Some people are shocked to discover that Victorian ladies used nail polish! What was their favorite color, you may ask? Well, sad to say, "nail polish" in this case does not mean the brightly colored cosmetic we know by that name today. Colored nail lacquers of the type we now use were not invented till the 1920s: they resulted from repurposing certain advances made in the technology of automobile paint.
Victorian style nail lacquer was clear, and was meant to just add shine. These mixtures could apparently be rather sticky and inclined to cake up if they were poorly applied. Beauty books of the time lament the apparently common sight of pretty nails ruined by gummy buildup from bad manicures. 1/2 ounce tincture of benzoin mixed with 1/2 ounce alcohol was one suggested recipe for the varnish, with the advice to use two coats: "The resulting light gloss will remain on for at least a day." Another liquid nail polish was made from 15 grams mastic resin, 2 grams sea salt, 1.5 grams rosin, 1.5 grams alum and 1.5 grams yellow wax, which would be melted together -- a mixture similar to the varnish that an artist would use to give an oil painting its final coat.
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