Since the beginning of time women all over the world has been using makeup as a statement, Early Egyptian women are famous for their bold statement eyeliners. According to the article "A quick look at ancient Egyptian makeup" by N.S gill, there had been traces of makeup on Egyptian corpses. It is also said that remains of makeup from an ancient jar have been analyzed chemically.Egyptians also thought using lead-based eye makeup helped ward off eye disease.
Gill said, "In ancient Egypt, as you can see in paintings, people applied eye makeup in a ring around the eye to enlarge and therefore beautify it. Women and possibly men applied malachite from copper ore as a coloring agent. The color is a green that was used under the eyes. " This only proves that men also uses this type of method to enhance their eyes. Egyptian women are famously known for lining their eyes to make it bigger with heavy black substance that is called Kohl.
This makeup statement is still present nowadays, the wistful and sleepy eyes can be tricked by using eyeliner. In an instant, the eyeliner will make your face look fresh and will be able to cover the eyes that are tired and lack of sleep. The Egyptians may have started the whole trend of using the eyeliner, but now it has evolved across the world, from India to the middle east, it is now a fashion statement that is a must have in every girls makeup kit.
During the Victorian era, the trend back then was to have a very pale skin and more subtle look. Having a pale face and skin is one sign of nobility. It meant that they were well-off and could afford not to work outdoors, which would obviously result to a tan. According to the article "Early Victorian Era Makeup; cosmetics and embellishments " by R.S Fleming, Queen Victoria denounced painted face as vulgar. In the 1840's, only prostitutes and actresses were allowed to embellish their appearance with excessive paint and gaudy jewelry. Although cosmetics were frowned upon, makeup was still used but very sparingly and in softer tones to achieve a very natural look. All of the makeup used were very pale toned and applied carefully and lightly so they wouldn't be too obvious.Rouge was the only makeup allowed that time.
According to Fleming, "The Church of England, along with Britain’s empire building, was determined to bring purity and modesty to women of all lands. " so this is the reason why mostly all the women during that era was strictly required to use only minimal amount of makeup, but there was an exception to that banned, the usage of rouge. Rouge or blusher were famously known from this era. Blush makeup is used to make the face look flushed and subtle. It is still famously used nowadays as one of the most basic makeup must have.
When asked what is a geisha, most people's perception of a geisha is that they are prostitutes or call girls, but this is far from the truth. Geisha's are entertainers and are professionally trained performers. An aspiring geisha must learn how to be a dancer, singer and a master of the traditional arts. Geisha's are famous for wearing white heavy makeup that were once lead-based and very poisonous. Once their face are covered with white makeup, its like painting a blank canvas, their eyebrows are concealed and then redrawn, pink eye shadow is applied to the corner of the eyes, and then lining the eyes with eyeliner finishes the look. Lastly a geisha applies a red lipstick on her lower lip. This step by step process must be achieved so one can be called a traditional geisha.
According to an article by Naomi Graham-Diaz," Makeup of Geisha and Maiko ", the origins of the white makeup on a geisha's face are still uncertain, but one theory has it that in the middle ages, a traveler returned from Europe with the stories of pale-faced beauties, but it is said to be that the white face makeup really originated in China and was only later adopted by the Japanese courtesans. There are still no clarity on where it really originated, but somehow the Japanese managed to adopt it well.
According to Diaz, "Originally, the use of white lead for the face was quite common, but, as it is known today, it is highly toxic and must have lead to illnesses and an untimely death for some of the ladies who used it. Today, rather than the lead counterpart, modern cosmetics are now used for this purpose. When applying the foundation, they leave a line of bare skin around their hairline - this gives the illusion of wearing a mask." this means that because of modernization cosmetics had evolved in a more positive way, so that women can still use makeup without worrying if they will have to jeopardize their life on doing so.
This is to show that since the beginning of time makeup has always been there for every women and men. We have to thank our ancestors for giving us this knowledge about the art of makeup and I think it is just right to still practice some of these traditional doings. We have learned a lot from our ancestors on how to use makeup traditionally, but since the time has passed and traditions have been modernized, we may not used the exact same cosmetics that they have used before but at least we have managed to adopt and still look back to those early statements to set as guidelines to keep us all aware of the importance of makeup and cosmetics.
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