To the Greeks and the Romans, physical beauty was sought by both men and women.  And they both subscribed to the ideal of beauty, the fair skin, bright lips and dark eyes.  To achieve this look, the Greeks used vermilion for rouge, as well as the juice from berries to stain their cheeks and lips. They used black incense to darken their lashes and painted their faces with white lead, false eyebrows, made of oxen hair, were also fashionable. In Greece, precious oils, perfumes, cosmetic powders, eye shadows, skin glosses, paints and hair dyes were in universal use. The exportation and sale of these items formed an important part of their trade.

The Romans used wine to stain their cheeks and painted their faces and arms with chalk to get that pallid look. Their lips they stained with red ochre and enhanced their eyes using a mixture of bear fat and lamp soot for eyeliner and mascara.  They used ground saffron on their eye lids for eye shadow. They used crocodile excrement for mud baths (yuck), barley flour and butter for pimples, and sheep fat and blood for nail polish (I think I much prefer today’s cosmetics, don’t you?). The Greeks used vermilion for rouge, as well as the juice from berries to stain their cheeks and lips. Black incense was used to darken the lashes.  Both cultures felt that eyebrows that met above the nose were the most ideal brows a woman or man could have.  Big difference from today!

In both cultures Men and women frequently dyed their hair blonde, but the dyes contained lye and were so caustic that many people lost their hair and had to wear wigs. In Rome, people put barley flour and butter on their pimples and sheep fat and blood on their fingernails for polish. 

With Goddess’ like Venus and Aphrodite, it is small wonder the Greek and Roman woman had such a high ideal of beauty and such a love for the artistry of cosmetics.

Many of the ingredients used during ancient times for cosmetics would be considered dangerous today.  White lead was used in eye shadow, eyeliner, and face foundation. It caused the skin to corrode, would poison the body and eventually lead to death. Many styles and forms of cosmetics were developed throughout the Middle Ages, the Renaissance Period, the Elizabethan Era, the Age of Extravagance (Baroque Period), and the Victorian Age.

Personify Bridal, Sacramento’s On Location Bridal & Wedding Hair and Makeup Artists Since 2004