Face powder
[3] Archaeological remains and chemical analyses indicate the use of face powder dating back from between 2000 and 1200 BC, and include lead fibres, a common cosmetic ingredient used in ancient Egypt.
[4] Kohl jars used to store eyeliner as well as stone containers holding face powder were discovered in graves as this promised the ancient Egyptians eternal beauty in the afterlife.
[5] While the desire for a white complexion represented social ideas about race superiority, skin tone also enforced gender as in ancient times, women were paler than men, due to having less haemoglobin.
[5] A sign of belonging to the upper class was white, unblemished skin free from sun-exposure, as it was the life of wealthy women that involved staying indoors.
[7] The city of Athens was nearby the Laurion mines, from which the Greeks extracted vast amounts of silver and obtained a great deal of their wealth through trade.
[13] Ancient Chinese women desired whitened skin for beauty as their use of face powder dates back to the Spring and Autumn period from 770 to 476 BC.
[6] The leading cause of her death was blood poisoning, primarily due to her cosmetic practices of using makeup containing toxic materials, including the lead-based face powder.
[18] During the Victorian era, noticeable make-up became less popular as women desired to look naturally beautiful and hence, powders derived from zinc oxides were used to maintain ivory coloured skin.
The social uses of face powder to maintain whitened, unblemished skin is visible in Renaissance art pieces including The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli.
[20] Shakespeare's works comment on femininity and the culture of cosmetic use at the time, specifically with his references to silver, indicative of the desired glistening complexion achieved with the use of pearl face powder.
[citation needed] Early makeup developers including Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein produced skin care products and powders that attracted an international market.
[24] Overton made multiple darker tones of face powder with product names including "nut-brown", "olive-tone", "brunette" and "soft-pink",[25] and by 1920, his sales earned him a Dun and Bradstreet Credit rating of one million dollars.
[26] Other African-American entrepreneurs also marketed cosmetics despite discrimination during the Jim Crow era, including Annie Turnbo Malone who sold face powder in darker shades which developed into a multi-million dollar business.
[28] Hungarian-American businessman Morton Neumann established his own cosmetic company in 1926, Valmor Products Co., and marketed darker-toned face powders for black women which retailed for 60 cents each.
[31] With the popularity of female Hollywood stars including Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, American television culture influenced the 1950s beauty trend of clear, beautified skin.
[35] The changing conceptions of masculinity during the 2000s led to evolving beauty trends that saw cosmetic products sold to men including facial scrubs, face powders and eye shadow.
21st century cosmetic trends are heavily influenced by beauty icons and the face powder application technique known as ‘baking’ has been popularised by socialite Kim Kardashian West.
[38] Baking involves patting translucent face powder under the eyes, the 'T' zone, beneath the cheek bones, along the jawline and on the sides of the nose, allowing it to sit for a few minutes while the foundation is absorbed by the skin's body heat, then brushing it off.
[41] Loose powder is also used to set make-up, meaning it locks in the foundation and concealer underneath to smoothen out the complexion and limit cracks and lines in the skin.
