Naturally, these chemicals
gradually ate away at one’s skin. The
logical solution, then, was to cover
these scars with more makeup. Many
women eventually died from poisoning
and this was likely to have led to
Queen Elizabeth’s death as well.
It was only in the 19th century
that non-toxic facial powder became a
norm, replacing the popular lead and
arsenic-based facial products. This
was the price of beauty – and how far
an entire generation of women were
willing to go. aglike skin. She was a figure whom other
women modelled themselves after.
To get the Queen’s look, raw egg
white was often applied over one’s face
to create a glazed complexion. Some
women even resorted to using leeches
to drain their blood in order to obtain
pale skin.
Other beauty rituals with more
lasting effects came with high prices.
For those who could afford it, one of
the most common skin-whitening
products was ceruse, a mixture
of white lead and vinegar. Other
cosmetics containing hazardous
elements like mercury and arsenic
were also used.At one point in Shakespeare’s
Othello, the Duke of Venice praises
Othello the Moorish prince for being
“far more fair than black”. Here,
there is an underlying connotation of
fairness being associated with beauty
and goodness – but while it reflects
stereotypes in this fictional world,
the same sentiment also existed
during the Elizabethan era in England
(1558–1603).
Pale skin was a sign of one’s
aristocracy, for it meant that an
individual did not need to labour under
the hot, skin-tanning sun. Beauty
during this era was embodied by none
other than Queen Elizabeth I herself,
who was said to have pale, porcelain-
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