Our project brief named 'Redheads and Royalty', is a mixture of contemporary and historical hair styling, based on the Elizabethan period. Queen Elizabeth was a great ruler of England, her reign often referred to as 'The Golden Age'. This time period saw the flourishing of poetry, music and literature, as well as the expansion and exploration abroad. Queen Elizabeth I was highly looked up to, she was a woman of great power. Her unmarried status led her to be depicted as a virgin or a goddess, making a virtue of her virginity. Elizabeth's look became a fashion, not just the pale-faced makeup but the copper hair too.
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| Unknown Artist viewed 17/10/2014 available from: http://goodmusicbrighterchildren.com/?p=2409 |
Queen Elizabeth had naturally fair hair, a trait that was instantly beautiful in this period. Many women dyed their hair, using cumin seed, saffron, celandine and oil, or even urine - human or animal! The ingredients for this were often expensive, so very fair hair would indicate high status. Eyebrows were often dyed lighter too, and had to be in an arch shape, so many women plucked theirs or even removed them completely and drew them back on in the shape they wanted to achieve. Eyebrows were not the only thing being plucked away in this period. It was important in the Elizabethan period to have a high hairline - this represented nobility - and many women would pluck theirs back to achieve this fashionable position. Although Elizabeth had this fair hair, she had up to 80 wigs at the time of her death. Due to the bleaching of the hair and the poisonous lead in the makeup she was applying daily, it began to fall out, leading her to use wigs and hair pieces.
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