Elizabethan Beauty

Queen Elizabeth 1

Portrait of Elizabeth to commemorate the defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588)

The Tudor view of pure beauty during the Elizabethan era was a woman with light hair and a snow white complexion which was complimented with red cheeks and red lips. A pale complexion could only be achieved by a wealthy woman of the upper class. Poor women were expected to work outside and therefore acquired a suntan.  The pale complexion was therefore a sign of wealth and nobility - an immediate identification for a person from the rich upper classes. This alabaster complexion was therefore also sought after by Tudor men. Queen Elizabeth did have the natural attributes of this ideal image of beauty but she enhanced and exaggerated the image by using white make-up. This explains the odd white face make-up seen in many of her portraits. The favoured application of the upper classes was a make-up called ceruse which was a mixture of white lead and vinegar. Unfortunately was poisonous. The acquisition of a pale complexion was so desirable that rich Tudor women were bled to achieve the desired pale look. Face paint made from plant roots and leaves was also applied. The look was completed with an application of an expensive rouge made from cochineal to stain the cheeks and the lips. Madder and vermilion was also used to achieve this reddening effect. Kohl was used to darken the eyelashes, another element of make-up which was imported from the Middle East during the crusades.Rich Tudor women followed the fashion of light hair dyed their hair yellow. The yellow hair dye was made from a mixture of saffron, cumin seed, celandine and oil. Wigs and hairpieces were also popular and Queen Elizabeth I had a wide variety of wigs, periwigs and hair pieces which numbered over eighty. (Information from http://www.sixwives.info/tudor-make-up.htm and http://www.npg.org.uk/assets/files/pdf/exploring-elizabeth/npg_tudor_makeup.pdf )