The Origins of Makeup

Ever wondered wher your blusher actually came from? Want to know where eyeliner originated? Never fear cause I am here and I will explain everything! So here goes...

Mascara: Egypt is the birthplace of mascara, it was here that the Egyptians first blended kohl, crocodile poop, honey and water for those famous Cleopatra eyes!

Lipstick: About 5000 years ago the ladies of Mesopotamia smeared crushed semi-precious jewels onto their lips for that luscious look! 

Blusher: This came from the far east I'm afraid I can't be more precise.

Eyeliner: Yet again it was the women of Egypt and Mesopotamia who began the use of eyeliner which was copied by the Arabs.

Lipgloss: This wonder stuff was invented by Max Factor in America to help achieve those lovely lips. It was used in the entertainment industry so that actresses would have shiny lips on screen. 

Eye Shadow: Yep this stuff is thanks to the Egyptians.

Foundation: Yet again this is from the far east.

Shampoo: The word "shampoo" comes from the Hindi/Urdu word champo to massage with oil. Therefore we can conclude that the idea of modern shampoo comes from India.

Soap: The very first mention of soap comes from the area of the  Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This region is known as Mesopotamia, the same country where the wheel originated from!

http://central.languagepod101.com/stockphoto/media/1977&v=fit512.jpg

The Truth About Mascara!

I will be the first to admit that I love mascara,even though I don't wear too much make-up, a quick swipe with the mascara wand makes me feel a lot more comfortable. I can even go as far to say that without a coat of mascara I feel naked!

I really do not see the point in covering your face in 7 layers of foundation along with bronzer, powder, blusher...It just doesn't do it for me, personally I don't find it overly attractive (unless its done well and in secondaary school thats kinda unlikelym - no offence anyone!)and kinda fake. However I completely agree with the wonders of mascara which actually accentuates intead of masking.

Unfortunately theres some pretty nasty stuff in mascara but thankfully "bat poop" is not one of them - Phew!

To help get us in the mood here's the history of mascara, enjoy!:

• the first masccara product was invented by  Eugene Rimmel in the 19th century.
•  early mascara was invented by T.L. Williams in 1913 he went on to found Maybelline. 
• modern mascara as we know it was invented by Helena Rubenstein in 1957.

The basic ingredients in mascara are oil, water and wax(like I talked about in my last post) For the pigments carbon is used for black while iron oxide is used to make brown.  Luckily enough "bat poop" is not present in mascara but the crystalline form of guanine is. Guanine is derived from the spanish word "guano" meaning dung - eww! Thankfully mascara does not contain "guano" but it does contain fish scales - eh yuck! So the next time your coating your lashes in another layer of mascara, spare a thought for the poor fish from the Atlantic! (Honestly I don't know if the fish was from the Atlantic,poetic licence please?!) 

Heres another video about some of the not so nice stuff thats in our cosmetics...toxics in toxixs out...

If you want to fingd out more about mascara and its secrets then check out these websites: 
http://www.snopes.com/business/secret/mascara.asp
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Truth-About-Mascara&id=331317

Next time I'm going to find out where the 10 stangest cosmetic ingredients come from. Wish me luck!

What Is Make-Up Made of?

Ok so this week I'm going to find out what is actually going into our favourite make-up products and if its actually safe!


So first lets take a look at what women voted their favourite products this year! An esteemed panel of judges from "Elle" magazine voted Dolce and Gabbana Gloss Fusion Lipstick their best lipstick of 2011, while "Lancome Doll Eyes" mascara stole the prize for best mascara and "Dior Diorskin Forever Flawless perfection Fusion Wear Makeup" was vited best foundation among several other products.

Don't all these products sound lovely? I know that I would just love to have them but maybe not so much after I find out whats inside them! Eek!

So on average your standard cosmetics contains: wax, oil, alcohol and pigment. But where do all these materials come from? well, there are 3 types of waxes; carnauba (did i spell that right?:L), beeswax and candelilla. Carnauba wax comes from a palm tree native to Brazil, while candelilla wax comes from the desert plant of the same name found in the Chichuahuan Desert- weird or what?! And castor oil comes from plants grown around the Mediterranean. So far so good, everything seems pretty safe and sound but not for long...


Lead (i.e poison!), coal tar (toxic!), lake colors and carmine are some of the harmful ingredients going into your favourite red lippy- eek!
In other words your slapping on the same stuff on the roads onto your face...not so nice...:L   

Here's a quick video to give you an idea about how some cosmetics are made, enjoy!


Next week I'm going to continue the investigation into mascara just wait and see! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC1iinzsbic&feature=related

How Old Is Make-Up?





                    

http://toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Cleopatra

Make-up has been around for thousands of years but the Egyptians were the first to record the use and the importance of cosmetics in their culture. I think its safe to say that    we all recognise Cleopatra and her famous ornate eyes (more about that later). 

In the 1st century the Romans also documented their use of make-up and were renowned for their use of kohl for the eyes along with chalk and rouge for the face. 

In the Middle Ages pale skin was all the rage as it was a sign of wealth and society. In order to achieve this sought after look some women resorted to bleeding themselves! Only the rich could afford face make-up and in the late 13th century adding a subtle pink blush distinguised the rich and the important even more.

During the Italian Renaissance pale skin was still focused on as a sign of high society and wealth, this was attained through deadly substances auch as lead and arsenic! Dangerous much-no?! However in the Elizabethan era heavy make-up was seen as a tool to mask ill health and disease, and was associated with poor health-and I'm not talking about spots!

It was the French who brought a bit of life back to cosmetics in the 18th century with the addition of "rouge" to the face. Marie Antoinette anyone? Suddenly red cheeks and red lips = FUN 

http://zeinerova.blogspot.com/2011/07/marie-antoinette-film-by-sophia-coppola.html

Such a shame that the Victorians associated make-up with ladies of the night and actresses:P This led to a slight decline in cosmetics and the Victorians therefore resorted to parasols to keep the sun off their faces so as to maintain their milky white skin. 


During the early 1900's it was popular to have a "sickly look", fortunately this style did not last very long. Phew! Its hard to imagine the cosmetics of the early 20th century as modern, but this was the basic foundation for the make-up industry that we know today. In the 1930's make-up giants such as Max Factor, Revlon and Lancome flourished producing make-up for the mass markets, allowing everybody to access some sort and shade of cosmetics catering for their own tastes.


These days the high demand for beneficial, eco-friendly, and good quality make-up has resulted in top quality brands such as Christian Dior and many more. Today their are numerous different types of mineral, earthy make-up brands and formulas for every skin type and tone!  


I just want to say I got a lot of this info from 
http://www.makeup-artist-world.com/historyofmakeup.htm
so if you want to know more about the history of make up go check it out!
  

Introduction

Hi guys!

These days millions of people all around the world wear some sort of make-up, that includes girls and guys. So through this blog I hope to explore the world of cosmetics, all around the world. Personally I don't wear that much make-up, but I know people who do, so whether you like it or not I'm going to find out where the mascara your coating your eyelashes in comes from and much more...

I'll keep you posted!