How did we as humans arrive at the point where we spend billions of dollars annually on cosmetics and it became the social norm for women to wear cosmetics everyday Certainly a lady way back in the past did not all of a sudden wake up one morning and make the decision to put on eyelashes, lipstick, eyeliner, base, and rouge all at once. As you probably guessed, it was a combination of thousands of years and a lot of learning experiences.
Who remembers the Egyptians? That was four millenia ago. Good hygeine and appearance were very meaningful to the people of Egypt . The Egyptians had faith that the appearance had a direct juncture with the constitution of the soul. They tried to always appear neat and smell good. And with a society who values their appearance, societies are inevitably going to have people who are going to attempt to stand out. But the Egyptians, being the innovative culture they were, had cosmetics for reasons that were even more intelligent than just trying to look great.
Mesdemet was the earliest kind of eye shadow- a mixture of copper with lead ore. The dark hues they believed would avert evil eyes from their own. It was also a great cleaner and insect deterrent. Kohl was a dark substance that was applied around the eyes in an oval shape. It was a mixture of lead, ash, ochre, copper, and burnt almonds. A mixture of red clay and water was added to the cheekbone area to further enhance their appearance. They would also paint their fingernails colors of orange and yellow with a substance named henna.
As different groups of people began to interact with each other more often, the practice of cosmetics was adapted by the Greeks from the Egyptians. Greek women would give themselves a pale hue with a foundation that had lead inside. This ended up being fatal on more than one occasion. As the Romans began to adapt the make-up habits, the pursuit of beauty became less about functionability and took a turn into much more peculiar routes. They would decorate their nails with a combination of sheeps blood and heated body fat. An ancient Roman citizen once said, A woman without paint is like food without salt.
A pale skin tone was the style around the world after the Egyptian civilization faded. Only women who were impoverished and had to work out in the field all day with their husbands had dark, tanned skin. The upper society ladies obviously did not participate in hard work like that so they were able to stay inside and had light faces.
Prosperity was often measured by a person's light skin color. A person did not have to work if they had enough money. So it was very important for some socialites to have a white complexion. To achieve this appearance, women (and men as well) would apply a mixture of hydroxide, lead oxide, and carbonate in a powdered form to apply to their faces and skin. Unfortunately, this lead to a sometimes lethal side effect, lead poisoning.To remedy this, chemists in the nineteenth century finally found a mixture of zinc oxide that did not block the skin from being able to breathe and kept people out of that irritating lead poisoning sickness. It was so effective that it is still used today by cosmetics producers.
In the Edwardian era of London , around the change of the century of 1900, society women with a disposable income would throw lavishextravagant parties and do a bunch of entertaining to exhibit their wealth. As hostesses of the party, it was critical for them to be the best looking woman at the event, so it was crucially important for them to look the youngest they possibly could. Women in the past who experienced these extravagant lifestyles did not have good diets, would not work out, and breathed in the heavily polluted air that the cities of the past produced. Women would need products like anti-aging foams and face creams to help hide their imperfections. They would also travel to the salon. It was a bit different in the past than it is in the present. Women would go into the back entrance of the salons and cover their faces as they entered. One of the most famous of these discreet beauty salons was the House of Cyclax, who would sell foams and rouges to ladies. Mrs. Henning, who was the owner, sold and invented multiple products for her frenzied consumers who did not want everybody to know that they were getting old.
Today's woman is the benefactor of years of trial and error with a practically unlimited choice of beauty products for any look they want to get. The make-up business has become a billion dollar industry with literally thousands of competing companies. Beauty products sell all year and even in times of depression. Therefore ladies, give thanks to your ancestors and their concern for their personal appearance for your own that you have today. There were possibly mornings when they woke up and didn't really feel like going through the trouble of putting on their face either.
About the Author: Michael Usry is the author of the online instructional articles "Beauty and Health in Plain English" and a top affiliate of Windsor Pilates one of the premier women's health websites.
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