For a recent Northshield A&S competition I decided to make period color cosmetics and do the makeover in front of judges. I have re-discovered the passion for working with herbs and other ingredients that I enjoyed so much during my high school times.
Based on the preserved artwork, extant cosmetic samples, manuals, and poetry, I plan to recreate the period cosmetics used for the court face makeup in Northern Wei in the 5-6th century CE. The archaeology of Northern Wei is considerably new and we do not have the full knowledge of the culture of the Xianbei people. As there are many gaps, I also use sources that predate the Wei state (Warring States and Han Dynasty, 5th century BCE to 2nd century CE) or are slightly post-date but mention the descent from earlier times (Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty (6th to 7th century CE). Recipes used for making the cosmetics were followed as closely as possible. In case of toxic substances, I made the original ones as a part of display only and to have a reference for matching safer replacements. My recipes are included in the main part of this work while the description of plant ingredients and the recipes for ointment bases are included in the appendix section.
The cosmetics made within the scope of this entry include:
-the Hu powder or the white makeup base (hufen),
-the yellow forehead paint (e’huang),
-the eyebrow paint (daimei),
-the rouge (yanzhi),
-the lip oil (chunzhi),
-the decoration for the forehead (huadian) and cheeks (mianye).
The simplified diagram of the complete makeup is shown below:

The cosmetics are presented in a historically accurate style, including the toilet box, containers, applicators and accessories. The application process, performed on my face, will be also part of this presentation.
This entry is a part of an ongoing major project, dedicated to the complete beauty regimen of women of Northern Wei. The lessons learnt from making color makeup will definitively help in the part dedicated to skin care.

Applying period makeup

Final look