Asian Geographic - April 2018

NECK

Perfumes were made from flowers like lilies,

lotuses and chrysanthemums. People also

burned incense candles in their bedrooms to

perfume their hair and clothes using aromatics

like Persian rosewater and patchouli oil

LIPS

Lipstick was made from beeswax and

occasionally scented with tea oils. Lip gloss

was created from a combination of vermillion-

coloured minerals and animal fat

NAILS

The earliest nail polishes were made from gum,

gelatin and egg. The colour of the polish denoted

social class: Only royalty could wear gold, silver,

black and red, while those from the lower classes

were forbidden from using bright colours

FOREHEAD

After a princess was said to have woken

up with the imprint of a fallen plum blossom

on her forehead, it became fashionable for

women to draw flowers on their faces and

glue items like bird feathers, fish scales,

dragonfly wings and precious stones to

their foreheads, cheeks and eyes

FACE
Beauty lotions were juice extracts from
plants such as gourd stems, while apricot
and peach oils relieved liver spots and
freckles and moisturised the skin.
Honey was a popular face mask

EYEBROWS
Eyebrows were reshape=d and painted
using charcoal, gold powder, or inks
made from plant ash and coloured
soot; indigo, black, blue and brown
were common shades

NECK
Perfume was made from dried clove
buds, believed to have a calming
and rejuvenating effect. People
bathed in water scented with
clove and also used the spice
as a deodorant

LIPS
Poorer women used dried red
peppers to colour their lips,
while royalty used a combination
of saffron flowers and cinnabar

FACE

In pursuit of a fair complexion, women brushed

their faces with a white powder containing

ground rice, zinc and lead. The application

likely led to serious skin diseases

SCALP

Bird droppings were famously used for facials:

Uguisu no fun (nightingale faeces) was beloved

for its ability to condition and soothe skin.

Monks also used it to polish their bald scalps

TEETH

Also a practice in Southeast

Asia, the Pacific Islands

and South America, women

stained their teeth black by

drinking a cocktail of oxidised

iron filings, soaked in spiced

tea or alcohol to cover up the

unpleasant taste

CHEEKS

Safflower pigment was used

as a rouge and lipstick, and

became so popular that it was

worth its weight in gold ag

China

Korea Japan

2nd century Bce

1st century Bce 7th century