Here Comes Treble: The Art Of Titivating
There is an art to titivating. ‘Titivating’ is defined as ‘smartening oneself or another, as by making up, doing the hair, etc’. According to thefreedictionary.com, it comes from an earlier word, tidivate, perhaps based on ‘tidy and cultivate’. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary differs slightly, suggesting that the word ‘perhaps derives from tidy and renovate’, and adds that its first known use was in 1824.
Throughout the ages, not only have women used make-up to enhance their looks, but people in general have applied it for rather bizarre reasons which have nothing to do with self-beautification.
For instance, the Ancient Egyptians believed that wearing eye make-up kept evil spirits away, and that it would improve their sight. They outlined their eyes with kohl, a mixture of lead, copper, burned almonds and soot. Everyone in Ancient Egypt wore eye-make-up, which, given the lead content, could not have been good for their health!
In the Middle East, scholar Abu al-Qssum al-Zahrawi, also known more simply as Abulcasis, wrote a voluminous encyclopedia containing a treatise on “The Medicine of Beauty”. Every woman will agree that feeling beautiful is a cure for most ailments.
The Geishas of Japan used combinations of pink, red and black make-up, worn over a base of white rice powder, going as far as blackening their teeth for certain ceremonies, occasionally mixing in bird droppings to lighten colours.
During the European Middle Ages, though the church frowned on the use of make-up, many women used it, particularly among the upper-classes. The paler a lady’s skin, the more aristocratic she was perceived to be. Queen Elizabeth the First found it increasingly difficult to hide the fact that she was aging and so she introduced a fashion known as the ‘Mask of Youth’, covering her face with a poisonous powder made of white lead and arsenic. All the ladies at court followed this fashion.
Various primitive tribes around the world painted their faces and bodies as decoration for tribal celebrations, to help them communicate with the spirit world or, when going to war, to make themselves look fearsome to their enemies. Many used tattoos to create permanent ‘make-up’.
The dawn of the 20th Century saw the introduction of the art of make-up for every woman. Use of cosmetics was no longer frowned on, and was affordable to everyone. Each fashion house issued its own brand and range of cosmetics.
Styles and colours of make-up changed as frequently as fashions in clothing, hair-colour and style: at one time, rainbows were painted slant-wise on the eyes or heavy blue shadow was smeared on the lids with dark liner and flapping false eyelashes. Later came more subtle shades of purples, pinks, browns and greys. Blusher in shades of pink, red and brown, came and went, along the cheek-bones or underneath them, applied in lines or circles. Sultry looks were created with pouting red, pink, purple or even black lips. Fascinating variations continue endlessly.
Over the years I’ve read magazine articles on how to apply make-up for this or that look, I’ve attended demonstrations, and managed to retain an up-to-date image without looking outlandishly fashionable.
A couple of weeks ago, my daughter gave me a rare treat. She took me and two of her friends to a four-hour lesson on how to apply make-up.
We were welcomed with a choice of tea, coffee or fruit juice and chocolate chip muffins.
On a set of tiered shelves were pots of powder and paint waiting for us to choose choices of colours and textures. Laid out for each of us in front of large ‘dressing room’ mirrors, there was a set of elegant brushes in different shapes and sizes, a fluffy powder puff and foam wedges, ear buds, and tissues. Using these tools to apply and blend, to pat and dust, we learnt the necessity of ‘concealer’ to hide blemishes, then to paint a base coat onto our faces to form the ‘blank canvas’ on which beautiful new images would be created.
I sensed the shadow of a Geisha drifting through a strand of sunlight…
We learnt to apply highlights to cheek bones with darker blush below and ‘on the apples’, and the importance of always blending away hard lines.
We laughed and teased, oohed and aaahhhed at each step, admired ourselves and our progress, while gorgeous Gaby took photographs of eyebrows and eyelashes, cheeks and lips, destined to become a series called ‘From Plain Janes to Downright Glamourous Girls’.
The young ladies learnt to pluck their eyebrows. The instructor plucked mine for me, as I couldn’t see the hairs without my glasses on, even in the magnifying mirror. I felt that the magnifying mirror should be permanently consigned to the hall of horrors, highlighting as it did all the troughs and wrinkles in my face. However, it is a useful aid when applying mascara, a task for which I frequently try to climb right into any ordinary mirror.
We next learnt to emphasize what was left of our exquisitely shaped eyebrows, with powder and a specially-designed brush.
Painting the eyelids is an art that requires concealer, base, powder and four different colours, three of which are applied in a ‘C’ shape at the outer edge of each lid. Instead of the dreadfully difficult-to-apply, harsh liquid eye-liner, we learnt the art of dabbing powder just above and below the lashes to create a soft frame for the eyes.
For each segment of the face, for every product, we used a different brush, dusting them off on tissues, blending powders and creams with wedge or puff or large brush.
Last came the lips, with liners and a choice of colours in creams, gels or glosses, or combinations of all three.
At the end of four hours, we’d learnt to change a ‘day-time’ look into ‘evening glamour’, and were ready to paint the town red. Unfortunately, as it was only just after mid-day, our night-time looks took a few hours to become appropriate.
Once we’d completed the course, we moved into the shop and spent recklessly on our credit cards, buying all the wonderful colours, brushes and other goodies we’d learnt to use.
Learning to use the differently-shaped brushes made the art of make-up so much easier. The new ‘shapes’ in which make-up is applied now is softer and more flattering than ever and modern cosmetics are non-allergenic and long-lasting.
Every morning, I now spend an extra moment or five in front of the mirror, applying my new knowledge to my face. There’s nothing quite like titivating to please a woman.
Until next time… ‘here comes Treble!’
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_cosmetics
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By Isabel Bradley
