C-l-e-o-p-a-t-r-a! The name has intrigued many men and women for centuries and even today, the secrets of her beauty continue to amuse us all. Her beauty rituals were often touted as opulent and why not, she was a freaking queen who had Caesar and Antony dance to her tunes. Yes, she was a great seductress and some even say that she was a perfect combination of beauty and brains. Well, thankfully some of her beauty secrets are documented and it has become quite clear that she went great lengths to keep herself looking great.
One of her famous beauty secrets was to sleep with a golden mask on her face(yup, talk about indulgence!!!). Now since putting a gold mask on the face is something that could have been possible only in those times, I will tell you some other beauty rituals that can be followed to achieve the beauty she was proud of! Read on…
Royal Baths
One of the most famous beauty secrets of Cleopatra was “milk and honey” bath. Cleopatra used to mix milk of a young donkey with fresh honey and almond oil. It’s said that while traveling, she used to take couple of donkeys with her, in case she wanted to take a bath(talk about opulence!!!). It has been proved that both donkeys and goat’s milk work very well for the skin. There is a reason we have goat milk soaps and other such stuff out there, honey! I am sure it won’t be long before we have donkey milk as the main ingredient.
Why It Worked
• Milk is rich in lactic acid. Some of the enzymes in milk may help skin in regeneration.
• Honey is a well known humectant and antiseptic that gives a subtle glow.
• Almond oil is rich in Vitamin A and E and again imparts a glow, while being rich in antioxidants it helps delay ageing.
How You Can Do It
Take half a cup honey and mix it with 3 cups of milk followed by one or two teaspoons of almond oil or any oil of your choice. Pour this mixture in your bathtub and immerse yourself into this all natural nourishing bath. Want to give it some exotic touch? Add some rose petals and enjoy.
Facial Masks and Creams
Her servants would fetch fresh Aloe Vera and mix it with honey. She applied this to her facial skin as a rejuvenating mask. She also used white clay masks mixed cucumber juice. She was known to apply a cream made with beeswax and frankincense gum as an anti-wrinkle cream.
Why It Worked
• Aloe Vera is soothing and has antibacterial properties. Helps to relieve tan and cools the skin.
• White clay has tightening effect and beeswax is immensely moisturizing.
• Frankincense has anti-wrinkle properties and helps in lightening of scars
How You Can Do It
Well, simply fetch some fresh Aloe Vera or if not possible, buy one from the market(one of the perks of living in the 21st century!). Mix it with honey. Apply and keep it for 15 minutes. Wash it and ta-da!
For anti-wrinkle mask, take multani mitti and add rose water to make a paste. Then, add 2-3 and not more drops of frankincense oil. Apply to your face and leave on till it is dry and then wash it off.
Body Scrubs
For better effect of the milk and honey bath, the servants of Cleopatra used to massage her body with an amazing, natural body scrub. You guessed it – sea salt. Her servants used to massage her body with thick cream mixed with sea salt.
Why It Worked
• Sea salt is a gentle, yet brilliant exfoliator for the skin while the cream would moisturize the skin preventing dryness from exfoliation.
How You Can Do it
Mix sea salt or sugar with cream to have the queen like experience or we have plenty of sea salt based body scrubs available in the market to indulge ourselves into.
Eye Care
Cleopatra used a mix of celery and hemp to achieve a great effect to keep her eyes looking bright and healthy.
Why It Worked
• Both have cooling properties and are immensely moisturizing.
How You Can Do It
Our good old cucumber will do the trick. Just put on some slices on your eyes or better still, dip cotton balls in cucumber juice and place them on your eyes.
Hair Care
She used henna and crushed juniper berries to her hair. She used olive and almond oil massages to keep her healthy.
Why It Worked
• Henna is a natural coloring substance and a great conditioner.
• Almond and olive oil deeply nourishing for hair roots.
How You Can Do It
Pretty easy! Pamper your hair with oil massages.
Perfumes
Cleopatra’s most favored fragrant perfumes were Rose, frankincense, cypress, neroli and myrrh essential oils (all aphrodisiacs!!!).
Well, now you know what all Cleopatra would indulge into in order to look like an absolute beauty all the time. I know, it is not possible to include all of her rituals in today’s life, but some of them are worth giving a try. I hope this post will help you figure out your own weekly indulgence ritual too.
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Atleast, my hair massage regime is like her. 😀
ahaha super post! I have always found the milk bath strange, as in why those animals
i do not know about donkey milk but goat milk is said to be more nutritious than that of cow. May be that’s why! 🙂
both donkey and goat milk are biochemically identical to human milk making them very rich in vitamins, minerals and trace elements. this rich composition makes them an excellent moisturiser with lot of anti ageing properties. 🙂
Really enjoyed this post Richu 😀 So will try to make the aloe vera and honey mask a habit 😀
its very rejuvenating Jasmine…you must try it 🙂
Awesome!!!
Amazing tips Richu! 🙂 I knew about the milk bath thing…which I will try when i will have a bath tub! 😀 Rest I can easilly follow…:)
haha…me too Bhawana 🙂
Hello,
I have booked Cleopatra salon in Chandigarh for wedding and pre bridal. I am very confused as they didn’t offered me any gold or diamond facial in my package. They have mentioned pure radiance and organic revitalize facial. I don’t know what the purpose of this facial and will this facial provide me bridal glow or not? please help me??