Contents
In the second half of the Medicamina Faciei Femineae, Ovid displays his command of the poet's art in taking a practical manual replete with technical details and transforming it into effective verse. Despite the facetious nature of the introduction, the five recipes included in the final 50 lines seem to be genuine, or at least plausible, cosmetic treatments. A representative example is a mixture of barley, vetch, egg, hartshorn, narcissus bulb, gum, Tuscan spelt, and honey. Ovid promises that any woman who uses this concoction on her face "will shine smoother than her own mirror."
The majority of the ingredients Ovid prescribes are in fact effective skin treatments, and several, such as oatmeal, wheat germ and egg white, are still used in the manufacture of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals today. On this point, Ovid contrasts favorably with the Roman natural philosopher Pliny the Elder, whose compendious treatment of facial remedies often includes exotic, poisonous, or disgusting ingredients.
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