This article was first published in 听
Before Helena Rubinstein, before Elizabeth Arden and before Estee Lauder, there was 鈥淢adame Rachel.鈥� What a fascinating story of rags to riches to 鈥� prison.
Sarah Rachel Russell was born in London鈥檚 poverty-stricken East End around 1815 and eked out a living by selling whatever she could get her hands on, from used clothes to potatoes and fried fish. Fortune began to smile on her when she realized that Victorian women were developing an appetite for improving their appearance in spite of the views of the Queen.
Queen Victoria, who ascended to the throne in 1837, was of the opinion that cosmetics were 鈥渋mpolite,鈥� 鈥渄eceptive鈥� and only appropriate for actors and prostitutes. Many women disagreed, and Madame Rachel 鈥� having pilfered the name from French actress Mademoiselle Rachelle, who wowed audiences in London with her stage performances 鈥� was ready to pounce. She had made some money as a procuress for her friend David Belasco鈥檚 brothel, which allowed her to open an oriental-themed beauty boudoir where she catered to the vanity of her aristocratic clients.
鈥淏eautiful For Ever鈥� was the sign emblazoned above the door of 47 New Bond St. in London where Madame Rachel, bedecked in lavish robes and jewelry, greeted customers in her opulent premises. They would then be ushered to the inner sanctum, where 鈥渄iscolourations from the complexion would be removed and their skin rendered fair, soft and brilliant.鈥�
Also removed would be significant amounts of cash from their purses.
Surely one would not expect 鈥淢agnetic Rock Dew of the Sahara brought to Morocco by swift dromedaries under special license from the Sultan鈥� to be cheap. Royal Arabian face cream, Circassia Golden Hair Wash and Honey of Mount Hymettus soap were also available at exorbitant prices, but it was really Madame Rachel鈥檚 blackmail schemes that filled her coffers. We鈥檒l get back to that, but first a glimpse at Madame Rachel鈥檚 offerings.
The specialty for which she became known was 鈥渆nameling鈥� of the face. Upper-class English women had long fancied a pale look to distinguish themselves from peasants whose skin had become coarse and tanned from working outdoors, and enameling brought this quest to a whole other level. The end result was a face that looked as if it had been sculpted out of white porcelain.
Madame Rachel kept the specifics of the process secret and claimed that it went beyond a temporary altering of appearance. It would lead to lasting beauty.
Since there were no 鈥渢ruth in advertising鈥� laws at the time, nor any regulations about cosmetic ingredients, Madame Rachel was free to make outrageous claims.
鈥淛ordan water, straight from the river鈥� was said to miraculously remove wrinkles. It might have come straight from the river, but the river would have been the Thames. Facial blemishes, she maintained, 鈥渃ould lead to a solitary life of celibacy, unloved, unblessed and ultimately unwept and unremembered.鈥�
But rescue was at hand: Madame Rachel鈥檚 methods would take care of those blemishes and produce 鈥渁 beauteous loveliness conducive to the happiness and connubial felicity of the fair and graceful being.鈥� That 鈥渓oveliness鈥� could come at a cost that was not just monetary.
The enameling process began with the removal of hair from the face with a pumice stone or tweezers. Then came 鈥渟kin peeling鈥� to remove dead skin cells, which was accomplished with such corrosive chemicals as dilute sulfuric or hydrocyanic acid. This was followed by the application of mercurous chloride (calomel) to remove age spots and freckles.
Mercury compounds do inhibit the production of melanin, the pigment that gives colour to skin, freckles and age spots by interfering with the enzyme tyrosinase, which catalyzes the formation of melanin from the amino acid tyrosine. This can cause cause skin bleaching and lightening of freckles and age spots, but mercury compounds can also be absorbed through the skin and cause kidney and neurological damage.
Arsenic trioxide can also interfere with melanin production. As a bonus, it can constrict small blood vessels in the skin to reduce the pinkish tone from blood flow, making skin look more pale. It was also included in the enameling formula. Finally, there was lead carbonate, an opaque, toxic white powder that when suspended in a mix of turpentine and spermaceti wax can be applied to fill in wrinkles.
After all that, the face that did indeed look as if it had been coated with enamel. At least until laughing or crying cracked the coating. And there was crying when it came to paying: the cost was 20 guineas, roughly equivalent to 3,000 pounds sterling today. Not a bad take for a hustler whose daughter composed ads because she could neither read nor write.
In the Victorian era, women carried purses, but the purse strings were controlled by their husbands. Madam Rachel was content to extend credit to her customers who could not pay immediately. They usually came to her without their husband鈥檚 knowledge and could therefore be threatened with exposure if they were unable to settle the debt. Madam Rachel was happy to let them pay with jewelry she then pawned.
However, in 1868, Mary Tucker Borradaile did something other clients did not have the courage to do. She sued Madam Rachel, accusing her of being a con artist. Borradaile was a widow who had been told by Rachel that a gentleman, Lord Ranelagh, was interested in her but that she must beautify herself if she were to capture him. She bit and kept paying for beauty treatments that were promised to ensure the desired result. Once she realized there was no romance to be had and Rachel kept trying to extort money from her, she went to the authorities.
The first trial ended up in a hung jury, but a retrial led to a prison sentence.
This made for great tabloid fodder, replete with antisemitic tropes because Madame Rachel was Jewish. After being released, she went back to her old ways until another victim, Cecilia Pearce, accused her not only of blackmail but also of causing a terrible skin rash with one of her lotions. Once again it was off to court, where a chemist provided forensic evidence stating that the lotion had enough acid to damage the skin. Five years in Milbank Prison was the sentence.
Madame Rachel would never again fleece women by promising eternal beauty. After serving just two years behind bars, she encountered a different kind of eternity.
