Beauty Kills

Imagine you are Spanish royalty in the 1600s. Spain is at the height of its international prowess and is a fabulously rich country. Untold wealth has been transferred from Central and South America in the form of gold and silver. Spain is, indeed, a European superpower. You want your appearance to reflect that. So, you sit at your tocador (dressing table) and apply whitening bleach products to your face and neck, followed by a white-based foundation. You then top it all off with generous spots of rouge, on your cheeks, forehead, neck, even your hands. Your goal, the standard of beauty, is to look intentionally artificial, almost like you are wearing a mask.

Your sister married a French king. There, her beauty routine has a different goal; she wants a more natural look. Still, though, she wants to look white and pale, not at all like a peasant who works outside. She also whitens her face.

Both of you know that some people get sick from their makeup, and sometimes makeup can harm the skin, but you continue to apply thick layers; you can’t imagine being seen in public otherwise.

Ah, the power and pain of fashion. For centuries, men and women have endured much in the name of fashion. Let’s look at what is going on with the 17^th Century makeup.

First, you’ve got to regularly bleach your face. No one in your social class can be caught looking tan or freckled.

Face bleaching was relatively common. Soliman, made from mercury, was the most popular product. Mercury in prolonged contact with the skin can do lasting damage. Another frequently used product, Spanish White, contained bismuth oxychloride, which was very irritating to the skin and eyes. Lead precipitates would also lighten skin but were toxic as well.

Whatever product you use, once you’ve bleached your face, you need a thick layer of white makeup. You want to look fashionably pale, and you need to be able to cover up your smallpox scars, if you possibly can. I suggest you start off with Blanc, a lovely cream containing ground pearls and white clay. It will cover your pock marks and impart that nice shiny look. If that isn’t enough, you can graduate to Venetian White, the highest quality ceruse from Venice. It’s expensive, but well worth it. It’s less harsh than those other sulfur-containing creams. No matter that the more you apply, the worse your skin looks, and the more ceruse you have to apply. Don’t let that vicious cycle bother you.

Venetian White, also known as ceruse, contained a high-quality white lead pigment from Venice. Mixed with water or vinegar, it dried the skin and adhered quite well. Constant use led to significant absorption of lead, leading to nausea, abdominal pain, high blood pressure, reduced fertility, intellectual impairment, mental confusion and in elevated levels, seizures, and death. Hair loss, especially at the front of the hairline, can be caused by lead poisoning. Perhaps this was the source of the Elizabethan beauty ideal of a remarkably high forehead. Although there is no proof, some scholars believe Queen Elizabeth I died from chronic lead poisoning. She had smallpox as a child, was quite scarred, and was a constant user of white makeup.

Incidentally, physicians in the 1600s sometimes used Venetian White to dry up moist sores, due to its astringent properties.

White lead was not a new innovation in the 1600s. References to the use of white lead in cosmetics date back to ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman times as well as the Tan and Han Dynasties in China. China and Japan, however, tended to use a powder made from ground rice predominantly.

OK, your face is stark white now, it’s time for rouge. Use a big brush, and apply liberally on your cheeks, forehead, ears, and even your hands. Never mind that the French prefer less rouge and think you Spanish ladies look like boiled crayfish! That blushing look makes you look modest.

Rouge was often made from cochineal (a South American insect), or Brazilian red wood, both relatively harmless. However, most rouge was no better than ceruse; in fact, it was often made of ceruse, with plant juices added. Or perhaps pig pancreas was added to thicken the powder. Other rouge compounds during Spain’s Golden Age were made from charred sulfur, mercury, lead, and other substances. These compounds led to headaches, skin damage as well as toxicity leading to damaged vision.

Lip stains are essential to complete your look.

Lip stains were typically made from white lead, combined with red pigments like vermilion, sandalwood, cinnabar, which may contain harmful mercury. So, ladies got the double whammy of lead and mercury, right on the lips where they are easily absorbed.

And we haven’t even talked about the bleaches you need to use to make your hair the popular angelic blonde color!

Beauty, so essential, is dangerous!