Tanned skin, exaggerated features, Real Housewifey-ness—these are the markers of mainstream beauty ideals in the West. But in the Far East, a small red mouth, big eyes and ultra-pale skin (call it imperial princess-ness) have long ensconced the aesthetic ideal.
As the Metropolitan Museum of Art peers through the looking glass of Chinese fashion design for this year's Met Gala and exhibition with The Costume Institute, we take a look back at the beauty innovations and ideals that have come to shape Chinese beauty (spoiler alert: Flash tattoos weren't created for Coachella).
1760 BCE: What's known today as blush originated with a red pigment, called yanzhi, which was produced from safflower and used in the Zhou, Shang and Han periods as rouge to brighten the face. Now, Chinese super Liu Wen sports a rosy cheek as a staple of her signature look.
25: Today's must-have beauty product for even the most low maintenance of people has roots deeply planted in Chinese culture. Ancient texts show that lip balms and so-called mouth balms were created and used in the Han Dynasty (25-220 CE).
618: In Hollywood, prepping an actor's face for the stage means accentuating her best features at all costs. But with Chinese Opera, one of the oldest dramatic art forms in the world, a performer's makeup is designed to reveal more than a button nose or sparkling eyes—it symbolizes the type of character being played. White and yellow face paint can signal a dubious character, red indicates a loyal character and black represents a fearless warrior.
618: Think flash tattoos are new? Think again. In the Tang Dynasty (618-906 CE), a seven-step beautification process for fashionable Chinese women included applying powder, darkening eyebrows, painting dimples and applying shiny gold foil to the forehead. Today, festival style keeps the look alive.
2006: Pale skin has long aligned with the Chinese beauty ideal. Where women previously used powders to get the effect of lightened skin, today, they use a combination of disciplined sun protection and skin care that's infused with ingredients to help lighten skin. In 2006, more skin-whitening products were introduced than in the four years prior. Now, more than 80 percent of lotions and creams found in grocery stores and pharmacies across the Pacific contain chemicals to protect from sun damage and lighten skin tone.
2015: This is "The Year of the Chinese Mask," according to beauty trade publication CosmeticsDesign-Asia. And it's not referring to ancient totems popular in the culture. An explosion of skin-care masks designed to lighten, lift, hydrate and create volume in the face are hitting the Eastern market at rapid fire, and the innovation is boundary pushing. Since skin-care trends of late tend to flow from East to West, look for iterations like 3-D masks, and those made from bio-cellulose, 24-karat gold dust and lace to further proliferate stateside.