White Lead Substitute
A very unusual product for you here. Throughout the work I have done over the years on historic cosmetics, the use of white lead has been a recurring theme, popular with Greek and Roman women, and making regular appearances right through history with particularly famous examples of its use during the Tudor period and the Eighteenth century. Sadly, although it does indeed make a very lovely face cosmetic, its extremely toxic nature makes it completely unsuitable for use in any form of cosmetic today. This has left historians and film and theater wardrobes wishing to approximate the cosmetic effect of lead having to make do with modern face paints, which are generally too dense a white, resulting in an effect like clown white.
Over the years, I have developed this mix of careful proportions of pigments and powders to come as close as I can to the level of coverage given by real white lead, but without the nasty side effects.
Apply with a damp sponge to skin (ideally primed with a moisturiser or a touch of oil) for a light coverage, or blend with oil, cold cream, or moisturiser to create a thicker denser cosmetic suitable for heavier application. May also be used to blend with cosmetic pigments to give tints for rouge or other cosmetics.
Ingredients: Titanium dioxide, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Talc
Supplied in a convenient sifter jar, approximately 16g
A very unusual product for you here. Throughout the work I have done over the years on historic cosmetics, the use of white lead has been a recurring theme, popular with Greek and Roman women, and making regular appearances right through history with particularly famous examples of its use during the Tudor period and the Eighteenth century. Sadly, although it does indeed make a very lovely face cosmetic, its extremely toxic nature makes it completely unsuitable for use in any form of cosmetic today. This has left historians and film and theater wardrobes wishing to approximate the cosmetic effect of lead having to make do with modern face paints, which are generally too dense a white, resulting in an effect like clown white.
Over the years, I have developed this mix of careful proportions of pigments and powders to come as close as I can to the level of coverage given by real white lead, but without the nasty side effects.
Apply with a damp sponge to skin (ideally primed with a moisturiser or a touch of oil) for a light coverage, or blend with oil, cold cream, or moisturiser to create a thicker denser cosmetic suitable for heavier application. May also be used to blend with cosmetic pigments to give tints for rouge or other cosmetics.
Ingredients: Titanium dioxide, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Talc
Supplied in a convenient sifter jar, approximately 16g
A very unusual product for you here. Throughout the work I have done over the years on historic cosmetics, the use of white lead has been a recurring theme, popular with Greek and Roman women, and making regular appearances right through history with particularly famous examples of its use during the Tudor period and the Eighteenth century. Sadly, although it does indeed make a very lovely face cosmetic, its extremely toxic nature makes it completely unsuitable for use in any form of cosmetic today. This has left historians and film and theater wardrobes wishing to approximate the cosmetic effect of lead having to make do with modern face paints, which are generally too dense a white, resulting in an effect like clown white.
Over the years, I have developed this mix of careful proportions of pigments and powders to come as close as I can to the level of coverage given by real white lead, but without the nasty side effects.
Apply with a damp sponge to skin (ideally primed with a moisturiser or a touch of oil) for a light coverage, or blend with oil, cold cream, or moisturiser to create a thicker denser cosmetic suitable for heavier application. May also be used to blend with cosmetic pigments to give tints for rouge or other cosmetics.
Ingredients: Titanium dioxide, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Talc
Supplied in a convenient sifter jar, approximately 16g
