You're beautiful.
Did you take yesterday's beauty history quiz? If you haven't, be forewarned: I'm about to reveal all the answers, along with some other oddball facts about the lengths to which Victorians went to look pretty. Are you sure you can handle reading about the lard-based beauty treatment? If so, then read more Read more
We live in a time of unprecedented variety in cosmetic choices, but the history of beauty stretches back hundreds, even thousands of years. Welcome to the first Beauty History quiz, in which you can test your knowledge and discover a thing or two about the way people used to primp. We'll start with the Victorian era, when the pale, innocent look was in fashion. Although more than 100 years have Read more
Gowns swathed in toile-inspired prints and soft, wallpaper florals hinted at Jane Austin era romance at Valentino. There's a distinctly feminine feel, and a hint of both Parisian decadence and Victorian propriety in the collars, bows, and capes that topped delicate silver-embellished gowns and sheer-topped confections. Everything feels emphatically pretty — the softness, the bow and Read more
Charlotte Ronson's Spring 2012 clothing collection featured a Victorian-inspired motif of long hemlines and sheer fabrics, and as you might expect, this same old-era theme carried through into the beauty look, as well. Makeup was minimal and made to seem as if it was effortlessly applied; hair was texturized and thrown back into low ponytails, as if they were second-day versions. Want to try Read more
There are lots of great tips for looking your best out there, but there are also some downright terrible ones. Most aren't bad enough to do real damage, but a few are so epically horrible that they're both hilarious and very, very scary. Behold! Five of the very worst beauty tips in all of history. They're jaw-droppingly awful, so to see them in all their infamy, just keep reading. Read more
In the Victorian era, florigraphy or "flower writing" was a popular way to communicate messages, with a myriad of flowers, herbs, and other plants taking on nuanced romantic and social meanings. But the Victorians weren't the first to assign flowers meaning, and there's a long history of connecting some of the most popular flowers to specific personality traits and emotions. In the same way an Read more
