How did we as humans arrive at the point where we spend billions every year on cosmetics and it became the social norm for women to wear cosmetics each day It is certain a lady way back in history did not just wake up one morning and decide to apply eyelashes, lipstick, eyeliner, foundation, and rouge all at the same time. As you probably guessed, it was a combination of thousands of years and a lot of mistakes.rnrnThe Egyptians were the first to use cosmetics. That was over four millenia ago. Cleanliness and looks were very serious to the people of Egypt. The Egyptians believed the appearance was in direct connection with the health of the soul. They tried to always look and smell agreeable. And with a civilization who values their looks, societies are assuredly going to have people who are going to try and stand out. The Egyptians, being the slicing edge civilization they were, used cosmetics for reasons that were even more intelligent than just attempting to look great.rnrnMesdemet was the most original type of eye shadow- a mixture of copper and lead ore. The dark colors they believed would avert evil eyes from their own. It was also an effective cleaner and bug repellent. Kohl was a dark powder that was applied around the eyes in an oval shape. It was a combination of lead, ash, ochre, copper, and burnt almonds. A mixture of red clay and water was added to the cheekbone area to further enhance their appearance. They would also paint their fingernails shades of orange and yellow with a substance known as zyxwere_temp_replacer_1000000 henna .rnrnAs cultures started to interact with each other more often, the art of cosmetics was adopted by the Greeks from the Egyptians. Greek women would give themselves a pale hue with a base that had lead in it. This proved terminal more than once. As the Romans started to adopt the cosmetics practice, the pursuit of beauty became much less about practicality and turned into much more exotic routes. They would decorate their nails with a mixture of sheeps blood and cooked body fat. An old Roman man once stated, A woman without paint is like food without salt.rnrnCenturies after the Egyptian empire faded, the fashion standard around the world was a light complexion. Only women who were impoverished and had to work out in the field all day with their husbands had dark, tanned skin. The upper society ladies of course didn’t have to last hard labor like that therefore they stayed out of the sun and had light complexions.rnrnA white, pale skin color was also a sign of prosperity. A person was not obligated to work if they’d enough money. So it was extremely important for some people to have a white complexion. To get this look, ladies (and men too) would use a combination of hydroxide, lead oxide, and carbonate in a powdered form to paint their faces and bodies. Unfortunately, this caused a sometimes fatal side effect, lead poisoning.To remedy this, chemists in the early nineteen hundreds finally created a combination of zinc oxide that didn’t block the skin from being able to breathe and kept people out of that irritating lead poisoning sickness. It was so effective that it is still practiced this day by cosmetics producers.rnrnIn the Edwardian era of London, about the time of the turn of the century of 1900, urban women with a disposable income would throw lavishextravagant get togethers and do a lot of amusing to show off their wealth. As hostesses of the party, it was necessary for them to be the most attractive woman at the gathering, so it was very important for them to look as youthful as they possibly could. City and excessive lifestyles with factors like smoggy air produced by the cities at that time, poor diets, and very little or no exercise aged the women fast. Women would rely on products like anti-aging foams and face creams to help hide their blemishes. Regular trips to the salon were also a normal part of the day. It was a bit different in the past than it is this day. Ladies would go into the back of the salons and hide their faces as they went in. One of the most famous of these discreet beauty salons was the House of Cyclax, that would sell foams and blushes to women. Mrs. Henning, who was the owner, sold and created many products for her frantic customers who didn’t want anybody to know that they were getting old.rnrnThe modern day woman is the benefactor of years of mistakes with a practically unlimited choice of products for any look they want to get. There are literally thousands of companies who create products in this now billion dollar yearly industry. Skin Care products sell year round and even in times of recession. Therefore ladies, give thanks to your ancestors and their concern for their personal appearance for your own that you’ve nowadays. They probably did not want to put on their face some mornings either.

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