History of Makeup

For thousands of years, cosmetics have been used to make women (and even men) look and feel beautiful.

Greeks:

Greeks called cosmetics “Kosmetikos”, which means skilled in adornment and was used for face and body decoration. Although the practice was reserved to women of wealth, makeup was an important part of Greek fashion.

The Greeks tried to achieve the pale skin look by rubbing a mixture of white lead with water and smoothing this on their faces, necks, shoulders, and arms. Women then used crushed berries or reddish powders made from seaweed or flowers for their lips and cheeks. Their eyes were shadowed and lined with soot.

Egyptian Era:

It was the Egyptians who produced cosmetics on a larger scale. This production was very similar to that of today's. The Egyptians' eyes were lined with powdered kohl. Their lids were painted with turquoise powder from green copper and lead ore and powdered red clay was used on lips and cheeks. Henna was another popular cosmetic used on the Egyptians' hands and feet. Even their eyebrows and eyelashes were enhanced with carbon, black oxide, and other substances. Cleopatra was famous for her milk baths which is known to soften the skin. In this age, makeup was used by both men and women.

Victorian Era:

Makeup was not as popular. It was considered unacceptable in society. Pale skin was a sign that women were wealthy enough to not work outdoors the veins were traced with a fine blue paint to make the skin seem more pale. However Queen Alexandra became a trend setter when she brought back the painted face look which was copied by women.

Edwardian Era:

This is the era that turned everything around for cosmetics. Makeup became more chemical based instead of the herbal products of earlier eras. The pale skin was still all the rage, so women continued to paint their face with white lead mixed with a cream base. Then rice or pearl powder was applied and finally rouge and lip color. An interesting point of this era is that this is when cosmetic tattoos were started. Women of this age would have their lips and cheeks tattooed to be constantly bright.

Women discreetly shopped for cosmetics. They would hide under heavy veils and leave through back doors of the shops. But in 1909, Gordon Selfridge introduced what we know as the cosmetics counters or stores of today. Cosmetics were openly displayed and women could test and shop for products. Other stores then followed suit.

Some of the ingredients of cosmetics in ancient times are considered dangerous today. For example, lead which was used in eyeshadow, eyeliner, and foundations can cause the skin to corrode, poisoning, and eventually death.

Even the tools that we use today can be traced back thousands of years. In the Babylon ruins, evidence of tweezers and brow brushes have been found.