In the early years of the Victorian era women of a higher class practised restraint with their makeup. Bold colours and heavy application initially was thought of as taboo as it was used only by prostitutes. Using makeup actually became contentious due to many religions banning then, labelling them as "the tools of the devil". however this only made women want to use cosmetics once again in an attempt to be considered "naughty" or "rebellious".
Available at: http://www.thetudorswiki.com/page/More British Royal Tiaras#fbid=fRTmdT30B-b (Accessed: 24 January 2015)
Here is an early portrait of Queen Victoria, her restraint in cosmetics is obvious.
just like in the Elizabethan era, a pale face was still admired and seen as a sign of nobility. Women achieved this however using a less dangerous method than those in the Elizabethan age. They would use a white, mineral powder made from Zinc Oxide as well as avoiding the sun and consuming lemon juice and vinegar to achieve this ideal.
Hair was used to portray beauty during the Victorian era. Queen Victoria reigned longer than any other British monarch, staying on the throne for 63 years. over this long reign hair styles changed and evolved and I found it very interesting to see what was popular during the early, mid and late 1800's.
La enagua voladora (no date). Notes: Available at: http://decimonono.tumblr.com/post/93413509349/1873-revue-de-la-mode-details-dune-coiffure-en (Accessed: 24 January 2015).
These two images show magazine articles depicting how to style the hair from two different decades of the Victorian era. Its obvious to see the change just from 1866 (the top image) to 1873 (bottom image).
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