Fashion

5 Ancient Beauty Looks You'll Want To Recreate

by Courtney Mina

As a fashionista, I am constantly looking for beauty and fashion inspiration everywhere and anywhere, but one of my favorite places to go for some serious beauty inspo is back in time. Upon doing a little research, I have discovered some ancient beauty looks you'll want to recreate in 2015.

In the contemporary world, people are obsessed with everything new; and beauty is no exception. We are constantly looking for new miracle products that keep us young and beautiful, new trends that keep us current, and new looks that keep us interesting. It's a bit like running a race that never ends. But it's a race most of us continue to run, regardless.

So why the obsession with newness? We are so quick to jump from one thing to the next, aren't we? In the blink of an eye, we get bored and tired with one thing, and begin to crave and desire something else. But what if nothing was ever really “new“ to begin with? In reality, most of the beauty (and fashion) trends that exist now are just different versions of something we've already done before, as stylists today are constantly being inspired by preexisting historical beauty looks. They simply recreate a contemporary look inspired by one whose tale is as old as time.

Beauty inspiration is most definitely recycled over the years, and what's actually so awesome about the beauty industry is that it embraces all sorts of unique “looks“ from varying eras of time. A 1920s style is perfect for an elegant dinner and evening out. A 1950s pinup look is perfect for everyday wear now (for those of us who are committed enough). But then again, so is a simple Bohemian, '70s-inspired look. And if you're looking to go out clubbing and dancing, don't forget to dress with a little '80s and '90s flare!

With fashion and beauty looks being constantly recycled and re-imagined, let's take a look at five seriously gorgeous ancient beauty looks that you will definitely want to recreate in 2015:

1. Ancient Egyptian

The ancient Egyptians valued dark hair, dark lips, and dark eyes when it came to the beauty ideal. They dyed their hair black, used the juice of berries and crushed insects to color their lips, and sported kohl to line their eyes. The look is intense, bold, and extremely sultry.

Today, you can recreate the same style (sans the dangerous cosmetic ingredients, of course) by donning some dark tresses, putting on some lippie, and working that smoky eye.

2. Ancient Greek

The ancient Greeks weren't too crazy about makeup, but they were obsessed with hair.

A more natural face with tons of curly (preferably golden and spiral-curled), luxurious locks is the way to go when recreating an ancient Greek beauty look that's both natural and youthful.

3. Medieval European

In Europe during the Middle Ages, women tended to wear very little/next to no makeup (perhaps a little lip balm, but nothing else) and their hair was often covered or hidden (if you were a God-fearing woman, that is. Only young, unmarried women and sex workers wore their hair loose and flowing). The most popular way to wear one's hair was to braid it. Intricate braids were woven and then twisted around the head in creative ways, and then usually adorned with hair accessories such as pearls, flowers, and other such jewels.

Depending on the intricacy of the braids, a “crown braid“ is definitely a look you can recreate for yourself today (and makes an especially gorgeous style for hot weather).

4. Grand Century French

Between the 17th and 18th centuries in France (during those grand days of Louis XIV through to Marie Antoinette), fashion and beauty were at the height of importance. Everything was large, bold, expensive, grand, and heavy. Makeup was applied heavily to the face, one would lighten skin with powder, darken brows and lashes, rouge cheeks and lips, and apply dark patches to accentuate the facial features. Hair (when it wasn't a wig) was worn powdered, dyed, curled, and teased into a grand up-do, adorned with all sorts of hair accessories (feathers, jewels, flowers, and toys, to name a few).

Today, you can recreate this look by coiffing up your hair into a big, teased, curly dream. Optional: Fasten on a feather, bow, flower, or other fun hair accessory. You can also feel free to rock light or pastel hair (as per the historical trend). When it comes to makeup, make sure to have an even-toned face (lightening powder isn't necessary, but rather aim for a balanced skin tone), some blush on your cheeks, some color on your lips (if you want to go all-out), and make sure to draw on a little beauty mark somewhere on your face (I highly recommend going for a heart, but that's just me).

5. Victorian Era

In the Victorian era, beauty went back to being a little more natural. Makeup wasn't worn much at all, and hair was usually curled a little around the face with the majority of it tied back in a bun. The “Gibson Girl“ look was made popular during this era (which is basically the original “messy bun“), where hair is left big and voluminous around the head and the remaining length of the hair is fastened into a bun.

This look is a gorgeous one to recreate today, and can go from casual (hello sexy librarian) to a more dressy, elegant style.

Images: 20th Century Fox; Mimmo JodiceCorbis/The Daily Mail; HBO; ChrisGoldberg/Flickr; The CW; stylishious, eleanorherman, aveda, punkedits_for_u, houseoffindings/Twitter