Pale white skin along with rouge cheeks and blue eyes was considered quintessential beauty of the European Middle Ages and snow-white skin, lightly rose coloured cheeks and dark-brown eyes was the beauty ideals of curvy women of the Renaissance period.
Researchers have found that men are subconsciously attracted to fairer skin due to its association with purity, innocence, modesty and goodness, while women feel that darker complexions are associated with sex, virility and danger.
A high forehead, blonde hair, pale skin and long neck were all characteristics that were ideal for women to have. What is this? Women would go as far as plucking their hairline to achieve their high hairline.
Talking about white, the color is associated with purity, virtue, trust, cleanliness and wisdom. Many experts feel that our basic psychology associated with color white could be a key factor why we find fair skin more attractive.
During the Italian Renaissance, it was the wife's duty to reflect her husband's status, both in behavior and outward appearance. A full body, light hair and light skin all were thought of as the superior indications of beauty.
Generally, the fashionable lady's look for the bulk of the medieval period was as follows- high forehead, plucked eyebrows, small even teeth, a fair complexion, long neck, narrow chest, low sloping shoulders, high small waist and in some cases, a prominent stomach.
Clear faces, bright eyes and tinted lips were desirable, but everything had to look natural. It was believed that cheeks painted with blush had to look flushed, and lips had to look bitten rather than painted.
According to researchers at Penn State University, translucent Irish can thank a genetic code inherited from a single person around 10,000 years ago. A native of either India or the Middle East, carrying the skin pigmentation gene logged as SLC24A5, passed it to the people of Ireland through his ancestors.
Frisby analyzed the responses and discovered that participants, of whom 45 were Caucasian and 34 were African American, found the light brown skin tone most attractive.
Women in a recent experiment preferred men with yellower and redder skin tones, both of which can signal good health, a crucial factor in choosing a mate, scientists say.
For the U.S., the average for men and women came a bit older than the mean, with 31 being the most beautiful age for women, and 34 for being the most beautiful for men.
Ancient Greek females also had body ideals to follow, softly shapen with rounded buttocks, long, wavy hair and a gentle face. In a time where many lived in poverty, to be larger and to carry extra fat on your body showed that you had wealth and could afford to eat to your satisfaction.
1980s: Eighties era fitness model body
The goal was tall, tanned and thin, but slightly athletic looking, with toned bodies, smaller waists and narrower hips popular among women. This decade also saw a noticeable spike in anorexia, potentially due to the new infatuation with exercise regimes and workout videos.
Pale white skin along with rouge cheeks and blue eyes was considered quintessential beauty of the European Middle Ages and snow-white skin, lightly rose coloured cheeks and dark-brown eyes was the beauty ideals of curvy women of the Renaissance period.
Considering the detrimental effects that the sun can have on our skin, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that lighter skin tones typically ages faster than darker ones. “More photoaging occurs in pale skin, as there is less protection from UV damage,” explains Dr. Alexa B.
Pale skin can be a sign that you have a shortage of normal red blood cells (anemia), which means that less oxygen is delivered to your body. This can be from a nutritional deficiency, blood loss, or a blood cancer like leukemia. Other causes of pale skin include low blood pressure or infection.
It's no secret that Irish people are some of the palest – if not the palest – people in the world. When the hot weather hits, and temperatures soar, the Irish feel it the most on that pale skin from the land of the Celts.
Areas like Scandinavia and Siberia have very low concentrations of ultraviolet radiation, and indigenous populations are all light-skinned.
The rarest skin color in the world is believed to be the white from albinism, a genetic mutation that causes a lack of melanin production in the human body. Albinism affects 1 in every 3,000 to 20,000 people. What is this? People with albinism usually have very pale or colorless skin, hair, and eyes.
Asian and black skin has thicker and more compact dermis than white skin, with the thickness being proportional to the degree of pigmentation. This likely contributes to the lower incidence of facial rhytides in Asians and blacks.
Many scientists have believed that lighter skin gradually arose in Europeans starting around 40,000 years ago, soon after people left tropical Africa for Europe's higher latitudes.
It ranges from brownish or darker olive to moderate brown, typical Mediterranean skin tones. This skin type rarely burns and tans easily. Type V pigmentation is frequent among populations from the Middle East, parts of the Mediterranean, Romani people, parts of Africa, Latin America, and the South Asian subcontinent.
Prevailing ideals of beauty
In 1722, 'Thirty Marks of a Fine Woman' declared that the ideal lady was slim and blonde, with broad buttocks, small breasts, a small nose, and red lips.
The ideal Victorian woman was pure, chaste, refined, and modest. This ideal was supported by etiquette and manners. The etiquette extended to the pretension of never acknowledging the use of undergarments (in fact, they were sometimes generically referred to as "unmentionables").
Victorian Era 1837-1901
In short, their expectations included the pale, frail, weak look, with a larger bust and a plumper figure. But make sure to finish off your look with a corset. As long as you fit these criteria, you are a perfect Victorian-era lady. Just don't look too hearty or strong, and you're good to go.