11/24/2023 0 Comments The rome beauty and winsnapLong dark lashes were fashionable in Rome, so burnt cork could be applied to achieve this. To achieve the full never-spent-a-day-outside-in-my-life look, ancient women also went as far as to paint blue veins on their temples, accentuating their perceived paleness.įinally, should you fancy stepping up your nail game, a swift mixture of animal fat and blood would afford you a subtle pink glow. More common ingredients featured wine dregs or mulberries, or occasionally women would rub brown seaweed on their cheeks. This was however very temperamental, and could change colour in the sun or slide completely off your face in the rain! For reasons such as this, it was usually the wealthier women who used it, requiring a large team of slaves to constantly apply and reapply as the day went on.Ī gentle blush was then to be applied, with the wealthy importing red ochre from Belgium. ![]() Woman with wax tablets and stylus from Pompeii c.55-79 (Image Credit: Public Domain)Ī white cream containing a poisonous lead could also be applied. Similarly to today, a good set of strong, white teeth were attractive to Ancient Romans, to the point where only those with such teeth were encouraged to smile and laugh.Īncient toothpaste was made with the ashes of animal bones or teeth, and should you lose a tooth, don’t worry - a false one made of ivory or bone could be attached with gold wire. The smell of these products often pushed people to nausea, but the desire for healthy skin outweighed this small inconvenience. Animal fat was extremely popular, such as goose fat that reduced wrinkles, and a grease from sheep’s wool (lanolin) that had softening effects. She even invented her own recipe for an overnight face mask containing the milk mixed with dough, aptly naming it Poppaeana.Ī host of less glamorous ingredients also went into these concoctors however. Poppaea reportedly needed so much milk that she was required to take an army of donkeys wherever she travelled. Poppaea Sabina, Archaeological Museum of Olympia (Image Credit: Public Domain) They would take baths submerged in it, often assisted by a team of slaves called Cosmetae, enlisted for the sole purpose of applying skincare products. Used initially for its sticky quality, the Romans soon discovered its beneficial effects in moisturising and soothing the skin.įor wealthy women such as Nero’s wife Poppaea Sabina, asses milk was essential to their laborious skincare routine. The base ingredient is still familiar to us today – honey. Salves, unguents and oils were applied to the face, each with ingredients for specific use. Particularly for women, maintaining a desirable, healthy, and chaste appearance was vital for their reputation and marriage prospects. The ideal face was smooth, blemish-free and pale, leaving both men and women to battle with wrinkles, blemishes, freckles and uneven complexions. ![]() ![]() ‘Learn what treatment may enhance your face, girls, and the means by which you must preserve your looks’ – Ovid, ‘Medicamina Faciei Femineae’.Ĭaring for the skin in Ancient Rome was a necessity. Here are 9 Ancient Roman beauty hacks, in all their frightful familiarities. Though the Roman love for bathing can still be seen in the presence of their opulent bath houses in numerous cities across Europe, their obsession with cleanliness and beautification did not stop there. The distant past is often mythologized through its most exciting and alien features to us, however Rome’s rich culture leaves much more to be explored. When most think of Ancient Rome, images of gladiators and lions, temples and emperors appear.
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