Though this article at Madame Isis's Toilette focuses on 18th century makeup, most of the stories about deadly lead and mercury cosmetics still hold true throughout the Victorian era. Check it out!

By the time of the Gibson Girls, the poisonous properties of lead makeup were known and it seems it was rarely being used anymore. Mercury complexion lotions were more common -- especially Gowland's Lotion, a popular skin lightener and freckle-remover.