History of cosmetics
It is known that some women in ancient Rome invented make up including lead-based formulas, to whiten the skin, and kohl to line the eyes.
To achieve a pleasant smell and softness of the skin, incense oils were used, and women applied white to protect their faces from the sun.
Ancient Egyptians also extracted cosmetic face paint from fucus-algin, 0.01% iodine, and bromine mannite, however the bromine-based makeup was severely toxic.
Women of the Sakalava and Vezo peoples in Madagascar began wearing masonjoany, a decorative paste made from ground wood, in the 9th century C.E.
It is worn on the face as sunscreen and insect repellent, as well as decoration, with women painting flowers, leaves and stars in white and yellow pastes.
The process of making kohl involved burning a substance to maintain a flame, a group of surfaces, and incorporating galena, a lead compound.
The application method is combining dried henna powder with water, lemon juice, strong tea, and additional substances to make a paste.
In the Middle East, older women typically apply henna as a cosmetic procedure to symbolize tradition, experience, and wisdom.
Legend has it that once on the 7th day of the 1st lunar month, while Princess Shouyang, daughter of Emperor Wu of Liu Song, was resting under the eaves of Hanzhang Palace near the plum trees after wandering in the gardens, a plum blossom drifted down onto her fair face, leaving a floral imprint on her forehead that enhanced her beauty further.
Ohaguro (black paint) colours the teeth for the ceremony, called Erikae, when maiko (apprentice geisha) graduate and become independent.
[33] Prior to the 19th century, limitations in lighting technology and access to reflective devices stifled people's ability to regularly perceive their appearance.
This, in turn, limited the need for a cosmetic market and resulted in individuals creating and applying their own products at home.
Several technological advancements in the latter half of the century, including the innovation of mirrors, commercial photography, marketing and electricity in the home and in public, increased consciousness of one's appearance and created a demand for cosmetic products that improved one's image.
[33] Face powders, rouges, lipstick and similar products made from home were found to have toxic ingredients, which deterred customers from their use.
The mass advertisements of cold cream brands such as Pond's through billboards, magazines, and newspapers created a high demand for the product.
A woman's "makeup routine" often only consisted of using papier poudré, a powdered paper/oil blotting sheet, to whiten the nose in the winter and shine their cheeks in the summer.
Around 1910, make-up became fashionable in the United States of America and Europe owing to the influence of ballet and theatre stars such as Mathilde Kschessinska and Sarah Bernhardt.
In 1915, a Kansas legislature proposed to make it a misdemeanor for women under the age of forty-four to wear cosmetics "for the purpose of creating a false impression.
He also was able to tattoo men disfigured in the First World War by inserting skin tones in damaged faces and by covering scars with colors more pleasing to the eye.
[41] Even though his store was intended for actors, ordinary women came in to purchase theatrical eye shadow and eyebrow pencils for their home use.
It's not clear how dark this rose was, but any girl whose nails were tipped in any pink darker than a baby's blush risked gossip about being "fast.
In the wake of Chanel's adoption of the suntan, dozens of new fake tan products were produced to help both men and women achieve the "sun-kissed" look.
[51] Skin bleaches and hair straighteners created fortunes worth millions and accounted for a massive thirty to fifty percent of all advertisements in the black press of the decade.
Makeup artists, such as Reggie Wells, who specialized in black women celebrities, such as Oprah Winfrey developed their own shades.
Popular companies like Astarté, Afram, Libra, Flori Roberts and Fashion Fair priced the cosmetics reasonably due to the fact that they wanted to reach out to the masses.
Ironically, at this time when they were restricted, lipstick, powder, and face cream were most desirable and most experimentation was carried out for the post war period.
Yardley, Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein, and the French manufacturing company became associated with "quality" after the war because they were the oldest established.
This included cosmetics,[56] which were among items the protestors called "instruments of female torture"[57] and accouterments of what they perceived to be enforced femininity.
[58] Modern developments in technology, such as the High-shear mixer facilitated the production of cosmetics which were more natural looking and had greater staying power in wear than their predecessors.
[61] In fact, the whole cosmetic industry in general opened opportunities for women in business as entrepreneurs, inventors, manufacturers, distributors, and promoters.
