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Guthy Renker Corporation


Cosmetics Across the Times


How did we as humans arrive at the point where we spend billions annually on cosmetics and it became the social standard for women to wear make-up everyday Certainly a female way back in history did not just wake up one morning and make the decision to apply eyelashes, lipstick, eyeliner, foundation, and rouge all at the same time. As you probably guessed, it was a combination of thousands of years and lots of mistakes.

The Egyptians were the first to use cosmetics. That was over four millenia ago. Good hygeine and appearance were very meaningful to the people of Egypt. Egyptians had faith that the appearance had a direct juncture with the well being of the spirit. They tried to constantly appear neat and smell pleasant. And with a civilization who values their looks, societies are inevitably going to have members who are going to attempt to stand out. But the Egyptians, being the innovative civilization they were, had cosmetics for reasons that were even more practical than just attempting to look good.

Mesdemet was the most original kind of eye shadow- a substance made of copper and lead ore. The dark colors they believed would avert 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. The substance was a mixture of lead, ash, ochre, copper, and burnt almonds. To further boost their appearance, they would apply a combination of water and red clay to the cheekbone area. They would also paint their nails colors of orange and yellow with a substance named henna.

A white, pale skin color was also a sign of abundance. If families had enough wealth, then you did not have to labor. So a light skin color was extremely important to some members of society. To get this look, women (and men as well) would apply a mixture of hydroxide, lead oxide, and carbonate in a powder form to put on their faces and skin. Unfortunately, this caused a sometimes lethal side effect, lead poisoning.To cure this, chemists in the nineteenth century finally discovered a mixture of zinc oxide that did not block the skin from being able to breathe and kept people out of that aggravating lead poisoning sickness. It worked so well that it is still practiced today by cosmetics producers.

Centuries after the Egyptian empire crumbled, the fashion standard across the world was a light complexion. A dark, dehydrated face was associated with being a pleb who labored outdoors all day along with her husband. The upper class ladies obviously did not have to endure hard labor like that therefore they stayed under the roof and had pale faces.

As time past and cultures mixed with each other more and more, the Grecian people began to pick up on the various habits of the Egyptians way with cosmetics. They would give themselves a pale hue with a foundation that had lead in it. More than once this ended up being lethal. As the Romans began to adapt the cosmetics habits, the pursuit of beauty became much less about functionability and took a turn into much more unusual routes. They would adorn their nails with a combination of sheeps blood and cooked body fat. An old Roman man once said, A woman without paint is like food without salt.

Lavish and spectacular parties were thrown by city women with throw away wealth in the King Edward era of London. As hostesses of the party, it was necessary for them to be the best looking woman at the gathering, so it was crucially important for them to look as youthful as they possibly could. Women in the past who lived these excessive lifestyles did not eat well, would not work out, and inhaled the heavily polluted air that the cities of the time produced. Women would need products like anti-aging foams and face creams to mask their blemishes. 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 of the salons and hide their faces as they entered. One of the most famous of these secret beauty houses was the House of Cyclax, that would sell foams and blushes to women. Mrs. Henning, who was the owner, sold and created many products for her frenzied customers who did not want anyone to know that they were getting older.

Today's woman is the benefactor of years of trial and error with a virtually unlimited choice of products for any look they want to accomplish. The beauty product business has become a billion dollar industry with literally thousands of competing companies. Skin Care products sell year round and even in times of financial hardship. So ladies, thank your ancestors and their concern for their own looks for yours that you have today. They probably didn't want to put on their face some mornings either.



Guthy Renker Corporation


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