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Ancient Egypt Eyeliner
Both men and women wore cosmetics, but wealthy women had the most elaborate skincare and makeup routines. Eyeshadow and lipstick were commonly applied, but the main event was the heavy black eyeliner known as kohl. Kohl was made using powdered galena, a natural mineral form of lead sulfide.
Toxic Lead Foundation
We’ve all seen pictures or movies depicting Queen Elizabeth I with stark white makeup. The goal was to achieve the whitest, smoothest complexion possible. Ironically, venetian ceruse would make your skin look even worse once you removed it, mostly because you were smearing yourself with toxic lead.
Nail Polish Is Much Older Than You Think
About five thousand years ago, Chinese nobles used a mixture of beeswax, egg whites, and pigments to color their nails. Wearing brass nail guards studded with gemstones was common among the wealthiest women to prove that they did not have to do manual labor.
Nail Polish Is Much Older Than You Think
In ancient Egypt and India, wealthy people applied henna to their nails or entire fingertips. And in Babylonia, warriors would paint their nails bright red or black before entering battle.
The Secret Code of Patches
If you picture a “beauty mark,” you probably imagine Madonna during her “Vogue” era. But throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the French nobility went wild for gluing little black patches to their faces.
‘Natural’ Makeup
As morality shifted away from the “anything goes” era of the previous century, makeup was frowned upon in the 1800s. Wealthy women, along with their ladies’ maids, developed tricks for using natural ingredients like roses, berries, milk, lemon juice, and even ashes from the fireplace.
Makeup Gets Democratic
By the end of the nineteenth century, things were changing. Specifically, a growing class of young women was earning wages by working in factories, shops, and offices. American suffragettes–women fighting for the right to vote–often wore red lipstick as a sign of power and defiance.
Everybody Wants to Be a Movie Star
Throughout the 20s, Hollywood stars did more to promote makeup than any brand could ever hope. In fact, young women happily spent their pocket money on cosmetics. Pencil-thin eyebrows, smoky lashes, and dark pouting lips would stay popular until the bolder brow of the 1940s came into fashion.
The Lipstick War
During World War II, when many women entered the workforce in traditionally masculine jobs such as manufacturing, makeup became more important than ever before. Nothing was more patriotic than a bold red lip. According to historian Rachel Felder, Hitler hated red lipstick, so wearing it became a point of pride and defiance by the Allied nations.
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