Okay, we’ve all seen it. “How to Live like a Parisienne”. “Top Tips for Living like an LA Local”. “My Life in Madrid”. You know the ones. The blog posts that offer a glimpse into a world so glamorous it can’t help but rub off on you and make your life just a little more perfect. BUT, I say, none of these cities can hold a candle to ancient Rome. The toast of the Mediterranean (because duh, they own it). So instead of trying to get that je ne sais quoi, here are five ways you can get that non scio quid.
5 Ways To Be More Roman, Right Now!
Mia Rahner
1. One of the best ways to learn about a culture is to immerse yourself in its language. Now bear in mind that this doesn’t mean the old amo, amas, amat nonsense. No, what you need are actually useful phrases. Things like “Semper ubi sub ubi” and “raeda in fossā est” and “Ferte auxilium, mea urbs barbarīs dēlēntur!”. (Pro tip: when learning a language, it is especially helpful to talk with native speakers.)
2.Yup, ancient Romans had their beauty routines too. For a base layer, moisturize with lanolin from sheep’s wool. Then, choose from a range of ingredients for a foundation: tin oxide or lead for white, mixed with dung or animal fat (deathly pale is in style to mimic the ashy victims of Pompei). For your eyes, soot or antimony creates a smokey eye, but bright blues and green from crushed minerals are also popular to bring back the eighties…B.C. Finally, don’t forget to fill out your brows. Nothing says Roman sophistication like that near-unibrow.
"My dear, you look simply stunning today"
"Thank you, lead white is always in fashion. Excuse me while I go throw up"