Victorian and Edwardian hair styles tend to make abundant use of false and supplemental hair. Here's a helpful tutorial on making your own clip-on hairpiece.
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Clip On Hair Extensions Homemade
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Red Paint for the Face Liquid Rouge Recipe - Effort #1
After my disappointing experience with 3 Custom Color, I realized I would have to make historical Red Paint for the Face all on my own. I bought a bottle of Three-Buck Chuck from Trader Joe's, some alum from Wisdom Products and some Sappanwood (a near relative of Brazilwood but which is not endangered) from eBay.
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The original recipe from Abdeker states: "Take brasil wood and roch-alum, beat them together in a mortar, boil the mass in a sufficient quantity of red wine, until one third is consum'd."
I did some experiments on wine and discovered, surprisingly, that red wine on its own isn't very much of a stain on the skin, and even when it is boiled down to 1/3rd the original it's still not a heavy color on its own -- makes a slightly grayish color on the flesh, really. Could that be what gives the Red Paint the dullness that I like?
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I started out with 9 tablespoons of merlot wine, a teaspoon of the sappanwood, and a pinch of alum. I kept it on a low simmer, and allowed 2/3rds of the mix to boil away. When I tested this mix, it wasn't pigmented enough, so I poured in some vodka and water and a little more wine to replace what was boiled away, added two more teaspoons of sappanwood, and started again. This mixture looked too brown, and so after a few minutes I also added several more pinches of alum -- the alum alone seems to be responsible for turning the mixture red, and the sappanwood doesn't seem to become very colorful without it.
The resulting blend of wood and wine was very thick in the pan, almost like gravy or red chile, but once strained it was, of course, a thin liquid mixture. It's actually not easy to distinguish it from wine alone when it's viewed in a glass container.
This final mix was made up from approximately 9 tablespoons of wine, 3 teaspoons sappanwood, and 1/2 teaspoon (4 pinches) of alum crystals, all boiled down to about 3 tablespoons total liquid.
This homemade mixture got a much closer match to the original Ageless Artifice cosmetic than the professional color matcher's blend did, though it was still less heavily pigmented than Ageless Artifice's -- I wonder whether letting it sit around and evaporate will take care of that on its own, or if I ought to add even more sappanwood and alum next time. Currently it is suitable for a blush, but I'm not getting the depth of color needed for the lip cosmetic. It's also still less orange/too purple, which seems to be a common problem... not sure if that means I should add more alum, or if it's just a problem with the sappanwood.
Also, my mixture has kind of an unpleasant stickiness to it that the other version hasn't got. Doubtless that has something to do with the wine. I notice Ageless Artifice actually just lists alcohol and water as their main ingredient -- it doesn't say wine on he label. I always assumed they just listed it that way on the label for legal reasons, but maybe they actually do just use simple rubbing alcohol and water in their rendition? Mine also has a distinctive wine odor to it which theirs does not, so it points to that being the case.
In any event, I did wind up with a proper 18th century rouge (and acceptable for 19th century) so that will do okay for that. I'm starting to think I might never be able to get my favorite lip stain again, though...
The original recipe from Abdeker states: "Take brasil wood and roch-alum, beat them together in a mortar, boil the mass in a sufficient quantity of red wine, until one third is consum'd."
I did some experiments on wine and discovered, surprisingly, that red wine on its own isn't very much of a stain on the skin, and even when it is boiled down to 1/3rd the original it's still not a heavy color on its own -- makes a slightly grayish color on the flesh, really. Could that be what gives the Red Paint the dullness that I like?
I started out with 9 tablespoons of merlot wine, a teaspoon of the sappanwood, and a pinch of alum. I kept it on a low simmer, and allowed 2/3rds of the mix to boil away. When I tested this mix, it wasn't pigmented enough, so I poured in some vodka and water and a little more wine to replace what was boiled away, added two more teaspoons of sappanwood, and started again. This mixture looked too brown, and so after a few minutes I also added several more pinches of alum -- the alum alone seems to be responsible for turning the mixture red, and the sappanwood doesn't seem to become very colorful without it.
The resulting blend of wood and wine was very thick in the pan, almost like gravy or red chile, but once strained it was, of course, a thin liquid mixture. It's actually not easy to distinguish it from wine alone when it's viewed in a glass container.
This final mix was made up from approximately 9 tablespoons of wine, 3 teaspoons sappanwood, and 1/2 teaspoon (4 pinches) of alum crystals, all boiled down to about 3 tablespoons total liquid.
This homemade mixture got a much closer match to the original Ageless Artifice cosmetic than the professional color matcher's blend did, though it was still less heavily pigmented than Ageless Artifice's -- I wonder whether letting it sit around and evaporate will take care of that on its own, or if I ought to add even more sappanwood and alum next time. Currently it is suitable for a blush, but I'm not getting the depth of color needed for the lip cosmetic. It's also still less orange/too purple, which seems to be a common problem... not sure if that means I should add more alum, or if it's just a problem with the sappanwood.
Also, my mixture has kind of an unpleasant stickiness to it that the other version hasn't got. Doubtless that has something to do with the wine. I notice Ageless Artifice actually just lists alcohol and water as their main ingredient -- it doesn't say wine on he label. I always assumed they just listed it that way on the label for legal reasons, but maybe they actually do just use simple rubbing alcohol and water in their rendition? Mine also has a distinctive wine odor to it which theirs does not, so it points to that being the case.
In any event, I did wind up with a proper 18th century rouge (and acceptable for 19th century) so that will do okay for that. I'm starting to think I might never be able to get my favorite lip stain again, though...
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1912 Christmas Fashion
Tudorlinks has a reprinted old article from 1912 that shows the latest holiday fashions and even a pattern for making your own evening dress. It also gives this sound fashion advice:
"The knowledge must be there; for to achieve success the true feeling of fashion must be met. One must always lead - not follow in the wake of everyone else. This is one of the fundamental mistakes which people dependent on their own exertions make and is companioned by another, that of getting too many things of inferior quality. To follow the most ordinary shop windows some weeks after is the worst possible plan if one wants to look smart. Instead, one should find out what is being worn in the highest plane and aim for that in good materials, and so quite a reputation for chic dressing can be established."
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Early Product Reviews
Before online reviews, magazines were the place to go for data on how good a product was. And, before mandatory listing of product ingredients, it was also a good place to find out what was in your favorite potion.
For example, the column featured a series of letters from March 1868 on “Mrs. Allen’s World’s Hair Restorer,” an American commercial hair wash distributed by local wholesalers. Hearing that the product caused itchy, red scalps in two acquaintances, a female correspondent turned to readers of the “…invaluable Conversazione, which so often helps us out of difficulties.” Her letter set off a chain of responses over the coming months. Respondents warned that “Mrs. Allen’s Dressing” contained hazardous amounts of mercury, eventually prompting a defensive response from London agent John M. Richards, who asserted the “natural” makeup of the product. Reader responses followed both refuting and supporting the charge of mercury, accompanied by correspondents’ proven personal recipes for hair-restorers. In this Victorian precursor to “customer reviews,” readers placed their trust in the textual community in an effort to recreate the traditional exchange of advice among female intimates. Their efforts bore fruit; they elicited responses that exposed the dangerous chemical makeup of manufactured beauty products, all while soliciting tried-and-tested alternatives from readers’ own recipe collections.
Read more at http://recipes.hypotheses.org/3938
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How to Clean Hair Brushes
In the Gibson Girl era, hairbrushes were very important tools as they functioned much the wash shampoo and conditioner serve modern women (That is, for cleaning dirt and dandruff from the hair while distributing oil) -- plus they created the specific hair texture needed for period hairdos.
Natural bristle brushes were most commonly used, but wire-type brushes were also available (however, they were warned to be, in all function, combs.) Here's a cleaning how to for both types.
For wire brushes.
For bristle brushes.
Natural bristle brushes were most commonly used, but wire-type brushes were also available (however, they were warned to be, in all function, combs.) Here's a cleaning how to for both types.
For wire brushes.
For bristle brushes.
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Female Troubles and Nervous Prostration
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The Return of Madame X
For Halloween this year, the Madame X costume reemerged. This time, I decided to wear it with historically correct makeup -- the whiting, powder, and the very last of my Ageless Artifice Red Paint for the Face, plus some black eye pencil. I didn't bother with coloring my hair this time. I also didn't have anymore white feathers so I just put a jewel in my hair, but the effect actually came out looking more like the final painting.
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Madame X's Lip Rouge
As previously mentioned, I used up the last of my Red Paint for the Face this Halloween. After the unsuccessful color-matching attempt, I've been scouting commercial cosmetics trying to find a close match.
Let's view our contenders...
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Let's view our contenders...
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| Mineral Fusion, Adorn |
First we have Mineral Fusion's Sheer Moisture Lip Tint, in the color Adorn. Kind of a brown-red hue, transparent, glistening, moisturizing.
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| Christina's Natural Qualities, Provocative |
The next is Christina's Natural Qualities in the hue Provocative, being a matte, long-wearing color in an orangey-earth tone.
Both of these were found a bit off the beaten path -- one at the local Whole Foods, the other at the local herbal medicine shop. I think these are so far my nearest matches to the Red Paint, and if only either one made a halfway decent rouge I'd be all set.
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Mystery Solved -- Cold Cream is from Galen! Here's Galen's Cold Cream Recipe
I recently got lucky and was featured on Metafilter, specifically my post on Cold Cream History. This inspired me to try looking again for some of Galen's recipes, since it happens that new texts get added to places like Google Books and Project Gutenberg, and sometimes a text that was not available in the past becomes available.
I got lucky a second time, and found that Open Library has put up Galen's De Compositione Medicamentorum from an edition of 1530. I don't read Latin splendidly, but I can read it well enough to know I found the passage I was looking for:
Again, I've rather poor Latin, but it appears to be made just from beeswax, "erugino" (probably rust or verdigris) and rose oil (and for those who didn't get the memo before, that's vegetable oil infused with rose petals, NOT essential oil of rose) melted together -- no other emulsifiers, waters or preservatives, which makes it more of a pomatum. The addition of water and vinegar seems to be a Medieval innovation. We also lost the "erugino" which may be either a colorant or something believed by Galen to have another medicinal property (verdigris, for example, was once considered good for wounds.) This assumes I have a correct translation for erugino -- who knows, maybe it is a liquid?
This answers that question I'd long wondered -- namely, whether cold cream really was an invention of Galen's or if it was just attributed to him by later sources. It seems, from this, that the basis of the mixture is his, but it has come a long way since then with many recipes including changes and new ingredients like mineral oil, borax, rosewater, and more.
It may also be worth mentioning for these historical purposes that Rose Oil in ancient times could mean a more complex bouquet than simple roses. Pliny the Elder, writing about 75 years before Galen, described how Rose Oil of earlier times was "of the most simple nature, though more recently there have been added omphacium, rose blossoms, cinnabar, calamus, honey, sweet-rush, flour of salt or else alkanet, and wine." (Funny that rose blossom [flore rosae] would be a new addition, though perhaps he means the whole flower compared to just petals?) So it's not impossible that Galen's original rose cerate might have had vinegar or honey or some other ingredient via the rose oil he used.
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I got lucky a second time, and found that Open Library has put up Galen's De Compositione Medicamentorum from an edition of 1530. I don't read Latin splendidly, but I can read it well enough to know I found the passage I was looking for:
Reperi solum ad compositionem idoneam eruginem et ceram: quibus acceptis, et ad ignem cera liquefacta cum oleo rhodino, ut liqui dum ceratum fieret, miscui cerati librae unciam unum eruginis, hoc est duodecima partem: statui enim decimam vel duodecimam temperare: suspicatus quidem majorem, ut acriorem cera futuram, minorem tanquam imbecilliorem.
Again, I've rather poor Latin, but it appears to be made just from beeswax, "erugino" (probably rust or verdigris) and rose oil (and for those who didn't get the memo before, that's vegetable oil infused with rose petals, NOT essential oil of rose) melted together -- no other emulsifiers, waters or preservatives, which makes it more of a pomatum. The addition of water and vinegar seems to be a Medieval innovation. We also lost the "erugino" which may be either a colorant or something believed by Galen to have another medicinal property (verdigris, for example, was once considered good for wounds.) This assumes I have a correct translation for erugino -- who knows, maybe it is a liquid?
This answers that question I'd long wondered -- namely, whether cold cream really was an invention of Galen's or if it was just attributed to him by later sources. It seems, from this, that the basis of the mixture is his, but it has come a long way since then with many recipes including changes and new ingredients like mineral oil, borax, rosewater, and more.
It may also be worth mentioning for these historical purposes that Rose Oil in ancient times could mean a more complex bouquet than simple roses. Pliny the Elder, writing about 75 years before Galen, described how Rose Oil of earlier times was "of the most simple nature, though more recently there have been added omphacium, rose blossoms, cinnabar, calamus, honey, sweet-rush, flour of salt or else alkanet, and wine." (Funny that rose blossom [flore rosae] would be a new addition, though perhaps he means the whole flower compared to just petals?) So it's not impossible that Galen's original rose cerate might have had vinegar or honey or some other ingredient via the rose oil he used.
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More on Galen's Cerate
I've been continuing to search around for info about the Cerate of Galen, in particular trying to see if I can find a translation or at least a commentary on the excerpt I located. No luck there, although I have come to the conclusion that erugino is a solid (it's indicated in other Galen recipes that it ought to be powdered.)
While searching around, I happened to find some information in Pliny that suggests, at the least, similar mixtures to the Cerate attributed to Galen were already known:
He also mentions "ceratum" as a known type of medicine. Since the Natural History was written about 50 years before Galen was even born, we can conclude that Galen was probably not the originator of this type of medicine.
While searching around, I happened to find some information in Pliny that suggests, at the least, similar mixtures to the Cerate attributed to Galen were already known:
"In combination with vinegar and Cyprian wax, or oil of roses, [gum ammoniac] is extremely efficacious as a liniment for affections of the spleen."
"Kneaded into a paste with wax and rose-oil, [fig ashes] heal burns, leaving the slightest scar only."
"Applied with water and oil, or else rose oil, [bread] softens abcesses."
He also mentions "ceratum" as a known type of medicine. Since the Natural History was written about 50 years before Galen was even born, we can conclude that Galen was probably not the originator of this type of medicine.
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Still More on the Cerate of Galen, and Cold Cream
In consequence, I went digging through another edition of Galen from the 1580s. In this book, I found something that with my poor Latin skills I'm not 100% sure is the right recipe, but it looks like it may be a better candidate for the original cerate/cold cream. Maybe the recipe originally known as "cerate" was something else, and this mixture took on the title for lack of a better name? I'm transcribing it here as best I can, though it uses a few non-standard shortcuts in how its written.
Demonstratio, qua ostenditur, aquam frigefacere ex cerati, quod ex ea conficitur, effectu.Porro q[?] aqua ois dulcis perspicuo frigefaciat, hinc quoq; didiceris. Ceratu humidum si ex aqua frigida subactum acurateq`; madefactum calido alicui affectui imponas, protinus ipsum frigefacies. Oportet autem qua plurimum admiscere ipsius aquae, mistioq`; hoc maxime modo optime perficitur. Ceram quatum fieri maxime potest purissima, oleo liquantes humidu facere ceratum oportet: deinde refigeratum, ac rasum, in mortario manibus subigere, aqua effundendo frigidam quantu nimirum ceratum accipere valet, ac nondum aqua circunfluat. Id refigerat et eos qui in febre uruntur, si hypochondriis superponatur.
Near as I can tell, it's a recipe for wax scrapings beaten with fresh water in a mortar, maybe with oil, used to cool fevers and other "hot" ailments.
Why was this recipe not in the other book? It may be the 1530 edition was copied from a faulty manuscript, or perhaps even the 1530 edition itself has lost pages over time. It also may be that I simply missed it (again, I don't read Latin very well, especially this very old fashioned Latin that Galen uses.) I had located this by running a search for the word "aqua" in the manuscript, and if the word was illegible in the other edition, the computer might have overlooked the passage.
So that this point, it's looking like maybe two recipes from Galen were combined -- his skin-soothing rose oil cerate, and his cooling water cerate. Sounds good.
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Marilyn Monroe's Makeup Look, 1950s Cosmetics
It's worth mentioning that you can still get the mentioned Max Factor's makeup formula from the Vermont Country Store. You can also find Anita of Denmark foundation from the maker.
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Homemade Dry Shampoo -- All Natural!
Does your hair look like this, but you're not doing the Victorian Hair Wash Experiment? No time for a shower? You may be in need of a dry shampoo. Nowadays you can buy many types of dry shampoo from the store, but they are also very easy to make at home.
The main problem I've had with dry shampoo is that, having dark hair, the cornstarch-and-comb-it-out trick just makes me look like Madame de Pompadour. However, I have found a good solution...
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It doesn't need to be this particular brand (I don't know if it's even sold anymore) -- all you need is a deep-colored clay powder. It doesn't need to be the same color as your hair but should be the darkest clay you can find if your hair is dark. Using it is very simple: you just dip a powder brush into the clay dust and brush it into your hair. After a thorough coat, you use a comb or hair brush to distribute the powder and comb out any excess. Your hair looks passable in no time.
As stated, if you have light hair you can use cornstarch instead of clay, and you can also use clay in different colors to suit your hair. Remember that you don't need an exact color match since much of it will be combed out -- you only want a thin distribution of the powder to calm the greasiness of your hair.
That's really all there is so it -- no fancy recipes, just plain powdered clay.
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Button Boots from American Duchess
I recently bought a pair of American Duchess Renoir button boots. Though the site pitches them as being Civil War era, the 1897 Sears Roebuck catalogue features a pair that look almost identical, meaning these are suitable for the Gibson Girl era.
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| The 1897 Shoes - a little more narrow and with fancier decoration. |
I left the buttons placed as they were, but American Duchess recommends moving the buttons like the real Gibson Girls did. That's right, that form-fitting shape of old high-button boots was achieved by removing and resewing the buttons to a custom fit. It's a hassle, but so is much of trying to look good.
You'll notice the American Duchess only sells the shoes in white. Mine are black, because I dyed them myself using dyes they sell for the purpose. The dye job was actually a LOT easier to do than I expected and didn't take all that long (about an hour of work, most of which was actually spent removing the factory-applied sealant with acetone.) The one problem with this method is, if you're dying the shoes very dark (like black) any future scrapes, dings or scuffs show through a brilliant white and need to be attended immediately with more shoe dye. Also -- the plastic buttons are white. I have been coloring mine with black nail polish, which has the same issue of flaking and of white showing through.
Interestingly, American Duchess seems to be headed the same route I am of trying to go retro and vintage, not just historical. Check out their new project Royal Vintage Shoes.
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| The shoes in a well-cared-for state. |
Interestingly, American Duchess seems to be headed the same route I am of trying to go retro and vintage, not just historical. Check out their new project Royal Vintage Shoes.
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Easy 1960s Makeup Look
I got an unexpected invite to a 1960s party and had to toss together a costume in a hurry. Having watched a lot of Perry Mason reruns lately, I'd seen a similar hairdo worn by a "young woman" on the show -- it's a ponytail but with a back pouf. I achieved my pouf by reuse of my inside pompadour.
The face makeup was my normal foundation, brown eyebrow powder, white eyeshadow with black pencil in the crease, black liquid liner on the top lid and black pencil liner on the bottom, and most importantly -- a set of Katy Perry Oh My eyelashes on top and a pair of Ardell 387 spiky lashes for the bottom. I also used some white pencil on the waterline to make the eyes look bigger still.
The lipstick was a custom blend achieved by using a thin application of my salve rouge layered with some Bare Minerals True gloss. Pale or shimmery colors were common in the 60s and I tend to wear neither, thus the need to improvise a hue. The blush is a historically proper Tangee.
I think my dashed-together outfit looked more 60s than almost anyone else at the party!
I think my dashed-together outfit looked more 60s than almost anyone else at the party!
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Backcomb Brush -- Your Secret for Vintage Hair Styling
I just bought one of these combs a couple weeks ago and wish I'd done so earlier in my life. I'd have been able to have much better looking hair for many years! If you like hairdos which require fullness and don't like to spend a lot of time waiting for mousses and volumizing sprays to dry, these things are fantastic. Just a few quick strokes and your hair is puffed up and ready to go!
The process of ratting the hair has been used for ages, but this style of brush was apparently developed in the 1960s to aid the popular styles of that moment.
(NOTE: If you have an ad blocker you probably can't see the picture of what I'm talking about. You will need to turn it off to look at the image.)
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1960s Breakfast at Tiffany's Audrey Hepburn Look Tutorial
Incidentally, the lipstick color she strives to match is a lot like the carmine and True combo I made for my 60s look.
And here I am after trying out most of the stuff she said:
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1970s All Natural Avocado Face Mask Homemade
From Jeanne Rose's Herbal Body Book: The California Avocado Facial Mask.
"Mash a bit of avocado with a bit of buttermilk and apply directly to the face. Walk around or lie in the sun and let the avocado with its nourishing oils do the work. Wipe off the excess with soft tissues and rinse with tepid water. Now, gently massage the invisible oily remains into your skin."
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The Most Authentic 1920s Flapper Makeup Tutorial
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1980s Makeup Application Advice How-To
From Fashion Faces: 20 Stunning Make-Up Ideas (copyright 1982 by Artus Publishing Company, Ltd.)
MAKE-UP ROUTINE
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MAKE-UP ROUTINE
- Choose a foundation to match your skin tone, or one shade lighter, and apply with your fingers or a damp sponge, blending well at the hairline and jawline.
- Cover spots, blemishes, skin discolourations and shadows under the eyes (if you need to) with a blemish cream, liquid or stick. Again use your fingers or a damp sponge and blend in very well.
- If you are using cream or liquid rouge, apply to your cheek bones with fingers, a clean brush or damp sponge, blending upwards and outwards towards the hairline.
- Press translucent powder well in all over your face and neck, with a powder pad, puff or brush, a dry cosmetic sponge or wad of cotton wool.
- Shape and correct the eyebrows with pencil and eyebrow brush/comb (or an old toothbrush). Powder brows and brush again.
- Outline the eyes with pencil (if this is part of your look), soften with a brush, sponge applicator or cotton bud.
- Dust on powder eye shadows with a brush or sponge applicator, overlapping the colours and blending well for a soft and smudgy effect. If using creams and pencils, blend well and powder over to fix.
- Apply a first coat of mascara, allow to dry and separate the lashes with a brush/comb before putting on the second coat.
- Outline your lips with lip pencil, and powder over. Paint in the colours with a lip brush, blot and re-apply for a longer-lasting effect.
- Finally, achieve an overall glow by brushing powder blusher on to cheek bones, temples and jawline, with a large blusher brush.
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