Cosmetics

Cosmetics or makeup are substances to enhance the beauty of the human body, apart from simple cleaning. Their use is widespread, especially among women in Western countries.

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The first archaeological evidence of cosmetics usage is found in Ancient Egypt around 4000 BC. The Ancient Greeks and Romans also used cosmetics. The Romans and ancient Egyptians used cosmetics containing mercury.

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"In the 1800s, Queen Victoria publicly declared makeup impolite. It was viewed as vulgar and something that was worn by actors and prostitutes." http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/7728scit2.html By World War II, cosmetics had common application in the West (although banned in Nazi Germany). Other notable events in cosmetics history are detailed in the external link below. In Japan, geishas wore lipstick made of crushed safflower petals to paint the eyebrows and edges of the eyes as well as the lips. Sticks of bintsuke wax, a softer version of the sumo wrestlers' hair wax, were used by geisha as a makeup base. White paste and powder colour the face and back; rouge contours the eye socket and defines the nose. Black paint colours the teeth for the ceremony when maiko (apprentice geisha) graduate and become independent.

Body: With regard to living things, a body is the integral physical material of an individual, and contrasts with soul, personality and behavior....

Women: REDIRECT Woman...

Ancient Egypt: Ancient Egypt as a general historical term broadly refers to the civilization of the Lower Nile Valley, between the First Cataract and the mouths of the Nile Delta, from circa 3200 BC until the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 BC. As a civilization based on irrigation, it is the quintessential...