Introduction to the Elizabethans

Introduction to the Elizabethans

The first project we have been given is to study the Elizabethans. This period of time was where dramatic makeup was introduced into Britain. It was mainly for the upper class women. Queen Elizabeth set off a lot of the trends in this era; this includes fashion, hair and cosmetics. When she grew older the more makeup she wore because she was trying to hide wrinkles and also she had a bad case of small pox, which was hard to cover. Wearing this white heavy makeup also helped her maintain her youthful illusion of beauty. This was also portrayed in her portraits.

The Elizabethans view of the ultimate beauty look was to have a snow white completion, which was then complimented with red cheeks and red lips. They also believed lighter hair colours were more fashionable in this era, this trend was set from Elizabeth because she had strawberry blonde hair, which she then made more of a statement with when she started wearing wigs.

For this semester we will be learning and researching into the Elizabethans, which will include learning techniques about makeup and hair design. Looking into the ways they created certain looks. At the end of this we will be designing and makeup and hair look which will need to be interpreted from an Elizabethan portrait but also be quite contemporary.