History of Makeup

Women and men have been wearing cosmetics for centuries, though the styles have positively undergone some dramatic changes over time. Women throughout history put their health at risk with many of their homemade cosmetics. Women in the 19th century liked to be thought of as delicate ladies. They compared themselves to fragile flowers and emphasized their delicacy and femininity.

Women were expected to be enchanting, without a hair out of place even in the home. The 50's ideal comprised of the doe eye: shadow on the lids, eye brow pencil, mascara, heavy eyeliner, pale complexion, and intensely colored lips.

Dark eyes and pale lips followed most of the decade but near the end, of the decade the no makeup look became quite popular. With the wish to be different and partly the desire for to lure younger women into wearing makeup, the 50s saw a reinstatement of the 1940s' creams, browns, beiges, whites, and greys. During 1970, both men and women wore their hair long and simple.

Disco beauty consisted of blue sparkling eyes. The "cat tail" was a style of eye liner in which the ends aciculated up. The 80s produce overly magnified make-up styles which led to being coined the "age of excess." The decade contained entertaining icons of style such as Cindi Lauper, with her day-glo hair, and heavy neon outrageous make-up, and Madonna.

The punk look became trendy with it's typical big, intentionally off colored hair accompanied by its equally wild make-up. Ironically, an apposing neo-conservative preppy appeareance also became popular. Most cosmetics were made by local pharmacists, known as apothecaries in England, and common ingredients involve mercury and nitric acid.

Hair dye was made from coal tar and is now illegal in America. People with skin abnormalities usually lose confidence and self-esteem and eventually avoid all social contact, withdrawing and becoming isolated from their communities.