Famous makeup artist Lisa Eldridge
brings us a history of makeup. She goes into both the chemistry (what the
makeup was made of) and the sociology (how social mores influenced its use) of
it to create a rounded view of makeup. It’s been around for thousands of years-
the ancient Egyptians made great use of it- and, while for centuries in the
western world it wasn’t considered a good thing to do, it was there, being made
at home of rose petals and blackberries, flying under the radar.
The first part of the book is a
look at the three basic colors of makeup: red, white, and black. Those colors
have been used in every century and civilsation. She tells us how each color
was obtained and how the uses changed. The rest of the book is basically about
Victorian times on, because that is when beauty products came to be more widely
available, and, possibly more important, when they became advertised. I’m a
history and vintage fan, so I loved seeing the various styles of makeup-
different eye brow shapes, different rouge placement, and different eye
shadows. (Of course, looking back through the decades at the styles, I had to
occasionally think “What the hell were we thinking?!?!”) I also loved that she
gives the chemistry behind the products, from soot mixed with petroleum jelly
to today’s modern silicones that work like magic. The history of makeup also
includes the people behind the products: Elizabeth Arden, Estee Lauder, Charles
Revson, Helena Rubenstein, Max Factor, and the Westmores. There are also
inserts on Makeup Muses: various beauties like Monroe, Garbo, Josephine Baker,
and Bardot and how they did their makeup.
One of the best parts, of course,
are all the illustrations. Not just women with makeup on, but vintage ads (love
those) and old packaging- I’d love to have Kigu’s Flying Saucer powder compact,
with its deep blue lid covered with golden stars! The book is written in a very
engaging style and was fun to read, as well as being very informative.
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This in no way influenced my review.
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