Women have always used ancient and new beauty secrets to look beautiful and attract everyone’s looks. For many centuries they have used products such as annatto, crumbled flowers, salt as a natural peeling, and olive or coconut oil.
Angela Bravo, the writer of the book “Nefertiti Also Used Face Mask”, says that Nefertiti went to extremes to look after her neck through exercises, massages and cosmetic products. “According with some of her biographers, she used olive oil and plants, as well as master formulas in her hands and eye area to prevent wrinkles and flaccidity. She also says that “what admires me is that today’s society uses the legacy of our ancestors “.
One of the main ingredients of cosmetic products was saliva, to avoid the bad smell. Early in the morning, a particular servant used to swallow a pill that was created for this purpose, and then gently puff some air on a mirror. She would give her lady the mirror to show her that her saliva was pure and fragrant. The eyebrows and eyelashes were highlighted with a black powder called surmé, which was prepared by servants with galena, bismuth or lead.
To keep her skin soft and moist, Poppaea, Nero’s wife, created a cosmetic product she named poppeane, made of donkey milk and bread crumbs. She used it on her face at night, and removed it in the morning with warm donkey milk.
Salt was one of the most popular ingredients used as a peeling, and it’s still used for relaxation and cleansing. Berries and their juice have also been used as a facial cleanser; since they are rich in vitamins, they give the skin a natural glow and a particularly delicious perfume. Nowadays, we can prepare a mixture of berries, mashed bananas and honey and apply it on our face as an antioxidant mask, at least once a week.
Coco Chanel said that women should wear perfume wherever she wasn’t to be kissed. Fragrances represented an ally for beauty in ancient times. The Egyptians had the priests produce aromatic fragrances that were kept as a secret. The Persians macerated flowers in oil and then squeezed them to get a substance of seductive scent.
In the past it was common to apply Vaseline on the eyelids before applying the makeup in order to get a better fixation of the products applied. However, now we can get specific products for that, but remember, in case you need it, Vaseline can help you.
My mom got that tip with the bananas from her mother 🙂 and obviously, i use it now, thanks to this piece now i know where it comes from, and it’s amazing how we still use such ancient methods.