At the cross-roads of various disciplines, this project explores seventeenth-century cosmetics, based on a handwritten French-Latin recipe book from ca. 1680. This manuscript is part of the archives of the physician Noël Vallant (1632–85) who worked for the élite in Paris in the era of Louis XIV. It contains recipes related to the care and beautification of the body, such as toothpaste, mouthwash, tinctures, shampoos, lotions, anti-ageing products including multi-step routines, and, to name one highlight: No other than the French Queen’s perfume! But it also includes making crafts and art, such as colour making and writing with gold, which can be seen as a holistic approach to female well-being: Historical self-care for body and mind. As an interdisciplinary project, it is to serve as a bridge between chemistry, botany, neuroscience and the humanities, in particular when remaking selected recipes in the lab as part of cutting-edge historically inspired performative teaching.