To understand the origin of makeup, we must travel back in time about 6,000 years. We get our first glimpse of cosmetics in ancient Egypt, where makeup served as a marker of wealth believed to appeal to the gods. The elaborate eyeliner characteristic of Egyptian art appeared on men and women as early as 4000 BCE.
The earliest historical record of makeup comes from the 1st Dynasty of Egypt (c. 3100-2907 BC). Tombs from this era have revealed unguent jars, which in later periods were scented. Unguent was a substance extensively used by men and women to keep their skin hydrated and supple and to avoid wrinkles from the dry heat.
Historians can trace the use of beauty and cosmetics products back to 4,000 B.C. — think Ancient Egyptian pharaohs with thick dark outlines around their eyes.
Why Did Women Start Wearing Makeup? – It all goes back to the ancient Egyptians, who were the first women to wear makeup.
For generations, makeup has been seen as a "girls-only" enterprise, so we forget that it wasn't always that way. For millennia, stretching from 4000 BCE through the 18th century, men traditionally used makeup in myriad ways.
Dating as far as 3400-30 B.C., Egyptians used bone and ivory as mascara applicators, and blended kohl with crocodile dung, water and honey to create the first mascara. Egyptians lined their eyes with kohl and used the mascara to deepen their lashes.
Shiseido: The World's Oldest Cosmetics Company.
Early history
Ancient Sumerian and Indus Valley men and women were possibly the first to invent and wear lipstick, about 5,000 years ago. Sumerians crushed gemstones and used them to decorate their faces, mainly on the lips and around the eyes.
There shouldn't be any stereotypes, especially with gender, linking skin care in that way whatsoever." Men and masculine-identifying people have adorned themselves with makeup for thousands of years.
The industry has gained international acclaim over the years also thanks to Polish beautician Maksymilian Faktorowicz, referred to as the 'father of makeup', who created the renowned line of cosmetics called Max Factor in the U.S. In 1920, Faktorowicz invented the word makeup as an alternative to saying cosmetics.
Historians can trace our use of beauty products and cosmetics back to 4,000 BC, and the ancient Egyptians who used kohl to create dramatic eyes.
The first recorded use of eyeliner suggests royals in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were lining their waterlines as early as 400BC. The more the makeup the higher your status was, so Egyptians would pile on the kohl, winging it out to their hairlines and forming the incomparable, first 'cat eye. '
Researchers have discovered that the use of makeup goes back at least 6,000 years to Ancient Egypt. In Ancient Egypt, both men and women wore makeup. A kind of soft rock known as red ochre was crushed and used as a pigment. Kohl was also used to darken the eyes.
Lip gloss was invented by Max Factor in 1930. He wanted to create a lip product that would make lips shiny and glossy for films. Factor created makeup for the movie industry. He developed makeup specifically for actresses starring in black and white films.
Pink Lipsticks:
Women who choose this colour exude a sense of playfulness which also matches their high energy level and also provides subtle hints at their mischievous sides. Hot pink lipstick shades are a bold choice, it shows one off as not being afraid to stand out and be the centre of attention.
The ancient Egyptians were the first to incorporate blush into their beauty rituals. The Middle Ages saw a drop in the use of blush, as red cheeks were associated with prostitutes. During the 1500s to the 1700s, blush was made with toxic chemicals.
Mascara contains the crystalline form of guanine, a word that derives from the Spanish word guano, meaning 'dung. '…. The crystalline guanine used in beauty products doesn't derive from excrement, though, either from bats or from any other critter.”
Yardley London Lavender Soap, 1770
Yardley may be innocuous today but it's the oldest registered beauty brand in the world.
First proof of eye shadow existence leads to 12 thousand years ago in Ancient Egypt, where they used famous substance called kohl (made out from lead, oxidized copper, ochre, ash, malachite, crushed antimony, burnt almonds and chrysocolla ore).
In 1911, a Canadian inventor named Anna Taylor patented artificial eyelashes. Her invention included glue-on lashes, or strip lashes, that were thought to be made from human hair. A few years later, German hairdresser, Karl Nessler, provided false eyelash services at his New York City salon.
The product that people would recognize as mascara today did not develop until the 19th century. A chemist named Eugène Rimmel developed a cosmetic using the newly invented petroleum jelly.
Elizabethan England
The Elizabethan Era heralded the look of flawless skin. Men wore powder all over their faces to whiten the skin as a sign of wealth, intelligence, and power. However, cosmetics during the period were highly dangerous due to the presence of lead in the majority of products.
When considering the origin of cosmetics as we know them today, many argue that it was the Egyptians who first invented makeup—but as early as the first millennium BCE, Chinese royalty in the Zhou dynasty were using gelatin, beeswax, egg white, and gum arabic to paint their nails gold and silver.