Hairstyles and makeup have been a significant part of culture for centuries. It has changed with each era, decade or artistic style. The difference can be as small as a change in the shape of the eyeliner or it can be a complete change in a person's appearance. What was considered beautiful in the Renaissance was absolutely obsolete 100 years after this era. In this essay I will talk about hair and makeup in the Renaissance. It all began in Italy, home of the greatest artists of the time. The first section of my essay will be about Italy and how people were changing their natural appearance by using various products. In the second section I will move to Northern Europe to explore this topic a little more and see how much fashion set in Italy has changed. In the third section I will look at what was happening in Britain and compare the Elizabethan hair and makeup style with the Continental style. Italy has always been a cultural capital, at least in the eyes of people who taught me history and art. Majestic buildings, extraordinary paintings, impressive statues - this is only a fraction of what has been created in Italy. The Renaissance is a unique era, after Gothic art strictly controlled by the Christian Church; people are turning their gaze away from God and God alone and also turning their gaze upon themselves. Leonardo Da Vinci studies anatomy and people try to look their best. Portraits of real people return after years and years of portraying God and emperors. This did not mean that people were satisfied with their natural appearance and tried to look better; however, applying lipsticks and other forms of makeup was only supposed to enhance one's natural beauty1. If I look at the tr...... middle of the card......half gothic style, but it's really nice to see the transition. The woman's skin is very pale, she most likely used one of the dangerous substances widespread in Italy to appear like this. The rest of the look is very bare, no eye makeup or blush visible. His eyebrows are also lighter than his hair. Some sources suggest that eyebrows in the Renaissance were completely plucked. Eyelashes were ideally short and sparse. In another Northern European portrait by Jan Van Eyck we can see a man. This portrait shows that men had a lot of freedom when it came to deciding on their beard. In the images above we can see a man with a full beard, a group of men with pointed goatees and this painting depicts a clean-shaven man. His eyebrows are also sparse and this portrait also demonstrates that turbans and headdresses were not just for women.