Further developments in the fabrication of pastels in the late seventeenth century yielded a softer, more easily manipulated stick that enabled artists to imitate the rich tones of the oil palette. The velvety, matte quality unique to pastel is no better exemplified than in the highly popular and fashionable portraits executed by Carriera in the first half of the eighteenth century. Carriera sometimes applied pastel in thick, paste-like foundation layers followed by touches of bright pigment to rouge the lips and cheeks, in a perfect imitation of the makeup the aristocracy of the ancien régime wore in order to appear fashionable.