The Artifice of Beauty: A History and Practical Guide to Perfume and Cosmetics

Why did Egyptians wear so much makeup? Were the Vikings really unwashed barbarians? How did the fashionable Elizabethan deal with bathing, lice, and excessive facial hair? What happened underneath all that hairpowder and scented pomade in the 18th century? How did young women find out about the latest beauty products in the past? This fascinating and unique book traces the way in which we have adorned, perfumed, and presented ourselves from the earliest prehistoric evidence right through to the dawn of the multi-million dollar cosmetics industry. We discover what the perfumes found in Tutankhamen's tomb would have smelt like, what made the medieval woman so synonymous with "the lily and the rose," and where the most fashionable place was for a woman to buy perfume in the 18th century. In the 16th and 17th century the devil reputedly carried a looking glass, and the most expensive cosmetics could kill. A century later, Beau Brummel recommended the scent of freshly aired linen as an appropriate perfume for a gentleman, and Napoleon himself doused himself in quantities of cologne. This richly illustrated book also includes a wide selection of modernized recipes for those wishing to experience some of the cosmetics or perfumes used by our ancestors.