The Makeup of Queen Elizabeth I’s Demise
Chelsey Wang (ISB 10)
Staff writer Chelsey Wang binges Modern Family and The Walking Dead when she isn’t coming up with new Buddy! ideas (as we all should be).
Ever the epitome of “Big Brain Behavior (BBB),” Chelsey saw a world saturated with cosmetics and thought back to the OG makeup icon Queen Elizabeth I. In her riveting article “The Makeup of Queen Elizabeth I’s Demise,” she looks at the history of makeup and the gruesome effects it had on her majesty.
Today, almost every person has come across makeup products. We have an abundantly wide variety to choose from: Tarte, Morphe, E.L.F., Jeffree Star... the list goes on. For many people, the vast selection allows them to enhance their features and get their desired looks. As for others who seek dramatic change, they might delve into cosmetic surgery. But what happens when people take it too far? Let’s take a look at the history of makeup and the harrowing beauty routine of the ruthless Queen Elizabeth I.
(From National Portrait Gallery)
Makeup can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians, with many Egyptian tombs contained makeup canisters and kits. Cleopatra used grounded carmine beetles to create her bright red lipstick while others during the time used clay mixed with water. The ancient Greeks and Romans also painted their faces with powders made of ground-up minerals and stones: galena, pyrolusite, magnetite, and stibnite were used to create a black color for the eyes, and malachite and chrysocolla were used to create green shades.
After the Greeks and Romans, the history of makeup, quite literally, loses its color. From the Middle Ages until the end of the 19th century, pale white skin was considered the chic and sexy look of elites. So, of course, Queen Elizabeth I jumped on the hype train and took the term “Cake Face” to the next level. Her servants would add layers upon layers of white makeup, which was made from a pleasant mixture of lead and vinegar known as the Venetian ceruse. Honestly, I didn’t know the beauty community could get even more toxic. As if a lead-based foundation wasn’t enough, she also wore red lipstick that was made from cinnabar — a toxic mineral containing mercury. From years of scientific research, we now know that exposure to mercury leads to mercury poisoning, which causes irreversible damages to the body. Furthermore, after the makeup was applied, it would sit and soak on the skin for a week before being removed with even more mercury. People at the time claimed that the mercury makeup remover left their skin soft, but this was because their skin was literally being eaten away.
From her years of using these top-notch, state-of-the-art makeup products to successfully become gender-bent Pennywise, we can expect that Queen Elizabeth’s skin was not in the best condition. As the mercury slowly corroded away her skin, Queen Elizabeth started putting on thicker and thicker layers of that sweet putrid paste to cover everything up. By the end of her life, the Venetian ceruse had worn away so much of her face that her skin had become gray and wrinkled. However, if you’ve seen any paintings of Queen Elizabeth I, you’ll notice that what is being described here and what is being portrayed in the paintings don’t seem to add up. This was because the queen demanded all painters to make her look beautiful. These painters would depict her with snow-white skin and ruby red lips when in reality, she probably looked like a naked mole rat that fell, face first, into vinegary paste. It was basically just Facetune, 17th-century style.
“…started putting on thicker and thicker layers of that sweet putrid paste to cover everything up.”
So why would anyone want to become an untouchable and foul-smelling just to achieve pale skin? Well, for Queen Elizabeth, she used makeup not only to become pale but also to cover up some of her insecurities. On October 10th, 1562, the twenty-nine-year-old Queen Elizabeth I was down with a severe case of smallpox. When she was cured, her skin was badly scarred. Queen Elizabeth did everything to cover these scars. As the powerful queen of England, she knew that all eyes were on her and that any scarring would turn her from a survivor of the pox to a deformity in the public’s eyes. As a result, some things, like her health, had to be sacrificed.
(From National Portrait Gallery)
To us, what Queen Elizabeth did might sound completely outrageous. I mean, who would put vinegar and mercury on their skin just to become white? Well, similar behavior presents itself in our society today in less… toxic ways, but still just as dangerous. With the rise of plastic surgery, many related deaths have surfaced. When people are put under anesthesia for surgery, there is a narrow margin between safe and toxic doses of anesthetic. Sedated patients might experience fatal airway blockage and impairment. Moreover, more patients die down the line from infections and tissue damage. Many also die as the fat or prosthetic filler enters their bloodstream and causes cardiac arrest later on after the surgery.
“With the rise of plastic surgery, many related deaths have surfaced.”
Currently, countless studies are explaining the dangers of cosmetic surgery, but millions still flock to the surgeon’s knife in hopes of becoming an internet baddie with a slim thicc figure. Much like it was for Queen Elizabeth, we’re still risking everything for beauty. Although we may not be lathering mercury on our faces (thanks to science for explaining that one), many people are still “dying” to achieve their desired looks or body. People walk into the clinic expecting to come out as a goddess, but 0.002% of people come out on a stretcher. You never expect it to happen until it does, and when it does, wouldn’t you want to take it back? You may be unhappy with how you look, but is it really worth putting your life on the line? Our bodies, big or small, tall or short, taunt or flabby, will ultimately be stuck with us no matter what we do. So, maybe it’s time to embrace it instead of dying to change what can’t be changed.