They did pretty much exactly what we do with makeup. When they used it they called it a self-adornment.
They didn’t use it to try to cut out imperfections, they used it to add color to their face or to their clothing.
They didn’t want everything to be so plain, which is actually kind of interesting.
The whole point, to them, was just to add a pop of color not a whole new face.
To put more emphasis on a beautiful structure they already had. Self-adornment, which means to add color or decoration, is they focused on. These women wanted to improve themselves by bettering their self adornments. For them it was kind of something extra to add when there were very special events so they could attract people to get to know them.