Makeup Articles

How did we as people arrive at the point where we spend billions every year on cosmetics and it became the social norm for women to wear cosmetics everyday Surely a female way back in the past did not all of a sudden wake up one day and make the decision to put on eyelashes, lipstick, eyeliner, base, and blush all at the same time. No, it was, like many things, a combination of things from ages past.

The Egyptians were the first to use cosmetics. That was over four millenia ago. Cleanliness and appearance were extremely important to the Egyptians. Egyptians had the belief that the appearance was in direct connection with the health of the spirit. They attempted to constantly look and smell good. And with a society who values their looks, you are invariably going to have members who are going to try and stand out. But the Egyptians, being the cutting edge culture they were, used cosmetics for reasons that were even more practical than just trying to look great.

Mesdemet was the earliest kind of eye shadow- a combination of copper and lead ore. The dark shades they believed would ward off evil eyes from their own. It was also an effective sterilizer and insect repellent. Kohl was a dark powder that was also applied around the eyes in an oval shape. Kohl was a mixture of lead, ash, ochre, copper, and burnt almonds. To further complement their appearance, they would put a mixture of water and red clay to the cheekbone area. They would also paint their fingernails hues of orange and yellow with a chemical known as henna.

A white, pale complexion was also a symbol of abundance. A person was not obligated to labor if they had enough riches. So it was extremely important for some socialites to have a light complexion. To achieve this appearance, women (and men as well) would apply a combination of hydroxide, lead oxide, and carbonate in a powder form to put on their faces and skin. Unfortunately, this lead to a sometimes fatal side effect, lead poisoning.To cure this, chemists in the nineteenth century at last found a combination of zinc oxide that made the skin able to breathe and kept people out of that aggravating lead poisoning sickness. It was so effective that it is still practiced today by cosmetics makers.

A light skin color was the style around the world after the Egyptian empire disappeared. A tanned, sun-dried face was associated with being a pleb who labored outdoors all day alongside her husband. The upper class women obviously did not participate in hard work like that therefore they remained inside and had pale skin.

As time moved along and civilizations mixed with each other more often, the Grecian people began to pick up on the various practices of the Egyptians way with cosmetics. They would give themselves a pale shade with a base that had lead inside. This ended up being lethal on more than one occasion. As the Romans began to adapt the make-up practice, the pursuit of beauty became less about practicality and turned into much more unusual routes. The Romans would decorate their nails with a combination of sheeps blood and cooked body fat. An old Roman man once stated, A woman without paint is like food without salt.

Lavish and glamorous parties were thrown by city women with throw away wealth in the Edwardian era of England. It was extremely important for a woman to be the most beautiful belle there, especially if they were the hostess of the party. City and aristocratic lifestyles with factors like smoggy air produced by the cities at that time, unhealthy diets, and little or no exercise aged the women quickly. They would rely on products like anti-aging creams and face creams to help hide their imperfections. Regular trips to the salon were also a normal part of the day. It was a bit different in the past than it is today. Ladies would go into the back entrance of the salons and cover their faces as they entered. One of the most famous of these discreet beauty salons was the House of Cyclax, that would sell foams and blushes to women. Mrs. Henning, the owner, sold and came out with many products for her frenzied customers who did not want anyone to know that they were getting older.

The modern day woman is the benefactor of years of mistakes with a practically never ending choice of beauty products for any look they want to accomplish. The beauty product business has become a billion dollar industry with literally thousands of competing companies. Beauty products sell all year and even in times of financial hardship. Therefore ladies, thank your ancestors and their concern for their personal appearance for your own that you have nowadays. They probably didn't want to put on their face some mornings either.