The Victorian Age was marked by the reign of England’s present Queen, Victoria during 1830 to 1901. Being only eighteen when entering power, Queen Victoria represented only some of the stereotypical characteristics of the perfect woman, others she despised and tried to put a stop to them (Goodman, 2013). In comparison with the past eras, beauty resided in a woman’s ability to form themselves into a representation of the wealthy women in their societies. Every woman would seek to achieve the palest of complexions in order to mimic a false sense of nobility. Unlike the Elizabethan Era and Renaissance, Victorians strayed from using harmful mixtures to achieve this look. Instead they painted their faces with a white mineral powder known as zinc oxide (Beautywithbrainscom, 2010). However, during this time period the parasol became essential for women who wished to avoid the use of zinc. …show more content…
The Victorian Age consisted of women who wanted to create the illusion of a perfect body based off of societies standards. The hourglass figure was a must, making females forced into wearing corsets in hopes of cinching their waists into perfection. (Reader, 1967). A women who wore a corset was a representation of a higher class, due to the fact that it flaunted their lack of physical labor (Riordan, 2004). Women of this era also wore hoop cages in order to create an illusion of full, voluminous hips. A women who lacked this body shaped were perceived as less ideal. The women of the Victorian Age went out of their way to create an illusion of the perfect body and by doing so they put their own health in danger (Lucy’s Corsetry, Unknown). The constant stress of meeting societies standards had a negative effect on a females perception of their own value. During all of these eras, the concept of beauty was used in order to depict a woman’s value or standing in their