18th Century Beauty

Abby in the 1750s-1770s Coiffure Francaise.

18th century beauty. Eighteenth-century theories of beauty were in many ways a continuation of debates that took place during the previous century. The reason we chose 1750 as our origin point is because hair styling for the first 50 or so years of the 18th century wasnt all that different decade-to-decade. France and to a lesser degree England were the fashion leaders of this era and it is to these countries that this article looks to identify the changing trends in hair and makeup.

The lip was preferred by the coquettish lady and the forehead was reserved for the. In the American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Beauty follow the antique recipes and learn the original techniques to complete your Georgian look from the shoulders up. Ah yes the age of guillotines and powdered wigs.

The curiosity of the book however came neither from its romantic plot nor from its erotic overtones but from the fact that it offered feminine beauty tips on a broad range of subjects. The influence of the French court on makeup fashion was seen across Europe and patching was popular throughout the 18th century. Portrait number XXVIII 28 in an oval miniature frame from the Tete-a-Tete series published in Town and Country Magazine A.

Eighteenth-century beauties like Marie-Gabrielle Capet pictured were apparently fond of pig fat face creams strawberry and white wine face wash and. Red Paint taken from Abdeker or the Art of Preserving Beauty A Scarlet Ribbon dippd in common Water or in Brandy and rubbd on the Cheeks gives them such a beautiful Redness that one would take it to be natural. It appeared that both sexes finally reached some gender equality in the name of beauty.

The costume designer changed this deliberately. While patches had not completely disappeared their presence was no longer commonplace. Likewise a rise in medical complications occurredtooth decay adverse skin conditions and poisonings were often caused by the use of dangerous makeup.

Beauty was important to women but perhaps it was even more important to men because it was a man who noted in the late 1700s that a womans first merit is that of beauty. They served several purposes. Due to their dark colour beauty patches heightened the contrast with artificially whitened skin and were also very useful in covering up particularly noticeable smallpox scars.