The Veiled Hour: Beauty Through Time, Volume 1 (Egypt and Tang China)

How did ordinary women make themselves up 3,500 and 1,200 years ago? Volume 1 follows two imagined women, a working woman in Thebes (about 1490 to 1470 BCE) and a court lady in Tang China (late 8th to early 9th century), through the real museum objects behind their routines: a stone kohl jar and applicator, a silver cosmetic box, a mirror, and safflower rouge.

Every chapter separates what is documented (with museum references and sources) from what is imagined. All illustrations are AI-made and labelled as such.

Includes two chapters, film-style plates, documented vs imagined tables, safety notes and source lists. Digital PDF, instant download. No recipes: some historic cosmetics contained toxic lead or mercury.