you might be wondering, what exactly is the wine – flush makeup? Why was this kind of makeup so popular in ancient times? It looks like there’s a big red patch on the face, as if someone got hit. Why did this kind of aesthetic appeal to people back then? You may get some inspiration after reading this blog.

Ⅰ. What is the Wine – Flush Makeup?

This isn’t actually a sign of being hit. This makeup style is called the “wine – flush makeup (酒晕妆)”. As the name suggests, it makes the face look like it has a blush from drinking alcohol. The bold and intense “red makeup” became the mainstream of facial makeup as women showed more confidence and independence. It was so popular that many noble ladies even applied rouge to their entire cheeks, including the upper eyelids and even half of their ears and lower jaws. Such boldness and preference for red was a popular makeup style during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian and in the prosperous Tang Dynasty (and even during the Five Dynasties period). This kind of wine – flush makeup was rare in other dynasties.

In Records of the Dressing Table (《妆台记》), it is clearly written: “For a beauty’s makeup, after applying powder on the face, mix rouge evenly in the palm and apply it to both cheeks. The intense version is called the ‘wine – flush makeup’; the lighter one is the ‘peach – blossom makeup’; apply a thin layer of vermilion and cover it with powder, which is the ‘flying – rosy – clouds makeup’.” It can be seen that the wine – flush makeup is the most extreme among them. It is also known as the “rouge – flush makeup” or the “drunken makeup”.

In the paintings of ladies in the Tang Dynasty, the “wine – flush makeup” on the ladies’ faces mostly extended to their eyebrows and lower jaws. This color is also known as “ochre – red (渥赭色)” in traditional colors, which is a deep red. In traditional Chinese painting, ochre can be made by mixing cinnabar and ink. The idiom “as red as ochre – red (赫如渥赭)” means that a person’s complexion is ruddy, as if dyed with a thick layer of cinnabar.​

Ⅱ. The Eastern Contouring Method​

Some people interpret the most prominent feature of classical makeup as “red makeup”, and using “red” to point out the characteristics of classical makeup actually makes some sense. From our modern perspective, it seems like heavy makeup, but at that time, it was precisely a contouring method. Red makeup had two functions. One was to enhance the skin tone, making it look healthier and more ruddy. The other was to fill in the blank areas of the face, making the entire makeup more atmospheric and full.

In the middle of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, thick eyebrows were once paired with the wine – flush makeup. This might be even more difficult for modern people to accept in terms of aesthetics. However, one of the biggest functions of this makeup style was to make a woman look very healthy, wealthy, generous, and unique.​

In the makeup steps of the Tang Dynasty:

applying face powder → evening out the red color / applying rouge → drawing eyebrows → applying lipstick → pasting flower ornaments and dotting moles → drawing oblique red (the order of the makeup – related parts can be adjusted, and there are different versions).

Evening out the red color was the most important step in red makeup, which was a bit similar to our modern step of applying blush. However, in modern makeup steps, many people skip applying blush, thinking it’s too showy for daily life. It’s just that we don’t know much about it and thus can’t handle it well. After all, in ancient times, there was no such thing as contour cream. By applying some blush, some minor flaws on the face could be ignored.​

The importance of red makeup can be seen from its annotations in later generations. Red makeup is regarded as a woman’s grand makeup and generally refers to “beautiful women”. Some literati also use it to describe flowers that are in full bloom. It can be said that it has extended different meanings. In fact, from women beautifying themselves for those they love to living for themselves, it is a process in which women bloom like flowers in a grand way.​

Ⅲ. Western Rouge Makeup​

It’s not just in the East that there is a pursuit of a ruddy complexion. In the 18th century, noblewomen also loved to apply thick rouge on their pale skin. Although many of the raw materials used to make rouge contained heavy metals like mercury and lead, which were harmful to the body, this couldn’t stop ladies’ enthusiasm for rouge. By 1781, French ladies consumed two million pots of rouge each year. Rouge was usually in powder form and was contained in small and delicate rouge boxes. Ladies used the attached woolen brushes to apply the rouge on the cheeks below the eyelids. Compared to modern blush, the rouge in the 18th century needed to be applied over a wider area and in a more intense color.

For modern makeup reference, we definitely don’t need to make it as bright red as before. But appropriately spreading the blush can not only add a touch of classical charm to the overall makeup but also fill in and modify the face shape. It’s also a makeup technique. The makeup transformations of Lu Yuxiao (卢昱晓) and others mainly adopted this kind of makeup method that creates an ambience.

Summary​

In fact, whether it’s the wine – flush makeup in ancient China or the thick rouge in the West, they all reflect humanity’s tireless pursuit of beauty and preference for a healthy, ruddy complexion. Modern people use the “tipsy makeup”, which has less impact on the body and is lighter, to show their unique beauty. Since it’s also inspired by the drunk look, it seems that people really love the ruddy complexion after getting drunk. Of course, this technique is suitable for women with more “blank space” on their faces. If you already have a small face, don’t over – do the makeup. It’s better to do subtraction rather than addition. I hope you can also have your own suitable “red makeup”.