“Your Companions Will Teach You”: Makers’ knowledge in Renaissance cosmetics recipes

Recent research on domestic experimentation has led to a re-evaluation of the role of women in early modern scientific culture. Frequent annotations to cosmetic recipe texts that dispute or confirm efficacy speaks to a culture of trial and error, appropriation and adaptation. Writers were equally aware of the limitations of text: an Italian 1562 book of cosmetic recipes urges women to ask for help from older female companions who have the hands-on knowledge that cannot be transmitted through print alone. Using an anti-wrinkle cream recipe as a case study, we argue that through reconstructing personal care recipes, historians can gain an insight into the sensorial world of the past, a world that is particularly associated with female identity and knowledge.