Green Queens

So many great beauties have made an impact on this world, and you may discover some of their beauty secrets if you enjoy reading about history like I do. Here are just a few of my favorite queens and their skin-care practices:

Cleopatra: It’s difficult to think about ancient beauty and not bring up Cleopatra’s name. Many of us have heard of her famous milk baths, which were probably her greatest beauty secret. She also was known for her use of raw honey and fresh herbs to treat her skin and hair. Legend has it she scented the sails of her ship with rosewater to attract her love, Marc Antony.

Mary Antoinette: Though infamously (and wrongly) credited with the callous line “Let them eat cake,” Marie Antoinette was famous for her beautiful complexion. One of her favorite treatments was a facial made of cognac, milk, eggs, and lemon juice. This combination kept her skin clean and clear, which was important considering the heavy makeup and powders queens (and kings) wore back then.

Mary, Queen of Scots: Mary Stuart, the queen of Scotland, was well-known for bathing in sweet wine. I once toured her bathhouse in Edinburgh where a guide shared that this “bath wine” was rebottled and handed out to townspeople to drink. I’m not sure if that’s fact or legend, but it makes for a good story. Today the practice of “vinotherapy” is a popular spa offering that may have started with Mary.

Queen Victoria: During the Victorian era, lavender was a popular herb and scent. Queen Victoria was known to have a cup of lavender tea each evening before bed. She also cleaned her skin with rosewater and made beauty masks of oatmeal, honey, and egg whites to brighten her skin. This simple treatment added a natural glow to her skin. Nowadays many commercial product lines feature oatmeal.