Basic Understanding of the Elizabethan Era.

My understanding and knowledge of the history of the Elizabethan era is honestly very basic. After researching and finding numerous sources and also watching the film Elizabeth (1998), I found that the makeup and hair history of this era was mainly based around the image of Queen Elizabeth I. Although Queen Elizabeth I had Halitosis,Alopecia and black teeth due to decay, she hid this well under make-up created by herself in her bedroom. Her traditional white base, rouge lips and cheeks and beautiful red hair were admired by many wealthy Elizabethan women making her one of the most influential women in history. Also her beautiful cousin Lettice Knollys the Countess of Essex and Leicester followed her fashion and beauty trends, although they disliked each other, just because Queen Elizabeth was wearing it and it was the latest look to have. 

Lettice Knollys
Google Sourced image.
http://www.berkshirehistory.com/bios/images/lknollys.jpg

When looking into Elizabethan History, I came across different sonnets from poets such as William Shakespeare who poked fun at Elizabethan who followed this image of ideal beauty standards.

'My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun
Coral is far more fair then her lips fair
If snow be white, whey then, her breast is dun,
If hair be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks..." 
(William Shakespeare)

I found this really interesting because, it made me think of the similar pokes women get from men in society today, quiet sexist 'pokes' to be exact. Women of today are being introduced to different makeup looks, tips, skills and products by the minute and with that we regularly experiment with our looks, but just like in the Elizabethan era women are poked fun at particularly for their choice of make-up the only difference now is that men in todays society have this large misconception that some women apply winged eyeliner perfectly just to impress them. 

In the Elizabethan era a lot of ingredients used in women's cosmetics were either deadly, harmful or made for purposes other then cosmetic production. 'Ceruse' is white lead, this deadly chemical was commonly mixed with vinegar and sulphur to achieve the desired snow white foundation colour women wore. Although knowing this deadly foundation creation caused their health harm, wealthy Elizabethan women still followed this beauty standard in order to ironically appear beautiful and healthy, this perfectly discusses the extremes women went to to achieve beauty in this historic period. 

Something I also realised whilst collecting research on the Elizabethan period is that there is little to no information on how the middle and working class presented themselves or what beauty methods they used to keep up with the latest trends from the era. 

http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-make-up.htm