Elizabethan Makeup

Makeup was a sign of status for wealthy women during the Tudor period. It was also used to cover up scars from diseases such as small pox. 

The ideal Elizabethan look was pale creamy skin, bright eyes, red lips and rosy cheeks. The Tudor queens- Mary I and Elizabeth I made ginger hair popular and women would go as far as dying their hair with urine to make it blonde! Rich people hated the idea of being tanned because that inferred that you had to work in fields, therefore they avoided contact with the sun. 

During her later life, Queen Elizabeth I wore heavy white makeup to cover up her greying and wrinkling skin. This makeup was wildly used by many rich ladies. It was made up of vinegar and toxic lead... Another way was to 'bleed' the woman. This could be done by applying leeches to the arm or by slicing the wrists to drain the blood; neither of which are very healthy . Women would also add an expensive red rouge/ blusher to their cheeks and stain the lips with cochineal. After the Crusades, Kohl was imported to Europe from the Middle East and was used to darken the eye lashes.