17th and 18th Century Makeup
Makeup in the 17th and 18th century was very focused on having a very pale face. Some popular products were Ceruse a whit pigment derived from lead, Mercury Sublimate and Bismuth which were also called ‘pearl powder’, real Pearl Powder made from real pearls, and Talc. Lead and Mercury are both very toxic and caused sickness and death but this was mostly ignored. Prolonged mercury use lead to wrinkled leathery skin, tooth decay, loss of memory, and pain in the nervous system. If you wanted to recreate the look now there are a few ways to do it safely without these toxic materials. Mixing Titanium Dioxide (white theater paint) with rice powder 50/50 creates a close look to the lead white they used in the period. Another prominent look in this period) (more 18th than 17th century was to use rouge to make the cheeks and lips colorful. They used vermillion, mercury based pigment, and red lead which are all toxic, but they also used carmine (this came from a bug scale), alkanet root and red ochre which both comes from a plant. Patches, usually small round black shapes made from taffeta velvet or paper, were very popular in this time to represent wealth, politics, and personality. In the 18th century small pox was the leading cause of death and for people who survived it lead to scars on the face. Along with the thick layers of lead based makeup damaging the skin, beauty patches came in place to hide scars and other blemishes. Beauty patches also used to show relationship status, political alignment, and personality traits depending on the placement and shape of the patch. Hair in this time was worn in extreme styles. Wigs, horse hair pads, and crepe hair were dressed over wooden and iron frames. Many men and women used wigs because of hair loss due to the side effects of mercury and lead poisoning. Flowers, ribbon, jewels, feathers, and other ornaments were used in hairstyles. They would also powder their hair with white lead powder, but sometimes blue and pink powders were also used. |
Hecate is the goddess of which craft, protector of everything newly born, and guardian of the household. Hecate is the only ancient Titan who Zeus allowed to retain authority after the Olympians seized control. Zeus gave Hecate the power to give or withhold anything from humanity. She is often referred to as a moon goddess, her kingdoms are the Sky, Sea, and Earth. Her mother is Asteria the Titan goddess of the Shining Light, this is the reason some scholars say Hecate was invisible, only seen as a shimmer of light. (1) Hecate is most known for her role in the story of Persephone. She helped Demeter search for her daughter Persephone when she was abducted by Hades god of the underworld. Once it was decided that Persephone would spend a third of the year with Hades, Hecate became her companion to and from the underworld lighting the way with her bright torch. (2) Hecate is a strong person who has compassion for those who are different and neglected by society. She protects those who are weak and vulnerable, she gives to those who deserve it and withholds from those unworthy. Hecate is usually depicted with her sacred dogs, sometimes her and her animals had three heads to see in all direction. Hecate’s sacred colors are black, orange, yellow-orange, and red orange like the color of flames in the night. Her sacred gems and metals are sapphire, silver, gold, moonstone, black tourmaline, black onyx, hematite, smoky quartz and any stone that is dark or luminous. Her sacred animals are dogs, horses, sheep (especially black female lambs), owls, bats, snakes, and boars. Her general sacred objects are the torch, dark moon, raisin & currant cakes, crossroads, three-headed animals or statues, the number 3, masks, and candles. (3) |
Nut or Nuit is the goddess of the sky. Her husband/brother is Geb the god of the earth. She is the daughter of Shu and
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