Bridgerton Beauty: The Surprising Hair And Make-Up Trends That Regency Women Actually Tried

Already excited about Bridgerton? Well we can't wait until May 16th, either. What's not to love about a show that's pretty much Pride and Prejudice crossed with Gossip Girl? Bridgerton is bursting at the seams with ringlets, rouged cheeks and cinched-in waists, with an added dose of contemporary glamour for good measure. We're not knocking it but the Bridgerton hair and make-up artists have taken a fair few liberties in that department.

In the last two seasons, we've spotted a couple of cat-eye liquid liner flicks and whilst enviable, they're not likely to have been within the remit of the ladies' maids and dressers who were in charge of primping and preening their mistresses ahead of balls at the time. So how did women really get ready in 19th century England? Hairstyles and make-up were a real priority –and there were a few trends which became prevalent in the regency era that may surprise you...

The Beauty Patch Trend

Just like Cindy Crawford's mole had the masses pencilling fake versions onto their faces with eyeliners the world over in the 1990s, women of the 19th century also got creative. In fact, it wasn't just women –men and women alike would often use small shapes cut out of silk to adorn their faces. They might have been a dot in a dark colour, sometimes even a heart. Whilst often decorative, there was sometimes more to these beauty patches than met the eye. With no fancy concealers to hand in the 19th century, many used these silk beauty patches to cover blemishes or scars, particularly scars left by smallpox. They're said to be a trend that came over from France (as did most trends at that time) in the late 18th century.

The Veining Trend

Yes, this sounds mildly disgusting, but there's a weird logic to this particular beauty trend. Today, we buy bottles of fake tan to emulate a holiday glow but, in the 19th century, women wanted the opposite. Fair skin was all the rage and some women even went so far as to trace their veins with pale blue paint on their skin to make themselves appear even more pallid.

The Rouge Trend

Reddened cheeks and lips had long been a beauty trend by the start of the19th century. Women (and many men) used rouge in much the same way that we use a cream blusher today. Red powders like carmine, alkanna root and even toxic vermillion were blended with balmy substances like melted fats or waxes to create something that could be easily applied and blended to cheeks and lips.

The Lip Balm Trend

They clearly didn't have the access to lip balms that we have today but regency women knew to attend to their lips. An extract from The Art of Beauty, written in in 1825, notes 'the colour of the lips, — the rich, fresh, ruby tint, so highly praised by poets, painters, and lovers, - depends chiefly on health' and gives a detailed recipe for a lip balm recipe that will ward off chapped lips:

'Lady E. Conyngham's Lip Honey

Take two ounces of fine honey, one ounce of purified wax, half an ounce of silver litharge, the same quantity of myrrh. Mix over a slow fire and add milk of roses, Eau de Cologne, or any other perfume you may prefer and keep for use.'

We're not suggesting you try this at home. – your standard Boots bought lip balm is likely to do your lips far more good – but what a great insight into the beauty trends of the time.

The Hair Trend

There were a gazillion hair trends doing the rounds in 19th century England but, as you'll see from Bridgerton and pretty much any Jane Austen adaptation going, they all involved an up-do, a few plaits, and a great deal of ringlets. Many of the fashions of the Regency period were rooted in Ancient Greece – think empire-line dresses, the expanse of neck on show and those intricately curled and styled hair 'dos. Typically, hair was styled in a bun – high enough for the bun to be on show from the front – and the face was framed with loose tendrils of curled hair. When it came to balls and evening occasions, bows, flowers and more intricate plaits were also thrown into the mix.

The Best Lip Balms

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