The beauty spot is perhaps one of the strangest fashion trends. Nowadays we are so obsessed with clear complexions, it is odd to think that at one time blemishes would be considered desirable. But how exactly did this come to be the case?

French ‘flies’

France was the first country to adopt the beauty spot as an attractive feature in the eighteenth century. The word for it was ‘mouches’, meaning flies, an expression coined in the book, ‘Abdeker: or the Art of Preserving Beauty’. In it, the author notes how the colour of a fly landing on a lady’s face increases her attractiveness to the viewer. As a result, many gentry chose to wear artificial spots on their face made out of materials such as velvet or silk. Rather coincidentally, the beauty spot came at a time where many people had sores on their face, from contracting illnesses, most commonly venereal diseases. This allowed them to cover up their defects by wearing these ‘mouches’. Consequently, these spots came to represent not only a sign of fashion, but also could warn people of a diseased person, depending on the wearer.

One suitor found that a woman would soon be available from seeing that her beauty spot was on her right cheek

As the fashion spread, so the beauty spot started to take on new meanings. The placement of the spot on a person’s face could determine what sort of a person they were. For Peter Wagner, there was a whole list of reasons for why they had been put there. A spot beside the eye was a symbol of love, by the mouth was a sign of impishness and one on the nose was for cheekiness. Meanwhile, in Spain, a person’s relationship could be determined by its positioning. It was said that one suitor found that a woman would soon be available from seeing that her ‘chiqueador’ (the Spanish word for ‘beauty spot’) was on her right cheek. In politics, British politicians, the Tories (the right) and the Whigs (the left), wore their spots on opposite sides of their faces, to show their political inclination. It became such an iconic symbol that entire streets started to be named after them, like the ‘Calle de le Moschete’ in Venice.

20th century and beyond…

In the 20th century, it began to increase in popularity again, however it did not get the same sort of recognition as it had in previous years. Many celebrities such as Dolly Parton and Marilyn Monroe emphasised their spots to create an image for themselves, yet it was never particularly taken up by the public, as it had done in previous centuries.

The beauty spot is an icon in itself, not only as a fashion symbol, but also a reflection of the times. While today we may feel we have to mask our blemishes with a concoction of foundation and concealer, it is worth noting there is something valuable in not having a perfect complexion. Beauty comes in many shapes and forms, and it is up to us to uncover it…