Random Phenomenally Stupid Beauty Trends From Around The World During Victorian Era (9 items)

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  (#7) Mercury Was An Important Ingredient In Eye Paints

  Women were supposed to call attention to their eyes, according to Victorian beauty trends. This was done by painting eyeliner and eye shadow onto their faces. However, these eye paints contained mercury, lead, and antimony oxide, all of which are dangerous to the body. Mercury, for example, can cause kidney damage, antimony oxide is a carcinogen. 
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  (#6) They Ate Arsenic Complexion Wafers

  Purposely eating a wafer containing arsenic is unheard of in this day and age. No such thing would make it onto store shelves unless it was sold as rat poison. But, in the Victorian Era, before people realized such things were dangerous and prior to the Food and Drug Administration, things like arsenic wafers were sold and consumed by women who wanted pale, translucent skin. 
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  (#3) Facial Makeup Contained Lead And Radium

  The ideal upper class Victorian woman had facial skin that was unblemished and as white as possible. If their skin was imperfect, they applying lotions, face paints, and even powders. The only problem was this makeup contained things like lead and radium. Of course, they didn't realize lead could cause severe poisoning when leached into the skin, or that radium was radioactive. 
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  (#2) Women Bathed In Arsenic

  Arsenic, which we now know is a dangerous poison, caused a woman's skin to become very pale. This was the beauty ideal, as upper class women didn't need to go outside and work in the garden - they had servants to do that for them. In order to make all of their skin extremely pale, women would go (under a parasol to prevent the sun's rays from hitting them, of course) to special spas that had arsenic spring baths. 
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  (#9) Hoop Skirts Caused Deadly Falls And Other Problems

  Hoop skirts were the rage among upper class Victorian women. When combined with a corset, they created an exaggerated hourglass figure. However, maneuvering in a hoop skirt wasn't easy, especially when going up and down the steep, slanted staircases in most Victorian houses. Tripping over the hem of the skirt and falling down the stairs could have deadly consequences. So could walking too close to an open flame - in the days before electric lights became commonplace, candles were used for light indoors. The flammable fabrics of the day, when combined with wide skirts, made for hazardous conditions. 
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  (#8) They Administered Nightshade Eye Drops

  Nightshade is considered to be one of the most poisonous plants in the world. It also causes the pupils of the eyes to dilate, or become larger. Women during the Victorian Age believed that large pupils were more attractive, so they would place nightshade drops in their eyes before going out. 

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