From "Pimple patches — the 17th century beauty craze resurrected by Gen-Z/Louisa McKenzie traces the surprising history of the jaunty spot stickers loved by Gen-Z and 17th century women, who used them as a tool for seduction as well as concealment" (London Times).
You can buy these cute stars at Amazon (commission earned).
And here's the Allegorical Portrait of Two Ladies ("a 17th-century painting by an unknown artist"):
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17 comments:
"unless it be to Cut the Throat of Chastity"
That's awesome.
Using your own spit to stick on a piece of silk -- eek. I knew the use of patches in history. I didn't know patches were popular now, or that they provide a medicinal benefit. When I was a bespotted teen I think I would've liked these stars.
Most of my coworkers are gen z college students. Plenty of tattoos plenty of piercings but no face patches.
I just finished reading the Diary of Samuel Pepys and he talks in a few places about his wife and various other ladies at court & theater using the brand-new fashion of patches to hide their pimples.
It's nice that they had white patches for the black ladies. We didn't have "flesh colored" band aids for black people until about 20 years ago.
The look ridiculous, though. No wonder some wanted to ban them.
Anne Francis had two facial moles. Thanks to the "beauty mark" tradition, she could count herself fortunate to have one by her luscious lips. The other over her left zygomatic arch was often covered by makeup.
Marilyn Monroe had hers applied with spirit gum.
I had - apparently mistakenly - thought the primary purpose of face patches was to hide smallpox scars. Learn something new every day.
The black "patches" shown by William Hogarth in the 18th century are the marks of advanced syphillis and emblematic of a depraved and degenerate lifestyle. See The Rake's Progress, or Marriage Ala Mode. I believe that the consensus is that syphillis originated in the Americas and was brought back to Europe. Montezuma's revenge for smallpox.
Still, pigment contrast is a function skin color. There is no "equity" possible. White-skinned people can get tattoos of any color and they will be easily seen, while dark-skinned people can basically choose between black and red. And even still they'll be hard to see.
A young supermarket checkout girl was sporting a couple of pink ones the other week. They looked cute on her.
I still get a spot or two at my overripe middle age; I just put toothpaste on them before I go to bed. Works like a charm.
When I was a teen it wouldn't have taken a patch- it would have taken a bag over the head.
"I have a MOLE????"
"Barry Lyndon" was full of them.
Weren't Clara Bow and Jean Harlow thought to have painted on false moles to enhance their allure? Marilyn had quite a mole, too, although her thing about it was just not to hide it.
One male equivalent comes in the black under-eye facepaint of athletes. Once believed to be anti-glare for baseball outfielders, it shows up in more and more places. And with less and less likelihood of having any function except as Indian warpaint. Believe I've seen it on some football players under their helmets.
I hear chess players like it, too. Some lawyers. Hasn't arrived at the doctors yet.
Puritans and Cromwell govern England for awhile, get thrown out, flee to America to escape persecution, burn witches in Salem. I wonder what Cromwell would think about the 2024 Puritans, cancelling people for not using the right pronouns.
Yikes!
Another trap for the unwary husband. "Do these blemish patches make me look syphillitic?"
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