Introduction To Gothic Horror and Victorian Beauty Ideals

My current understanding of gothic horror and Victorian beauty is fairly limited. Initially I thought about what the terms mean in today's contemporary society; e.g. 'gothic' and 'horror' tend to refer to dark and quite scary things, for example, the picture below. Although I am currently unsure as to whether this is the actual meaning of the term. 

http://www.gopixpic.com/550/30-horror-gothic-scary-wallpapers/http:%7C%7Ccdn*imagepush*to%7Cin%7C625x2090%7Ci%7C3%7C36%7C364%7C52*jpg/

Upon researching gothic horror I found that it is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Once I felt I had a basic understanding of the title of our project, I began to move on. I then started looking into the Victorians... 

My initial thoughts about the Victorians are that it is quite similar to the Elizabethan's idea of beauty, but slightly more toned down and natural, so at first, I do not necessarily associate the two together (Victorians and gothic horror). As I do not have a lot of knowledge of the subjects, I have decided to research existing definitions of gothic horror and Victorian beauty ideals using books and sources from the internet.

Many would say that the Victorian era was about modesty and natural beauty. Women of higher class practiced restraint with their makeup. Although many still used powder to tone down shine and give the skin a lustrous glow, it was used sparingly. Even eye shadows and lipsticks were very pale in tone and carefully applied - Eyeshadows were made with lead and antimony sulfide, lipsticks with mercuric sulfide and on the cheeks, beet juice was applied. Eyebrows were also plucked. Bold colors and heavy makeup application was initially considered taboo and was used only by prostitutes and actresses. The use of cosmetics actually became controversial with many religions banning them as immoral or labelling them as “the tools of the devil”. 

http://beautifulwithbrains.com/2010/08/06/beauty-in-the-victorian-age/

Makeup may not have been very used, but DIY skincare recipes made at home with ingredients found in the kitchen were still very popular. Creams were made using mostly natural ingredients. Tonics were mixtures of water and scents of roses, lilies or violets, while creams were made with waxes, almond oil and scents.

Website references: 

http://www.thebeautybiz.com/87/article/history/beauty-through-ages-victorians

http://beautifulwithbrains.com/2010/08/06/beauty-in-the-victorian-age/

Book references:
H.Gibbs-Smith, C. (1960) The Fashionable Lady in The 19th Century
Harris, K. (1995) Victorian & Edwardian Fashions For Women