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The Conversation
The Conversation
Daniel Merino, Assistant Science Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation

Could lead makeup really kill you? A scientist recreated centuries-old skin whitening recipes to find out – podcast

The Countess of Coventry, Maria Gunning, was rumoured to have died of lead poisoning from her makeup. Jean-Étienne Liotard via Wikimedia

Can makeup really kill you? That’s the myth attached to Maria Gunning, the Countess of Coventry, an 18th-century socialite who reportedly died from her lead-based makeup in 1760, aged just 27.

In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to a scientist who has recreated some centuries-old recipes for white lead makeup to test how dangerous these cosmetics were.

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