For centuries we have looked to the French for beauty trends.
By the end of the 18th century not only was France amid social and political upheaval,
but their beauty practices would also begin to make drastic shifts. It was off with their heads
with all the beauty symbols of a hierarchized society and cultural elite. The century of
rouge would end in blood. Welcome back to Nutty history. Today we are diving into the history
of beauty practices, beauty hacks, and the beauty mishaps during the French Revolution.
Makeup of the period consisted of a few things: foundation, face powder, and rouge.
It was meant to fix the flaws, such as: rough skin, freckles, pimples, warts, or scars,
in order to enhance their reputation. The fashion for a porcelain complexion carried through in
the royal courts of the 18th century until its decline at the turn of the French Revolution.
Which, honestly, was probably for the better. To achieve the white, powdery effect,
required a mix of dangerous toxins. One recipe reads that several plates of lead were steeped
in with a pot of vinegar, and then left to rest in the bed of horse manure for at least three weeks.
Eventually, the lead finally softened to the point where it can be ground into a fine white powder.
It would then be mixed with water and let dry in the sun.
After the powder was dry, mix with the appropriate amount of perfume and tinting dye. Et voila!
Instant beauty! This may seem like a long way to go just to indicate purity, innocence and modesty.
Red. The colour of blood, danger and revolution. Using rouge on the cheeks and lips was a must-have
look of this period. Men and women alike in the upper echelons of French society would paint it
into their cheeks in round or triangular shapes to add a flush of colour to the skin. One reason
for its appeal was purely biological: blush on the cheeks and red on the lips are indicators of
youth, fertility, good health, and sensuality. Ooh la la! Another reason behind our age-old appeal of
red is the fact that it has the longest wavelength of any colour perceived by humans, meaning that it
stimulates a stronger subconscious response in us than any other shade. While there was no question
in the appeal of a little (or a lot) of rouge, it was certainly applied at the risk of its consumer.
Many used a vermilion-based rouge as it gave a particularly brilliant red colour; vermilion
is made from the mineral cinnabar, also known as mercury sulphide! With frequent use people
were at risk of losing their teeth, acquiring stinky breath, and salivating copious amounts.
Ahh… the things we do for beauty! By 1781, women were buying 2 million pots of rouge per year!
Talk about seeing red! Another popular trend of the period were beauty patches. What the French
called mooches, or “flies” because of the dark spots resemblance to small insects alighted on
fashionably pale skin. A lot of early writers said the patches were an imitation of Venus,
who supposedly had a mole on her cheek: an imperfection that made her even more beautiful.
Now, patches in the case of 18th century royals? Not so much. Oftentimes it was used to cover up
skin imperfections as a result of syphilis and smallpox, both of which severely damaged the skin.
A little more extreme than our dalliances in teenage acne one might say! Made from black
silk taffeta or velvet, patches were often sold with an adhesive backside of resin-based mastic,
though they could also be stuck on with saliva. Most patches were simple round dots, but some were
cut into intricate shapes of small crescent moons, diamonds, or stars. That being said,
face patches were still guarded by social codes that had to be walked like a tightrope:
wear too many, and you came off as desperate or worse; too few, and your look was so last season.
Long before we began watching YouTube tutorials on how to get that perfect cat eye or blended
contour – 18th century royals were putting their beauty rituals on display for the court.
In France, this practice was known as the “toilette,” which evolved from a term for the bit
of cloth or “petit toile” that covered a dressing table. A lady generally held two toilettes:
personal care conducted privately in her bedroom, known as the “toilette intime”;
and the more social and public toilette, usually conducted in the boudoir. As the ritual grew
in social importance, toilette sets began to encompass a larger array of opulent objects:
combs and brushes, decorative containers for storing cosmetics, patches, and utensils;
a table adorned with embroidered fabric; and the ultimate luxury object,
an extravagant mirror. Though, there was a strong element of performance involved in
the practice, with most of the work being done beforehand and without the court onlookers.
We guess even then, #iwokeuplikethis wasn’t always entirely honest!
The Age of Enlightenment highlighted women’s individual traits and personalities. Leading
up to the French Revolution in 1789, makeup began to fall out of favour with the people.
A once sought-after look of wealth and privilege was now seen as an example of money wasted on
extravagance at the cost of the poor. Men stopped wearing makeup altogether as it began to be seen
as too effeminate in the heat of the Revolution. Doctors, too, began to warn of the toxic effects
of common beauty practices and began to preach a more natural approach to beauty. Eau de toilette
fragrances became lighter and powders fell out of fancy. While the subtle use of rouge remained,
people opted instead for Spanish wool; a fabric that had been dyed with cochineal and cut into
4cm pads, which could be dabbed onto the lips and cheeks in order to stain them.
Wealthy seen on the streets dressing à la ancien régime might risk getting their heads removed
during Robespierre’s Reign of Terror. What better reason to go au naturel? Even on the eve of Marie
Antoinette’s execution, all that was left of her vast and complex toilette was a box of powder,
a big fine sponge and a little box of pomade. Oh, how the mighty have fallen, indeed.
The higher the hair the closer to God, they say in Nashville. But the same could be applied to
the French royals. Though wigs became popular before the 18th century for men, by 1770 women
got to join in the fun. And boy, did they make up for lost time! Their wigs were quickly made
taller and more sophisticated, ornamented with feathers, ribbons and even objects!
The most expensive were made with human hair, while others were from goat or horsehair. Once
powdered wigs became a la mode they added anywhere from the poorest quality of corn and wheat to
the best quality in finely milled starch to achieve the desired look. Wigs were convenient
at a time people were commonly plighted by lice. People would often shave their heads to avoid it,
making it easier to opt for a wig instead. Though, imagine their surprise once they found out lice
easily adapted to living in wigs! To make matters worse, recipes for hair products often contained
ingredients lice love to eat. Lice-infested wigs would eventually be cleaned by boiling them
or baking them in an oven. During the French Revolution elaborate wigs were seen as a status
symbol of the bourgeois and fell out of favour. Instead, members of the new regime adopted much
simpler haircuts. But when one door closes another opens: soon dyes, potions to stop hair loss,
and new, undetectable wigs became available. Bear and beaver grease were similarly masculine
remedies for a uniquely male predicament. We can’t imagine it had much of a success rate, though…
At this time, teeth were often rotted from an all-time high of sugar ingestion.
Let them eat cake, indeed! Since most people’s teeth were unsightly, smiling with teeth was
discouraged. There was a scandal when artist Madame Vigée-Lebrun showcased a self-portrait
of herself smiling in 1787– rotted teeth and all! This caused a shift in dental care. No more would
perfume be used to try and cover up halitosis! And with that, by the end of the century smiling
became more commonplace. We guess with the end of the monarchy the French had a lot to smile about.
Fashion in the court of Versailles was nothing short of showstopping. Think Lady Gaga on any red
carpet. It mirrored as a reaction to the frivolity and excessive ornament of the Rococo style.
Court looks would feature fine silks, velvets, laces and cloths. Women accentuated small waists
and perky bosoms with bodices in contrast to their ever-widening hoop skirts.
Though this was not day-to-day attire, they became some of Marie Antoinette’s most
famous looks. She shocked the court when she partnered with our scandalous tooth artist,
Madame Vigée-Lebrun to paint her in a simple white muslin dress, signaling a change towards
neoclassicism picked up at the end of the century and cemented during the French Revolution.
Neoclassical fashion pushed back against extravagant corsets, heavy silk dresses,
and the grandiose appearance of French court dress. In its place came loose, light dresses,
often white and made of sheer muslin, opting for a more natural female shape.
In many ways, this form of dress was the beginning of women’s emancipation. For men,
more militant revolutionaries completed the spectrum of anti-aristocratic radicals.
They were called sans culottes – literally “without knee breeches” – and wore loose-fitting
coarse cotton trousers typical of the laboring class. They were worn with hip-length woolen
jackets known as carmagnoles and were associated with peasantry. The humble trouser and jacket worn
by the sans-culottes, so drastically different from the long coats and knee-length breeches worn
by the wealthy, would eventually be adopted in everyday menswear. Thanks to the French Revolution
there are many beauty trends that still exist today. We’re certainly grateful for dental care,
natural beauty products, and men’s pants to name a few. Vive la revolution! Would you have decadently
dressed in the courts of Versailles or been on the streets fighting for freedom from the monarchy?
Let us know in the comments below. We hope you enjoyed learning about beauty practices during
the French Revolution, and we’ll see you next time for another Nutty History video!