Cosmetics

http://demodecouture.com/hairstyles-cosmetics-18th-century/ 

The Marquise de Pompadour applies rouge with a brush, Francois Boucher (French), 1758.

Beginning in the 17^th century and continuing throughout the 18th century, both men and women in England and France wore obvious cosmetics.  Gender differences were less important than class differences – cosmetics marked one as aristocratic and à la mode, and were adopted as well by those who were trying to rise in social status or become fashionable.  Makeup was not intended to look natural – in fact, it was called “paint” — but instead, “…to represent one’s aristocratic identity as declaratively as possible through cosmetic artifice” (Hyde).  Women and men showed their respectability and class through white skin, and heavy makeup was considered more respectable than naturally light skin.

Cosmetics also had practical aims – their use created what was considered an attractive face, and they could hide the effects of age, blemishes, disease, or sun.

Dauphine Marie-Josephe de Saxe wears heavy French court makeup, Liotard (France), 1751.

In France, nearly all aristocratic women wore cosmetics (Louis XV’s dowdy queen Marie Leszcynska was one of the few who did not).  In fact, the painting of the face was a key part of the public toilette, the informal ceremony where an aristocratic woman dressed her face and hair before an elect audience.  French aristocratic women wore thick layers of white paint, large streaks of rouge, and beauty patches (mouches).

However, cosmetics were not limited to the upper echelons.  Any bourgeois with aims of being à la mode would also have worn cosmetics (although perhaps not as heavily).  Cosmetics declined in price and rose in availability over the century, and were even more frequently made at home by the less well to do.  The middle classes tended to prefer tones of pink instead of red, and applied rouge in circular patterns rather than streaks.

In the 1760s, cosmetics were growing in such popularity that coiffeuses (vanity table sets) began to be heavily advertised, and dressing rooms were built facing north for the best light.  By 1781, Frenchwomen used about two million pots of rouge a year.

The Duchess of Argyll wears very naturalistic cosmetics - light rouge, possibly white face makeup - in this portrait by Allan Ramsay, 1760.

A review of portraiture shows that Englishwomen were less likely to wear obviouscosmetics than Frenchwomen in the 1750s-60s (in other words, they were wearing cosmetics but with a more natural look) – but by the 1770s-80s, Englishwomen and Frenchwomen wore nearly identical amounts of cosmetics.  In the 1780s, heavy use of cosmetics declined with the growing trend of a more “natural” look.

The key aspects of the 18th century cosmetic look were a complexion somewhere between white and pale, red cheeks in a large circular shape (particularly for French court wear) or upside down triangle, and red lips.  There were two main cosmetics worn by most women and men:  blanc and rouge.

Shiny white face paint was applied across the entire face and shoulders.  The most popular white makeups used on the face were made of lead, which was popular for its opacity despite knowledge of lead poisoning.  Kitty Fisher, a famous English beauty, died at age 23 (in 1767) from lead poisoning.  Blanc could also be made from bismuth or vinegar.  Veins could be traced with blue pencil to highlight the whiteness of the skin.

Miss Elizabeth Linley wears evident rouge on her cheeks and lips, and may have darkened her eyebrows. Thomas Gainsborough (English), 1775.

Red makeups were made of vermilion (ground from cinnabar and including mercury) or creuse (made by exposing lead plates to the vapor of vinegar); both are toxic.  Vegetable sources for rouge included safflower, wood resin, sandalwood, and brazilwood.  These would be mixed with greases, creams, or vinegars to create a paste.  Court ladies wore rouge on the cheeks in wide swaths from the corner of the eye to the corner of the lips.  Bourgeois and provincial nobility wore neater, circular dabs at the center of the cheek to highlight the eyes and whiteness of the skin.

Lips could be reddened with distilled alcohol or vinegar.  By mid-century, red pomades (some in stick forms) for lips were being sold.  The shades of red seen on lips varied between pink and coral, occasionally veering into burgundy.

Eyes sometimes had a bit of reddish color around them, probably caused by contrast with the white makeup or a reaction to the lead in blanc, but were otherwise left bare. Eyebrows were half moon shaped with tapered ends, and could be darkened with kohl, elderberries, burnt cork, or lampblack (soot from oil lamps).  Court men and women sometimes plucked and painted their eyebrows, or occasionally wore false eyebrows made of mouse fur.

A woman applies beauty patches in this painting by François Boucher (French).

Beauty patches (“mouches”) (made of silk velvet, satin, or taffeta and attached with glue) were part of a formal and/or aristocratic look.  Their height of popularity was in the 17th century, but they still continued to be worn in the 18th century.  They were meant to heighten the contrast with white skin.  There were numerous sizes and shapes, worn in various positions with supposed meanings.  In England, they took on a political meaning, with supporters of Whigs and Tories wearing patches on opposite sides of the face.  Occasionally, patches could be worn together in designs, like trees or birds on the cheek of forehead.

In the 1750s-60s, Frenchwomen generally wore an extremely artificial look, with cosmetics used heavily and obviously.  The face was extremely pale, with rouge applied in large, round circles on the cheeks.  The eyes were left bare, sometimes with darkened brows, and lips were reddish.  In contrast, Englishwomen usually appeared somewhat naturalistic, with cosmetics used sparingly and discreetly.  The face was pale but not extreme, with the option of rouge applied in an upside down triangular shape, from the cheekbones almost to the jawline (similarly to how naturally pale women flush).  Eyes were bare, and lips were reddish.

The Countess de Bavière-Grosberg wears white face makeup, strong lip and cheek rouge, and may have darkened eyebrows, in this portrait by Alexander Roslin, 1780.

A Deadly Fashion: Beauty and Cosmetics 1550-1950 – A Review

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« Downton Abbey Fashions with the New Noblewoman

The Art of Beauty: 18th Century Cosmetics»

February 29, 2012 by Vic

Beauty and Cosmetics 1550-1950 by Sarah Jane Downing was published this month by Shire Library.  Small and compact, as Shire publications tend to be, this wonderfully illustrated book describes the standards of beauty popular in each era, from 1550 when alabaster brows were highly prized, to the black eyebrows that were favored by 18th century women.  As with her best-selling Fashion in the Time of Jane Austen, Ms. Downing provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of the topic. She begins with the Tudor Court and ends with the delightful cosmetic advertisements of the first half of the 20th century.

Marriage à-la-mode: The Countess's Morning Levee, William Hogarth, c. 1745

Because my blog’s theme centers on the Georgian and Regency eras, I will confine much of my recap to those years.

A woman applying beauty patches, Boucher

Mirrors, once only possessed by the rich, became so popular in London in the mid-16th century that British manufacturers petitioned Parliament to ban foreign imports. The ritual of the dressing table became quite elaborate and ladies began to entertain guests as they prepared themselves for the day.

French mop gold boite a mouche patch box with brush, 1730. Images @ Etsy

Decorative patches covered skin blemishes and blotches, sometimes to such an extent that a face could be covered with a variety of dots, half-moon crescents, stars and even a coach and horses! The popularity of using patches began in the mid-17th century and did not wane until the end of the 18th century.

Woman with patches, pale skin and rouged cheeks. Thomas Gainsborough

Porcelain skin was highly prized and created with white lead-based skin cream. Blush was then applied to create a doll-like look. Cosmetics were created in a variety of ways. Here are the ingredients for one recipe for lead face powder that did not come from this book: several thin plates of lead, a big pot of vinegar, a bed of horse manure, water, perfume & tinting agent. Once can only guess how this concoction was put together and at its smell.

Marquise the Pompadour applying face powder with a brush. Boucher, 1758.

Ms. Downing describes in her book:

lead sheets were unrolled and beaten with battledores until all the flakes of white lead came off. These were gathered and ground into a very fine powder… p. 24

Gainsboroughs portrait of Grace Dalrymple Elliot in 1782 shows the craze for dark eyebrows.

For a while during the third quarter of the 18th century, dark eyebrows became all the rage. Lead-based cosmetics, used over time, caused hair-loss at the forehead and over the brows, resulting in a receding hair-line and a bare brow. For those who lost their eyebrows, it became the custom as early as 1703  to trap mice and use their fur for artificial eyebrows. Sadly, the glue did not always adhere well, and a lady could be caught with her brows out of kilter. This hilarious poem was written by Matthew Prior in 1718:

On little things, as sages write,

Depends our human joy or sorrow;

If we don’t catch a mouse to-night,

Alas! no eyebrows for to-morrow. – p.28

Aging beauties staved off the ravages of time with sponge fillers and rouge (sound familiar?), while many women risked poisonous side effects from using their deadly cosmetics. Maria, one of the Gunning sisters who went on to become Lady Coventry, was so addicted to her lead-based paints that she died in 1760 at the age of 27 knowing full well that she was at risk.

Maria, Countess of Coventry

The French Revolution swept away the widespread use of makeup, which was associated with the aristocracy. Defiantly, some aristocratic ladies went to their doom wearing a  full complement of make-up: pale skin, patches, rouged cheeks and rosy lips.

The more natural look of the regency woman. Note that the cheeks are still rouged.

Rousseau influenced the concept of nature and a more natural Romantic look took hold, aided by the blockade of cosmetics during the Napoleonic Wars. The death of many soldiers resulted in widespread melancholia and the affectation of a consumptive look. Ladies, nevertheless, were never far from their rouge pot.

Another Regency portrait with subtle makeup. The flower basket adds to the natural look.

As with all Shire books, Sarah Jane Downing’s trip through time provides us with brilliant insights, in this instance it is via cosmetics and how society viewed beauty in each era. By the 1950s, the success of a marriage was defined by how well a woman took care of herself. This included makeup. Beauty, as Ms. Downing wrote, “was switched from a pleasure to an obligation.”  Oh, my. I give the delightful Beauty and Cosmetics 1550-1950 four out of five Regency tea cups.

Desiree - Now Available On Audible!

DESIREE the audiobook is available today  on AUDIBLE.  Later in the week you can find it on Amazon and Itunes!  This is the slide that will be running all September at The Rosendale Theatre.

THE HIDDEN HAND THAT SHAPED HISTORY

http://worldtruth.tv/the-hidden-hand-that-shaped-history-2/

Has the course of History been directed by a small group of people with common interests? The paintings and pictures of the great men of the past centuries reveal a common thread which links them together. Is it a coincidence that many of them hid one of their hands when posing for a portrait? It seems unlikely. We’ll look at the Masonic origin of the “hidden hand” and the powerful men who used the sign in famous portraits.

Stalin and Washington – two opposing ideologies, one hand gesture

“Today’s thinking toward a democratic world state is neither a new trend nor an accidental circumstance; the work of setting up the background of knowledge necessary to the establishing of enlightened democracy among all nations has been carried on for many hundreds of years by secret societies.”

-Manly P. Hall, Secret Destiny of America

Is there a hidden force behind the world events of the past centuries? Are the fall of European monarchies, the bringing forth of the Age of Enlightenment and our path towards a world democracy part of a great plan lead by a “hidden hand”? Before the advent of mass media, portraits depicting their leaders in majestic poses were the only artifacts people had. Do these portraits have an occult meaning?

One of those poses is the “hiding of the hand”. I remember my history teacher trying to explain why Napoleon was often shown with a hand inside his shirt. The common explanation went along these lines:

“Many theories have been presented as to why Napoleon is traditionally depicted with his hand in his waistcoat. Some of these theories include: he had a stomach ulcer, he was winding his watch, he had an itchy skin disease, in his era it was impolite to put your hands in your pockets, he had breast cancer, he had a deformed hand, he kept a perfumed sachet in his vest that he’d sniff surreptitiously, and that painters don’t like to paint hands”
-Tom Holmberg

Unless all the individuals discussed in this article had stomach ulcer or deformed hands, the gesture of hiding one’s hand simply has to have a specific meaning. It does. Most of the people using this sign are proven (and often enthusiastic) members of the Freemasons. Considering the great importance of this gesture in Masonic rituals and the fact that all of the elite were either part of Freemasonry or knew of it, it is simply impossible that the recurrence of this sign could be the result of a coincidence. The “hidden hand” can, in fact, be found in the rituals of the Royal Arch Degree of Freemasonry and the world leaders that use this sign are subtly saying to other initiates of the order: “This is what I’m part of, this is what I believe in and this is what I’m working for”.

THE ROYAL ARCH DEGREE

The Triple Tau

The Royal Arch Degree (the 13th degree of the Scottish Rite or the 7th degree of the York Rite) is also known as the Mason of the Secret. During this Degree, initiates are said to receive great Masonic truths.

“The members of this Degree are denominated companions, and are “entitled to a full explanation of the mysteries of the Order”; whereas in the former Degrees they are recognized by the common, familiar appellation of brothers, and kept in a state of profound ignorance of the sublime secret which is disclosed in this Chapter. This accords with the custom of Pythagoras, who thus distinguished his pupils. After a probation of five years, as stated before, they were admitted into the presence of the preceptor, called his companions, and permitted  to converse with him freely. Previous to the expiration of that term he delivered his instructions to them from behind a screen”
-John Fellows, Fellows’s Inquiry into the Origin, History, and Purport of Freemasonry

“If we pass on to the Royal Arch, we receive a wonderful accession of knowledge, and find every thing made perfect; for this is the nec plus ultra of Masonry, and can never be exceeded by any human institution.”
-George Oliver, Lectures on Freemasonry

It is during this degree that the initiate learns the sacred name of God.

“A Degree indescribably more august, sublime, and important than any which precede it, and is, in fact, the summit and perfection of ancient Masonry. It impresses upon our minds a belief in the being of a God, without beginning of days or end of years, the great and incomprehensible Alpha and Omega, and reminds us of the reverence which is due to His Holy NAME.”
-George Oliver, Historical Landmarks

This holy name is Jahbulon, a combination of words meaning “god” in Syriac, Chaldaic and Egyptian.

“JEHOVAH. Of the varieties of this sacred name in use among the different nations of the earth, three particularly merit the attention of Royal Arch Masons:

1. JAH. This name of God is found in the 68th Psalm, v. 4.

2. BAAL OR BEL. This word signifies a lord, master, or possessor, and hence it was applied by many of the nations of the East to denote the Lord of all things, and the Master of the world.

3. ON. This was the name by which JEHOVAH was worshiped among the Egyptians.”
-Malcolm C. Duncan, Duncan’s Masonic Ritual and Monitor

The initiation ritual to this degree re-enacts the return to Jerusalem of three Most Excellent Masons who were held captive in Babylon. I won’t go through the whole ceremony and symbolism but at one point, the initiate is asked to learn a secret password and a hand sign in order to go through a series of veils. The following image depicts the hand sign required to go through the second veil, as documented in Duncan’s Masonic Ritual and Monitor:

“Master of Second Veil: “Three Most Excellent Masters you must have been, or thus far you could not have come; but farther you cannot go without my words, sign, and word of exhortation. My words are Shem, Japhet, and Adoniram; my sign is this: (thrusting his hand in his bosom); it is in imitation of one given by God to Moses, when He commanded him to thrust his hand into his bosom, and, taking it out, it became as leprous as snow. My word of exhortation is explanatory of this sign, and is found in the writings of Moses, viz., fourth chapter of Exodus”:

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom; and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow”
-Malcolm C. Duncan, Duncan’s Masonic Ritual and Monitor

As stated above, this hand gesture is said to be inspired by Exodus 4:6. In this biblical verse, the heart (“bosom”) stands for what we are, the hand for what we do. It can thus be interpreted as :What we are is what we ultimately do. The symbolic significance of this gesture might explain the reason why it is so widely used by famous Masons. The hidden hand lets the other initiates know that the individual depicted is part of this secret Brotherhood and that his actions were inspired by the Masonic philosophy and beliefs. Furthermore, the hand that executes the actions is hidden behind cloth, which can symbolically refer to covert nature of the Mason’s actions. Here are some of the famous men who used this hand signal.

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NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

Napoleon, a known Mason in his study at the Tuileries, 1812

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was a military and political leader of France whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century. He was initiated into Army Philadelphe Lodge in 1798. His brothers, Joseph, Lucian, Louis and Jerome, were also Freemasons. Five of the six members of Napoleon’s Grand Councel of the Empire were Freemasons, as were six of the nine Imperial Officers and 22 of the 30 Marshals of France. Bonaparte’s association with Masonry has always been played down in historical records. Masonic researcher J.E.S. Tuckett addresses the situation:

“It is strange that evidence in favor of the Great Napoleon’s membership of the Masonic Brotherhood has never been examined in detail, for the matter is surely one of interest, and – seeing the remarkable part that remarkable men played in the affairs of Europe, at a time when Continental Freemasonry was struggling out of chaos into regular order – it cannot be without an important bearing upon Masonic history”

In his essay on Napoleon and Masonry, Tuckett claims:

“There is incontestable evidence that Napoleon was acquainted with the nature, aims and organization of Freemasonry: that he approved of and made use of it to further his own ends”

Napoleon was also said to be aided by occult powers. In 1813 he was defeated at Leipzip and behind him was  a “Cabinet of Curiosities” in which a Prussian officer discovered his Book of Fate and Oraculum. Originally this Oraculum was  discovered in one of the Royal tombs of Egypt during a French military expedition of 1801. The emperor ordered the manuscript to be translated by a famous German scholar and antiquarian. From that time onward, the Oraculum was one of Napoleon’s most treasured possessions. He consulted it on many occasions and it is said to have “formed a stimulus to his most speculative and most successful enterprises.”

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KARL MARX

 Karl Marx is known today to be the founder of modern Communism. Despite being denied by some Masons, Marx is said to have been a 32nd degree Grand Orient Freemason. Marx became the spokesman of the atheist and socialist movement of Europe. He planned the replacement of monarchies with socialist republics, with the next step conversion to communist republics.

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GEORGE WASHINGTON

George Washington was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and is considered to be the “most important American Mason”. Charles Willson Pealed produced this painting when Washington was 52 years old. Notice the position of Washington’s feet: they form an oblong square. The position of the feet are of utmost importance in Masonic symbolism. Compare this with this excerpt from Duncan’s Ritual Monitor:

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is considered to be one of the most prolific and influential composers of music ever. He also was a Freemason and was initiated in the Austrian lodge Zur Zur Wohltatigkeit on Dec. 14th 1784. Mozart’s creations often incorporated important Masonic elements. The Magic Flute opera was mainly based on Masonic principles.

“The music of the Freemasons contained musical phrases and forms that held specific semiotic meanings. For example, the Masonic initiation ceremony began with the candidate knocking three times at the door to ask admittance. This is expressed musically as a dotted figure: meanings. For example, the

This figure appears in Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute in the overture, suggesting the opening of the Masonic initiation.”
- Katherine Thompson, The Masonic Thread in Mozart

The musical progression of The Magic Flute was based on the Golden Ratio (1,6180…), the proportion of everything that is considered divine by Mystery Schools.

Here are compositions created by Mozart for use in Masonic lodges:

• Lied (song) “Gesellenreise, for use at installation of new journeymen”
• Cantata for tenor and male chorus Die Maurerfreude (“The Mason’s Joy”)
• The Masonic Funeral Music (Maurerische Trauermusik)
• Two songs to celebrate the opening of “Zur Neugekrönten Hoffnung”
• Cantata for tenor and piano, Die ihr die unermesslichen Weltalls Schöpfer ehrt
• The Little Masonic Cantata (Kleine Freimaurer-Kantate) entitled Laut verkünde unsre Freude, for soloists, male chorus, and orchestra
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MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE

Marquis de Lafayette was a 33rd degree Freemason. According to Willam R. Denslow’s 10,000 Famous Freemasons, Lafayette was a French military officer who was a general in the American Revolutionary War and a leader of the Garde Nationale during the bloody French Revolution. Lafayette was also made an honorary Grand Commander of  the Supreme Council of New York. More than 75 Masonic bodies in the U.S. have been named after him, including 39 lodges, 18 chapters, 4 councils, 4 commanderies, and 7 Scottish rite bodies.

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SALOMON ROTHSCHILD

Salomon Rothschild was the founder of the Viennese branch of the prominent Mayer Amschel Rothschild family. The most powerful family in the world has greatly influenced the policies of Germany, France, Italy and Austria. The Rothschilds are also the main players behind the creation of Zionism and the state of Israel.

The power of the Rothschilds went way beyond the confines of the Masonic lodge. They are said to be part of the 13 “Illuminati Bloodlines”. An analysis of the recently built Supreme Court of Israel confirms the Rothschild’s embrace of Masonic symbolism.

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SIMON BOLIVAR

Known as “El Libertador” (the Liberator), Bolivar is considered to be the “George Washington of South America”. He joined Freemasonry in Cadiz, Spain, received the Scottish Rite degrees in Paris and was knighted in a Commandery of Knights Templar in France in 1807. Bolivar founded and served as master of Protectora de las Vertudes Lodge No. 1 in Venezuela. The country of Bolivia is named after him. Bolivar also served as the president of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia in the 1820?s. He belonged to the Order and Liberty Lodge No. 2 in Peru.

Notice in the image above the position of his feet (oblong square) and the checkerboard pattern of the floor, also Masonic. His stance might have been inspired by the Knights of Christian Mark Degree as depicted below in Richardson’s Monitor of Freemasonry:

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JOSEPH STALIN

Stalin’s reign of terror in the Soviet Union  lead to the deaths of millions of his own countrymen. He is often shown in pictures using the  hidden hand gesture. No official records have been found that prove Stalin’s initiation into Masonry. Of course, dictators such as Stalin tightly controlled  all information concerning themselves and their affairs, making it difficult to prove anything one way or the other. The hiding of his hand, however,  provides an initiate’s clue to his possible allegiance to an occult brotherhood.

After being shot in 1940, the young man on the right has been edited out by Stalin’s people.

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As seen above, thee leaders using the “hidden hand” gesture had a great influence on world history and many were confirmed Masons. This gesture is an obvious yet widely overlooked detail which hints at the leader’s embrace of occult philosophy. By understanding this fact and by recognizing the IMMENSE influence these leaders had on the course of History, we can begin to realize the hidden force which is currently steering the world toward international democracy.

Members of these brotherhoods might have maintained different opinions and even adhered to different factions (communism vs. capitalism), but the fundamental philosophy, beliefs and ultimate goals are still the same: the coming of an “Age of Reason and Enlightenment”. Of course, any serious researcher is already aware of the role of Masonry in the unfolding of world history. The “hidden hand” gesture, so often used by historical figures is simply the outward expression of this little known fact. As  Confucius said, “Signs and symbols rule the world, not words nor laws.” These people’s words and policies will eventually be twisted and forgotten, but their image will remain for the ages.