The Lisa Eldridge-fronted series continues with an episode on the Victorian era, when makeup was often considered vulgar – and contained some very interesting ingredients
There is plenty of entertainment to be found in the three-part documentary Makeup: A Glamorous History (BBC Two), which began last week with the Georgians. Mostly, that’s been down to the surprising gruesomeness of the seemingly benign world of cosmetics. The celebrated makeup artist Lisa Eldridge, who presents here, has a knack for casually dropping in details that don’t so much require a double-take as a full Exorcist neck-swivel. “At least it’s not bear fat,” she says, as her model’s hair is styled to the skies. “It could be made with talc, flour or even bones,” she says, of an early face powder.
This week, for episode two, Eldridge delves face-first into the Victorian era, which throws up a particular challenge. The 1800s favoured a fresh, “natural” feel; a no-makeup makeup style – the kind of look that boybands still claim to prefer today. Painting your face was a sign of being an actress or a sex worker; the two were barely distinguishable. At the behest of their husbands, the women of the growing middle classes were supposed to opt for a plain face that left no possibility that they may be living a “sinful” life. So how to present an episode about makeup in an era where makeup was largely pushed to the margins, and considered to be vulgar?
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