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That Shakespeare LifeIn order to really understand Shakespeare, you have to step inside his world. Author: Cassidy Cash
Hosted by Cassidy Cash, That Shakespeare Life takes you behind the curtain and into the real life of William Shakespeare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Language: en Genres: History, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Painting Your Lips, Bleaching Your Skin, and Other Cosmetic Treatments for Renaissance Women
Episode 421
Monday, 11 May, 2026
In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet declares "Thou know'st the mask of night is on my face, Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek" Katharina in Taming of the SHrew talks about painting your face, and Timon of Athens makes a connection between painting and your face saying "wear them, betray with them: whore still; Paint till a horse may mire upon your face, A pox of wrinkles!" And of course, Hamlet has the most famous facial disguise quote when he says "God has given you one face but you make yourself another." All of these references underpin what we know about cosmetics and facial care in Shakespeare's England. Famously, Queen Elizabeth herself kept her face quite decadently forever striving after that porcelain skinned ideal that was a hallmark of the Elizabethan Era. But what did women use to take care of their faces in the Elizabethan era, and in a. Culture where people like Hamlet were suspicious of women who disguised their true form, how was makeup received? Was it something normal and every day, or were there instances when applying makeup, or perhaps even the wrong makeup, could get someone into trouble? To find out more and explore the intricate and complex world of makeup, cosmetics, and facial care for women of Shakespeare's lifetime, we're delighted to welcome historian and author of Beauty and Cosmetics, 1550–1950, Sarah Jane Downing to the show this week. She's here to take us behind the makeup counters of Tudor women and share with us what we might there.
