Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité…Beauté! It’s almost the 14th of July, which means it’s almost Bastille day, and so we thought we would mark the occasion by discussing what this important day means for the people of France. We will discuss the different festivities that will take place on the day, and we’ll also take a look at French beauty trends of the 18th century!
L’Histoire de la prise de la Bastille
Bastille day is the national day of France, celebrated every year on the 14th of July. It marks the event known as the ‘Storming of Bastille’ which occurred on July 14th in 1789. Spurred on by an ongoing economic crisis, it sparked the beginning of the French Revolution.
The storming of the Bastille was lead by a subset of French society known as the ‘Third Estate’, who lived a life of poverty and starvation under the Ancien regime of Louis the XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette. The people of France were tired of living a life of poverty, and so fought back against the regime in the hopes that future generations to come wouldn’t suffer as they had.
Ultimately they wanted a life of freedom, equality and fraternity. And so the words Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité were quoted heavily by the French people throughout the revolution. An incantation of their desires for a better future! It was written into the 1958 Constitution and is nowadays part of the French national heritage.

Bastille Day 200 years later
Today, Bastille day is since celebrated every year in the villages, towns and cities of France on the 14th of July. Unlike the initial storming of the Bastille, nowadays the occasion is a much more jovial event, encompassing a variety of traditional festivities.
A torchlit procession precedes the day on the evening of the 13th of July. The next morning there is a military parade accompanied by gun salutes and church bells. Afterwards a luncheon feast is enjoyed, followed by dancing, games, and shows. Finally a spectacular display of fireworks ends the festivity.


Beauté. From then till now.
Not only has politics greatly changed over the course of 200 years, but so has the beauty standards. Lets take a look at French-inspired beauty trends of that time. And what better way to get an insight into 18th century French beauty standards than to take a look at the trendsetter of the time herself, Marie Antoinette.
Considering that Marie Antoinette was the queen of France at the time, her beauty standards were heavily influential to many women and men during 18th century. The utilisation of cosmetics was also political in that makeup was used as a marking of ones wealth, status and nobility. The more noble one was, the heavier the makeup. It was of utmost importance for a royal to keep up appearances with the latest fashion, trends and grooming, otherwise this could greatly affect their reputation.

Fermented skincare
Marie Antoinette had a strict skincare regime comprising a three step process of cleansing, toning and moisturising. A process that is still the foundation to skincare routines today. However, the ingredients that were used were somewhat different from today!
According to her ladies in waiting, Marie Antoinette washed her face daily with Eau Cosmetique de Pigeon. This concoction is literally how it sounds. It contained fruit juices, floral essences, “the crumb of three French rolls,” borax, and that’s right, eight pigeons, stewed and fermented for 17 days. That’s taking natural fragrance to another level!
This was followed by the use of toning waters. She used Eau des Charmes, made of “drops exuded by grapevines in May” and whitening ingredients such as vinegar. It was considered during this time, that the paler the skin, the more wealthy and noble the person.
To finish, her signature whitening face mask, which apparently is still popular in France today, was applied to give a glowing complexion. This was made from two teaspoons of cognac which helped to stimulate blood flow, 1/3 cup of cell-renewing dry milk powder, lemon juice to lighten the skin, and one egg white to purify and tighten pores.
Deadly makeup
A slathering of white paste was used as foundation to completely block out the natural complexion. Oftentimes these pastes contained toxic lead, as this had a heavy opaqueness that would conceal even the most severe blemishes, most notably pock marks as a result of the smallpox epidemic. However lead poisoning was a price to pay for a clear complexion, and many people became ill and even died as a result. The saying ” Beauty is pain” really rang true back then!
Scented face powder was then applied to set the paste. Eye kohl from the middle east was used as eyeliner and brow pomade was used to create rounded, thick eyebrows.
Rouge was another essential cosmetic. A red tint was seen to create an attractive, youthful glow against the white complexions. By mixing the lead based cream with carmine from crushed beetles, a red paste was produced. This was then applied in streaks along the cheeks if one was of highest nobility, and small circles of light pink to the cheeks if one was lower in status.
To complete the look, and to further conceal any pock-marks, black velvet beauty patches known as ‘mouches’ (translates to housefly, yuck!) were used. These were cut into small patches, in shapes such as moons, stars and love hearts. These patches were placed usually on the cheek, near the eye or above the lip. Apparently they could convey different things based on where they were placed. A heart shape on the right cheek indicated that you were married, while shapes near the corner of the eye suggested passion.
It has been reported that Marie Antoinette applied them near the corner of her mouth to indicate that she wished to be kissed. Ooh la la!

Don’t try this at home!
Whilst we are fascinated by the obscure and elaborate measure that Marie Antoinette and many French people took in order to achieve a beautiful complexion, we at V Claire think it’s best to stick to a more natural approach. We’ll pass on the fermented pigeons!
Best to just stick to the dancing and games instead!
Joyeux quatorze Juillet! Vive la France! Vive La Beauté!
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