Matthew Prior

For a while during the third quarter of the 18th century, dark eyebrows became all the rage. Lead-based cosmetics, used over time, caused hair loss at the forehead and over the brows, resulting in a receding hairline and a bare brow. For those who lost their eyebrows, it became the custom as early as 1703 to trap mice and use their fur for artificial eyebrows. Sadly, the glue did not always adhere well, and a lady could be caught with her brows out of kilter. This hilarious poem was written by Matthew Prior in 1718:

On little things, as sages write,

Depend our human joy or sorrow;

If we don’t catch a mouse to-night,

Alas! no eyebrows for to-morrow.

Gainsborough’s Portrait of Grace Dalrymple Elliot in 1782 shows the craze for dark eyebrows.