Before he wrote his prophecies, Nostradamus wrote little domestic tractates on how to make perfumes, beauty potions, and elixirs. He became a doctor in 1529, latinized his name to Nostradamus, and had a family. He lost his family during the Black Death, and his medical practice suffered as a result. Nostradamus turned to work as a peripatetic miracle worker, and was eventually summoned before the Inquisition (in 1538). Having survived the Inquisition, he returned to the practice of medicine and alchemy, focusing on elixirs that would restore beauty and youth.
In 1552 he published his first book on cosmetic-making, the Tractite des Fardemens. Shortly thereafter, the first part of his Centurien (the prophecies for which he is now most famous) was published, and Nostradamus became far too busy travelling (to Parliament, to see Catherine de Medici, etc.) to keep up with his work on alchemical cosmetics and elixirs.
Source:
The Elixirs of Nostradamus, Ed Knut Boeser, Moyer Bell, London; 1994.