Introduction to the Project

Victorian Beauty Ideals

The Victorian Era was classified to be between the years 1837-1901. This was the reign of Queen Victoria. The nineteenth is known to be the year of change for women in the sense of how they are seen and the power they had. Women were now seen been equal to men in many ways. Alongside to this natural beauty was a very big part for women. The use of heavy cosmetics was not recommended and was seen as being a vulgar trick.

Women who used make-up excessively were considered to be indecent and they were referred to being a, "painted lady." It was also thought that satan is inducing women to spoil their own beauty(Marsh, 2009). Victorian beauty was often seen as women having a peaches and cream complexion, cherry red lips, sparkling eyes with fluttering lashes(Marsh 2009). This was all expected to be a natural gift from God.

Some said that high thinking would do more than just using cosmetics and paints. Lola Montez states that a beautiful mind is what makes a beautiful face. She also argues that its a woman's responsibility to preserve and look after their beauty and complexion. From this it is for a fact that during this era the use of make-up was very minimal and if used just a small amount was used. In my opinion I don't agree with the point that was made that the use of make up makes a women appear vulgar. This is because I feel  that a book should not be judged by the cover. Although this is just what I feel towards this point.

The higher class ladies were known to have fair skin and lily-white hands. This was also a way of differentiating them from the working class ladies as they would have had tanned skin as they would work outside in the sun. They had a couple of home-mede recipes.

According to the Toilette of Health, a concoction of bitter almonds, oxymurite of quicksilver and sal ammoniac was used to get rid of suntans. To get rid of wrinkles distilled juice from green pineapples was used. All these recipes were used to whiten skin and maintain its complexion. Its not that make-up was completely banned during that time, a minimal amount could be used however, it had to look natural.

This was a century of change that women became more feminine, had more power and became equal to men as time went by. During the 1820's women were seeing wearing metal eyelets that squeezed the waist and were also seen wearing corsets. This gave the image of a tiny waist followed by a large skirt at the bottom. This is seen to be very feminine as it shows the figure of a woman. This was also the era of the gibson girl invention and as well as the century of women wearing men like clothes. Women became very open minded and started exploring the world that lies outside the household. They also started appearing in cosmetic adverts.

According to Deborah Gorham, The ideal woman was willing to be dependent on men. She would be innocent, pure, gentle and self sacrificing. She would have a preference for a life restricted to the confines of home(Ledbetter 2009). In my opinion this is holding the women back and clearly saying that women are not equal to men. This also states that women were not allowed to have any ambitions. However, during the nineteenth century circumstances changed women became more feminine and also equal to men.


Ref:
Marsh, M. 2009. Compacts and Cosmetics: Beauty from the Victorian Times to the Present Day. South Yorkshire: Remember When.

Ledbetter, K. 2009. British Victorian Women Periodicals: Beauty, Civilisation and Poetry. New York, Palgrave Macmillan