The Ancient Romans were familiar with a wide range of cosmetics. Literature, artwork, and surviving artifacts provide us with much evidence for foundations, hair removers, rouges, eye makeup, and other beauty products. Used largely (though not exclusively) by women, these products were a familiar feature of everyday life. Cosmetics, whether referenced in art or in literature, also formed part of the rhetoric relating to gender and social status. Concentrating on the period of the Roman Empire in this paper, I examine the evidence surrounding the use of the more harmful makeup products that were available; in particular, lead, mercury, and arsenic. Referring to modern research methods (both historical and scientific) I show how the fact and the fiction surrounding the use of these toxic substances can shed light on the values of contemporary society and the practicalities of daily living at this time.
Keywords
- Cosmetics;
- Romans;
- poison;
- women;
- lead;
- arsenic;
- mercury
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