Egyptian style makeup/ clothes.

Dec 4, 2014

Gemma W.

Hi, me again. So I have chosen the Egyptian theme era for my college assignment as it seems more challenging than the other eras. Do any of you have any ideas for what type of Egyptian accessories hairstyles and makeup looks I can go for? Thankyou.

Dec 4, 2014

Alice L.

Makeup: the classic cat eye with blue and gold eye shadow

Dec 4, 2014

Tessandra R.

Outfits :) I hope I helped!

Dec 4, 2014

Shelley W.

All the posts above are great...I would also hit up the art museum and/or history museum for more reference ideas because if you have to write a paper in reference to the presentation you definitely want to include true historical data.

Dec 4, 2014

Ashley D.

I'm personally not a fan of modern takes on Historic looks, I would go to a museum or look up art work from that time period to find inspiration. Also Egypt was a strong influence in Greek art as well as Roman art so look at those statues as well, you can defiantly find a theme and draw inspiration from the art.

Dec 5, 2014

Emily W.

Is the assignment supposed to be true to the period, or just an interpretation? Because true Egyptian makeup was not the cat eye, blue and gold dramatic look that everyone associates with it. That look was created for Elizabeth Taylor when she played Cleopatra, and was loosely based on Old Kingdom art.

Real Egyptian makeup was medicinal, not aesthetic. They lined their eyes with heavy black kohl made from galena, and used green malachite under their eyes (both compounds are toxic, but warded off infections during the humid flood season). Nobility would wear rouge on their cheeks for special occasions, but that's it.

A true Egyptian makeup look would be a combination of smokey messy liner and green football stripes. Not exactly glamorous. ;)

As for clothing: they wore cotton chitons, a type of loose sheer dress. Men and women both were pretty exposed, because of the high temperatures. They ornamented themselves with beaded jewelry, and gold if they were rich. Most Egyptians were bald; sometimes men kept a single ponytail on an otherwise shaven head. The heavy wigs were court dress only, reserved for the wealthy on special occasions. Because of the heat, Egyptians wore a unique accessory: small cones of tallow fat mixed with spices and perfumes. Worn on top of the head, it would melt slowly and release the perfume.

I know none of this sounds pretty, but if you are supposed to recreate a real ancient Egyptian look, steer clear of the stereotypical Hollywood Cleopatra.

Dec 7, 2014

Gemma W.

Thankyou everybody, after doing lots of research and reading all your helpful comments I've decided to do classic Egyptian makeup using blues and golds.
Thanks again everyone I'll post picture when I have created look