This recipe presents simply with only 3 ingredients, egg whites, lemon juice, and essential oil of your choice. But the idea of rubbing barely cooked egg on myself then leaving it caused me to be a bit squeamish about it (I’m going to have some major problems when it comes to the veal lotion later on in the book). I was also hesitant because of the description of earlier versions on ‘varnishes for the skin’ the Elizabethan version in particular being regarded as a sticky shiny mask created with a similar egg white concoction.
Anyway pressing on I prepped the first two ingredients and mixed them in the pan. The recipe calls for an earthenware pan which I don’t have nor plan to invest in so I substituted a non stick modern pan, please excuse the inaccuracy. At first look the mixture had gained a scum on top even before heating.
Cooking the mix was to be done over a slow heat while constantly stirring with a wooden spoon until it reached a soft butter consistency. This took only about 10 minutes; the first picture was snapped at about 4 minutes in.
Achieving the full thicken consistency was harder, after about 6 minutes in the liquid had turned into what looked and acted like a failed Italian meringue or seven minute icing, lightly fluffy with some small lumps.
After taking off the heat the mixture firmed slightly and thickly coated the spoon.
(please excuse the candle, we lost power about half way through the recipe)The recipe called for the face (or wrist in this case) to be washed with Water of Rice then the egg mixture to have the essential oil added (this had no effect on the texture) then applied to the washed body part.
Smoothing the varnish on felt like applying a thin slightly oily lotion, a little of it when a very long way, of the amount shown in the picture about half was removed after I realized I put way too much on.
Skin rinsed with rice water.
Applying varnish.
All smoothed in.
Once absorbed the varnish felt almost exactly like modern silicone based makeup primers or BB creams.
The recipe claims it whitens and smoothes the skin I would have to say the smoothing part is quite true. The whiteness however is only changed very slightly and it has a slightly chalky pale cast but you can only tell on areas that crease near the wrist. Even on someone of a lighter complexion the effect is not strong. Hypothetically lemon could lighten skin slightly but the sensitization caused might put someone at a greater risk of sun tanning or burning, the lemon though would help reduce the effects of oxidation of the skin after washing so the skin might appear ‘clearer’ and ‘brighter’ like some modern vitamin C serum applications. I think the egg (also used as a common modern face mask ingredient) definitely helps to create a smooth surface and slightly dry out the skin.
Overall this recipe turned out quite well, the fact that this turned out to be almost an eighteenth century equivalent of a makeup primer is interesting.
P.s. The varnish lasted for 2 days unrefrigerated without spoiling or growing mold, really it just started to smell like yogurt.
P.p.s. I found a very similar modern interpretation of this recipe in a book called ‘Jude’s Herbal Home Remedies’ it claims it brightens the skin.
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