Of Oils and Gold: The First Roman Formulas

Foundations in Oil

Roman cosmetic practice grew out of repetition and result. Preparations were judged by what they did on the skin, not by what was imagined of them. Olive oil formed the base of most blends, chosen for its stability and content of emollient fatty acids. Almond and hazelnut oils lightened the texture and slowed rancidity, often infused with rosemary, myrtle, or rose so that fragrance and function travelled together.

Glass and alabaster vessels kept these mixtures away from air and light. Slow heating in bronze or earthenware acted as an early form of extraction control. Textual recipes preserved by authors such as Celsus in De Medicina and Galen in his dermatological treatises describe combinations of oil, wax, and resin measured by weight and by hand, anticipating later emulsions. Long before chemistry supplied a vocabulary, there was already a working sense of proportion and temperature.

Gold, Matter and Meaning

Gold occupied a narrow but persistent place in Roman pharmacology. Dioscorides records its use in finely divided form within salves intended to “invigorate the flesh”; Pliny the Elder notes its resistance to corrosion and folds it into a broader association with vitality and standing. Rarity and permanence made it pharmacological as well as ornamental.

Contemporary formulation clarifies both the limit and the usefulness of that impulse. Metallic gold is largely inert on the skin; its effect is optical and structural rather than pharmacological. Finely milled particles scatter light to create a more uniform surface, reinforcing visual codes of clarity and cleanliness. In colloidal form, gold can also assist in stabilising certain antioxidants and subtly adjusting the feel of an emulsion.

In Aurum Lustrum, gold is held in a controlled colloidal suspension, used with precision rather than spectacle. The serum takes an ancient desire for permanence and translates it into a disciplined, measurable texture on the skin.

Reconstruction and Control

Modern cosmetic science extends the same logic the early artisans worked by: proportion, stability, and measured preservation. Where they refined their blends through habit and observation, today’s chemists refine through reproducible data, but the underlying intention is shared: to direct change in a controlled way.

Each composition in The Domina Collection follows that line of thinking, balancing concentration, compatibility, and restraint so that every batch behaves predictably. Formulas are tuned to sit inside defined parameters for viscosity, pH, and sensory profile, then reproduced in bounded pressings. The aim is accuracy without excess, echoing a Roman preference for craft that is exact.

Artifact Note

Unguentaria recovered at Pompeii and Herculaneum still bear traces of olive, almond, and resinous oils, physical evidence that aligns with the written recipes of Celsus and Galen. Together, these vessels and texts confirm that Roman care was already a matter of controlled blends, protected from air and light, long before modern formulation gave the practice its current language.