Egyptian beauty secrets of Cleopatra uncovered!

Cleopatra's beauty is legendary. Cicero wrote of her in the first century BC:

"Her character, which pervaded her actions in an inexplicable way when meeting people, was utterly spellbinding. The sound of her voice was sweet when she talked."

There is no doubt that the woman with whom both Caesar and Marc Anthony fell in love with was beautiful. But what were her ancient Egyptian beauty secrets? Well, it has been said that Cleopatra's beauty secret was bathing in milk and honey. Even ancient Egyptians apparently understood the benefits of these wonderful ingredients...the lactic acid in milk and the wonderful antiseptic and humectant properties of honey.

You, too, can feel like the Queen of the Nile. Just add some whole milk or milk powder and some honey to your bathwater. Also, try using goat's milk, as it is the only milk that contains capric-capryllic triglyceride which helps to moisturize and soften.

Ancient Egyptian women also cleansed their bodies with a paste made from natron and water. A modern day version of this is simply to mix baking soda with water.

Archeologists have uncovered tombs of three ladies of the court of Tuthmosis III that contained jars of cleansing cream in them. The cream was reportedly a mixture of oil and lime.

Sea salts, especially those from the Dead Sea were also prized by Egyptians. A prescription for a body scrub found in medical papyri is as follows:

1 part honey
1 part natron (use baking soda)
1 part Lower Egyptian salt (use bath salts or Dead Sea salts)
Grind to a paste and rub into the body.

For a wonderfully authentic ancient aroma, add a drop of frankincense and myrrh essential oils as these were treasured scents of the ancient Egytians. Feel free to add honey to this mixture, as well. Scrub your body with this paste and let it sit for a few minutes as you relax and enjoy before rinsing clean.



Another remedy that was found is reported to effectively treat wrinkles:

1 part gum of frankincense
1 part wax
1 part moringa oil
1 part cyperus grass

Grind finely and mix with fermented plant juice. Apply daily.

Now, obviously, these are not ingredients that the average person has lying around, so try adding instead a few drops of frankincense oil to some olive or sweet almond oil. Frankincense is supposed to be the key ingredient in this anti-wrinkle solution. Frankincense is also reported to be very effective for diminishing scars.

As far as cosmetics in ancient Egypt go, the almond-shaped black kohl-lined eyes of beautiful Egyptian women are a trademark. Green malachite was also a popular Egyptian eyepaint. Luckily, we can easily achieve this look today with black kohl eyeliner pencils and green eye shadows. However, even the ancient Egyptians knew the real secret to beautiful eyes, as one young Egyptian girl noted in a poem to her loved one:

"Like eyepaint is my desire. When I see you, it makes my eyes sparkle."

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