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The book above is one written in 1582 by Jean Liébaut, a French doctor. It contains recipes for products to maintain a good complexion or to combat the 'blackening' of the face due to the cold air or sunlight. From the approximate translations through Google Translate via camera phone, the first sections appear to provide recipes that are formulated to counteract the external effects of internal issues such as an imbalance of the humours, a term that has been used for several centuries.
Another physician, Maistre André le Fournier wrote a book called La decoration dhumaine nature, et a ornement des dames in 1530 which contains similarly, recipes for treatments and washes to alleviate the effects of disturbance to the constitution of the women who required them.
The pages of this book below are actually describing a recipe for bleaching the hair blonde.
What do we know?
What do we know?
The makeup of the 16th Century has been discussed and debated about in recent years with the ever changing technology and research, we continue to see our view on the products and look of the period.
A product known as 'Venetian Ceruse' has been said to be the "foundation to be wearing" according to makeup artist Lisa Eldridge. In her book 'Facepaint', she makes reference to a book from 1688 (first published in Latin) where a recipe called "Magistery of Saturn or Lead" is said to have been "a simple ceruse used as makeup" according to Lisa, however when reading the entry in full, the first use is stated as being "of use against Phthificks, or ulcers of the lungs, and other inflamations" as well as a list of external issues including French pox.
In reguards to the comment made about its use as makeup, the 8th point of the entry states "this powder being washed and dried, is nothing but a ceruse made exceedingly pure and fine. It is used by some for paint". The way this is written also suggests that the ceruse was combined with at least 1 other ingredient from the use of the word 'for' rather than 'as' suggesting exclusivity.
Below is the original text, available on archive.org
Lips and Cheeks
Lips and Cheeks
To make the face seem more youthful, the Elizabethans would use similar techniques that were used by the ancient civilisations of Egypt, Greece and Rome, combining pigments used for dyeing cloth such as red ochre and alkanet with oils or wax.
The red tone of these products contrasts with the fairness of the skin, making them appear even fairer and almost ethereal.
Through looking at the portraits of Elizabeth where the rouge is more prominent, it's clear that it is placed in an inverted triangle just on and below the cheekbone. The lips are kept quite natural in terms of fullness and shape and they appear to become thinner in the few portraits that show her later in life.
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