[L I F E] B E A U T Y
Most Bizarre Beauty Treatments Ever Get the look with gravy stockings, mummy powder and mice fur eyebrows.
All in the Name of Beauty
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By Shilo Urban Illustrations by Amber Bailey
We’ve all suffered in the name of beauty, from puffy bangs in the ’80s to pencil-thin brows in the ’90s (and we won’t mention that dark purple lipstick). But why do we pluck, paint, wax, inject and microblade — and often pay big bucks to do so? Because beauty is power. We know it, just as women throughout history have known it. But in the absence of L’Oréal and laser hair removal, our predecessors had to be a little more creative.
Radiant Skin No matter which era you live in, beauty begins with a good skin care routine. Egypt’s Queen Cleopatra, a renowned beauty, achieved a youthful glow by rubbing donkey milk and crocodile dung all over her face. Women of the Roman Empire bought vials of sweat and dirt scraped off the skin of gladiators, a luxurious face cream that only the wealthiest could afford. In Renaissance France, King Henry II’s wife preferred pigeon poop to get that “dewy” look, while his mistress drank dissolved gold (and then died from it). Ladies coveted a pale and pasty complexion, which flaunted the fact that you didn’t have to work
