Medicamina Faciei Femineae

Amphorae, scented body oil, perfume bottles (unguentarium), rose petals and a figurine, all from Ancient Rome.

Medicamina Faciei Femineae (Cosmetics for the Female Face, also known as The Art of Beauty) is a didactic poem written in elegiac couplets by the Roman poet Ovid. In the hundred extant verses, Ovid defends the use of cosmetics by Roman women and provides five recipes for facial treatments. Other writers at the time condemned women's usage of cosmetics.