A Pomatum for the Lips
An 18th century lip balm recreated from the 1711 English edition of Nicolas Lémery’s Arcana Curiosa, or, Modern Curiosities of Art and Nature.
Handmade in small batches, these 1/4 oz. all-natural, delicately scented but strongly moisturizing balms come in two (mostly!) historically accurate varieties — sweet almond oil and coconut oil. Each balm has individual flourished labels and shipped in kraft-paper packaging — all so you can experience life as a member of the late-Renaissance gentry, receiving a delivery from your favorite apothecary.
I typically sell individual balms for $4.50 each, $8 for two (to try both varieties); contact me if interested in a larger number and/or a shipping estimate.
Special orders available, and preorders encouraged due to small batch numbers! Keep reading for more information about this balm…
Ingredients List for Arcana Curiosa 278 (version 3.0)
- sweet almond oil or coconut oil (depending on variety chosen)
- beeswax
- orange-flower water
- arrowroot powder
While I haven’t found the balm requires any preservative, there’s an earlier version I made with a natural, broad-spectrum preservative that can be added to this one. (You can read about the preservative I’ve used here.)
Why does it say “version 3.0”?
Because historical recipes don’t write down everything — much like modern recipes don’t always tell you “how” to fold in the cheese! — recreating these recipes requires a lot of trial and error. I’m always looking to perfect this balm, and I love to experiment with different variations on the process and the ingredients, so the numbers may keep moving up.
All balms are labeled with their version number — if you find that I’ve moved on to the next variation, but you love the one you have, just let me know! Because I work in small batches, I can easily remake the version you want to keep on hand.
Working from the original
One of the things I love about recreating these recipes is that it’s something that I, with no real training except a love of history, can do on my own — and so can you! There are new historical recipe books being digitized daily, available online for free. Arcana Curiosa 278 got its name from the book I found it in and the page number I found it on — I encourage you to look for yourself and explore this book and beyond!
Working from my example
Like I said above, the road to experimental archaeology is one of trial and error (mostly error!). Anyone can start experimenting like me — to learn more about how I recreated this balm, or see what further research I do, you can find my write-ups here: Regarding the lip pomatum.
Historically “Inaccurate” (and related safety warnings)
While I have a lot of fun recreating these recipes and I hope you enjoy them as well, here are some important reminders:
- Some historical ingredients are poisonous, difficult to source, or actually illegal to source, so most products I develop aren’t fully historically “accurate.” If I can’t omit the ingredient or find a reasonable alternative, I won’t be selling it.
- These products are created for entertainment and educational purposes only, in small batches in my studio and kitchen (and, therefore, under non-sterile-factory conditions where cross-contamination is possible). The safety of these products has not been determined; I self-test everything I sell, and I don’t sell things I don’t love, but keep your own safety in mind first.
- My interests tend to start with a fandom and then wander into my own little garden of hyperfixations — I found this particular recipe while looking at pre-1718 household manuals after enjoying the historical pirate romcom Our Flag Means Death. The coconut oil used in one of the versions of this pomatum — while not at all referenced in any extant recipe I can find — is nonetheless amusing enough for me to include as an ahistorical Easter egg for my fellow fans. Don’t rely solely on my ingredients lists as a historical source; if you have any questions or want to dig into what I may have changed, feel free to drop me a line!
Katherine Crighton 