Elizabethan Era Beauty

Amie Yang
Dec 20, 2015
3 min read

Introduction

During the Elizabethan Era, Queen Elizabeth I was the ruler of England. She often dictated the style and beauty trends at the time. The red hair, pale complexion, and large forehead of England’s ruler became the trademark look in this time period, and many women took inspiration from the queen in their day to day lives. Upper class hair was extremely elaborate, and many people called this era the Peacock Age because the men were often better dressed than the women, and their hair required a similar amount of attention.

Makeup

Only the upper class women wore makeup during the Elizabethan Era. Because Queen Elizabeth wanted to maintain the image as a “Virgin Queen”, the desired look of beauty at the time was a snow white complexion with red lips, and a large forehead. The forehead was a sign of aristocracy, and a pale complexion was a sign of prestige. Only the wealthy nobility could afford to have fair skin because the poor worked in the sun for hours on end, resulting in a tan. As a result, women used all sorts of techniques to whiten their ski n-from applying sulphur, tin ash, and egg whites to rubbing Ceruse (a poisonous foundation made from white lead) to their faces. In addition, black kohl was used to line the eyes, and eyebrows were plucked to form a thin and high arch (also a sign of aristocracy). Many women also used cheek and lip rouge to brighten their pale complexions. However, a lot of skin problems developed because the women used so much makeup to whiten their skin. The Elizabethans had to apply egg whites, lemon juice, rosewater, and mercury to try and erase the wrinkles and blemishes on their face.

Hairstyles for Women

Similar to the popular pale complexions, light colored hair was also “in”. Queen Elizabeth’s red hair was desired by many since it went along with the fashionable fair look of the time period. Women who were not born blonde often died their hair yellow using saffron, cumin seed, celandine and oil. Wigs were also a popular alternative, with the queen rumored to have over eighty of these “periwigs.” Young women usually kept their hair long and natural, as it was a sign of a virgin. Brides often adorned their hair with fresh flowers in her wedding day. Once a woman was married, she wore her hair swept up in a bun and covered, but with the sides of the head showing. Head coverings with feathers, beads, pearls, and lace were considered fashionable and worn by many of the women during the Elizabethan time.

Hairstyles for Men

Men paid as much attention to their hair as the women. At the start of the Elizabethan era, short hair was favored but grew longer in length as the style changed. Longer hair must to curly to be considered fashionble, and many men used hot irons to curl their hair, which was held together using wax or gum.

Beards were also a symbol of high fashion at the time. They were usually long and cut in the style that was in trend (it changed throughout the era), whether it be round, square, oblong, or pointed. Beards required a lot of time and attention because of their length, and was held together using starch.