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 Surely a woman way back in old times did not simply wake up one morning and make the decision to put on eyelashes, lipstick, eyeliner, base, and blush all at once. No, it was, like many things, a building up of events from the past.

Who could forget the Egyptians? That was over four millenia ago. Good hygeine and looks were extremely critical to the people of Egypt. The Egyptians believed the appearance was in direct juncture with the health of the soul. They attempted to always look and smell agreeable. And with a culture who values their looks, societies are assuredly going to have people who are going to make themselves stand out. But the Egyptians, being the inventive civilization they were, implemented cosmetics for reasons that were even smarter than just attempting to look good.

A combination of lead ore and copper called Mesdemet was the origin of eye shadow. The dark hues they believed would avert evil eyes from their own. It was also an efficient cleaner and bug repellent. Kohl was a dark combination that was applied around the eyes in an oval shape. The substance was a mixture of lead, ash, ochre, copper, and burnt almonds. A mixture of red clay and water was added to the cheeks to further enhance their appearance. They would also paint their fingernails hues of orange and yellow with a substance called henna.

As cultures began to interact with each other more often, the practice of make-up was adapted by the Greeks from the Egyptians. They would color themselves a pale shade with a base that had lead in it. On more than one occasion this ended up being fatal. As the Romans started to adopt the make-up practice, the pursuit of beauty became less about practicality and took a turn into much more unusual routes. They would decorate their nails with a mixture of sheeps blood and heated body fat. An ancient Roman citizen once stated, A woman without paint is like food without salt.

For centuries after the Egyptian empire faded, the fashion standard across the world was a light skin color. Only women who were poor and had to work out in the field all day with their husbands had rough, sun dired skin. The upper echelon ladies obviously did not have to do hard labor like that therefore they remained out of the sun and had white skin.

A white, pale complexion was also a sign of money. A person did not have to work if they had enough wealth. So a pale skin tone was extremely crucial to some members of society. To achieve this appearance, women (and men too) would apply a mixture of hydroxide, lead oxide, and carbonate in a powder form to paint their faces and skin. Unfortunately, this lead to a sometimes deadly side effect, lead poisoning.To remedy this, chemists in the nineteenth century at last found a mixture of zinc oxide that made the skin able to breathe and kept people out of that aggravating lead poisoning sickness. It was so effective that it is still practiced today by cosmetics makers.

In the Edwardian era of London, around the turn of the century of 1900, urban women with a recreational income would have lavishextravagant get togethers and do a bunch of entertaining to show off their wealth. It was extremely important for a woman to be the most attractive lady there, especially if they were the hostess of the party. Women at that time who underwent these excessive lifestyles did not eat nutritiously, would not work out, and breathed in the heavily polluted air that the cities of the past produced. Women would rely on products like anti-aging creams and face creams to mask their imperfections. They would also travel to the beauty salon. It was a bit different in the past than it is today. Ladies would sneak into the back entrance of the salons and hide their faces as they entered. One of the most famous of these secret beauty houses was the House of Cyclax, that would sell creams and blushes to ladies. Mrs. Henning, the owner, sold and created many products for her frenzied consumers who did not want anybody to know that they were getting on in the years.

The modern day woman is the benefactor of years of mistakes with a practically unlimited choice of beauty products for any look they want to achieve. The cosmetics business has become a billion dollar industry with literally thousands of competing companies. Cosmetic products sell year round and even in times of depression. So ladies, thank your ancestors and their concern for their own appearance for yours that you have today. They probably didn't feel like putting on their face some mornings either.