceived to be amoral and deceitful.
The foundation section of cosmetic routine could have been viewed as the feature of a cosmetic practice that was most significant. That was due to the fact that to have skin that was pallid was a major factor in determining prettiness. The foundation layer began as a greasy substance that was used to cover imperfections. Recipes for this layer included such ingredients as wax, honey and any other fatty substances. This evolved into more specific ingredients such as cow carcasses, and root crops and started to be produced by a dedicated cosmetics industry. Due to the fact that this process required a lot of effort, the consequent price probably meant that only fashionable ladies could afford it. A container of what is considered to be cosmetic cream was found by archaeologists in Southwark, England, from c2000 years ago which was in mint condition.A pot of this cream, which was nearly 2000 years old, was found in Central London
To whiten the skin, women would use substances such as chalk powder, crocodile dung or white lead. What makes clear the emphasis these people placed on looking well, was that they knew how unhealthy lead is but still used it.
This is a marked contrast to the utilization of lipstick by Romans. Proof that is was a factor in the make up routine of these people is lacking.
Slaves applied cosmetics to women at this time. Worth a lot to women of this time were those slaves, who had the most knowledge in being able to put on make up. Producing cosmetics with various ingredients, and with help from saliva is what these slaves would do. Needless to say, make up in those times was a smelly business.