PAINTED FACES: A Colourful History of Cosmetics

In ancient Egypt, the manufacture of beauty products often took place within Royal palaces or at sites of great religious importance. Cosmetic production was strictly regulated and there was an air of mystery around the exact method of manufacture and composition. Such was the value of those ingredients in those cosmetic pastes, perfumes and ointment that those people employed to work with the valuable aromatic resin frankincense were even searched on leaving their place of work. We will here see Egyptians, both men and women, wear lapis lazuli alongside kohl on their eyes and eyelids. They applied ground alabaster as a facial scrub and cleanser and beeswax was all over the body as a moisturiser; facial hair was removed and Egyptian society, at all levels, strived to control unpleasant body odour and bad breath. All make up matters from the ancient world, the Middle Ages, the classical revival and the printing press, witches, counterfeit cosmetics during the French Revolution, 19th-century ladies' magazines, the movies, make up and the war effort, mass media advertising through to compacts and bags, Cutex manicure sets and ice cream lip pomades of the 1970s to 21st century trends are covered. Includes a glossary of cosmetic ingredients too in a book which is a bewildering, fascinating and complex story of beauty trends and a colourful journey through the human obsession with improving how we look. 288 pages, 16 pages of colour and mono photos.