The ideal color sought
for both natural and artificial hair was blond. And as the sun was
supposed to have the power of making the hair this color, many ladies
would pass their whole time in the open air on sunshiny days. Dyes and
other mixtures were also used freely for the same purpose. Besides all
these, we meet with an endless list of beautifying waters, plasters,
and paints for every single part of the face--even for the teeth and
eyelids--of which in our day we can form no conception. The ridicule of
the poets, the invectives of the preachers, and the experience of the
baneful effects of these cosmetics on the skin, were powerless to
hinder women from giving their faces an unnatural form and color. It is
possible that the frequent and splendid representations of Mysteries,82
at which hundreds of people appeared painted and masked, helped to
further this practice in daily life. It is certain that it was
widespread, and that the countrywomen vied in this respect with their
sisters in the towns. It was vain to preach that such decorations were
the mark of the courtesan; the most honorable matrons, who all the year
round never touched paint, used it nevertheless on holidays when they
showed themselves in public. But whether we look on this bad habit as a
remnant of barbarism, to which the painting of savages is a parallel,
or as a consequence of the desire for perfect youthful beauty in
feature and in color, as the art and complexity of the toilette would
lead us to think--in either case there was no lack of good advice on
the part of the men.
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