Roman Poet Ovid Had a Thing or Two to Say About Skincare

​Roman philosopher poet Ovid was also something of an agony aunt. In Medicamina Faciei Femineae or Cosmetics for the Female Face, he wrote a 100-line guide to five lotions and potions for the socialite set of 2,000 years ago. Problem skin? Ovid has you covered.

Vetches, and beaten barley, let ’em take,
And with the whites of eggs a mixture make;
Then dry the precious paste with sun and wind
And into powder very gently grind.
Get hart’s-horn next (but let it be the first
That creature sheds), and beat it well to dust.
Six pound in all; then mix and sift ’em well.
Two ounces next of gum, and thural seed,
That for the gracious gods does incense breed,
And let a double share of honey last succeed.
With this whatever damsel paints her face,
Will need no flattering glass to show a grace.