A group of scientists from the University of Hawaii made international headlines last week when they claimed to have recreated the perfume of Cleopatra, Egypt’s legendary queen known for her allure. In Egypt, the local beauty sector has also been banking on “Pharaonic recipes” to compete with pricey international beauty brands.
The ancient Egyptian queens whose faces are seen on murals or well-known statues were not simply natural beauties — Cleopatra, Nefertari and Nefertiti had complex beauty routines that included honey, mud or goat's milk, and modern versions have been growing in popularity in Egypt over the last decade.