Beauty evolution: how cosmetics have changed in 100 years

Beauty history dates back centuries, and the prototypes of most modern cosmetics and procedures can be found in ancient times, but it was at the beginning of the XNUMXth century that the mass production of cosmetics appeared and the foundations of the industry were laid, without the achievements of which not a single girl can imagine herself today. By the way, it was then, through the efforts of the founders of the first cosmetic companies, in the wake of gaining momentum of emancipation, that the ideal image of a well-groomed woman began to form, which every self-respecting woman aspires to today.

For the first time, a product that more or less resembles the lipstick we are used to in function and texture, appeared in 1903. The lip make-up product, the main component of which is reindeer oil, was presented at the World Exhibition in Holland. However, in this cosmetic novelty, no modern girl, most likely, would have recognized the lipstick she was familiar with: the composition was stored in a tube or a special stick wrapped in plain paper. The first retractable stick appeared only in 1915, and this development belonged to the Guerlain company. From that moment on, the popularity of lipstick began to grow steadily. True, being the object of desire of fashionistas, this product could not be in every woman’s cosmetic bag until the 20s: Guerlain sticks were very expensive.

Guerlain lipstick ad, 1919

The lipstick was made more affordable by the famous make-up artist and business woman of the 20s, Elena Rubinstein. The sticks of her production cost only a few dollars, so they ended up in literally every girl’s cosmetic bag. And if earlier it was believed that brightly painted lips are the lot of exclusively ladies of easy virtue, now a real revolution has occurred in the minds of women. Another entrepreneur, Elizabeth Arden, helped them with the reassessment of values. She was the founder of one of the first cosmetics firms and a rival to Rubinstein. This woman has gone to great lengths to popularize lipstick and the idea of ​​total makeup in general. Her advertising campaigns shaped the image of a well-groomed woman in the minds of women, for whom makeup is as necessary as everyday wear.

I must say that these first lipsticks did not differ in a variety of shades. All of them had the same color – carmine, which was then obtained from the natural dye of cough (lacquer beetle). Further development followed the path of changing the composition and expanding the palette. Already in the mid-50s, the Bourjois company released a line of lipsticks consisting of 12 colors. Then the manufacturers started experimenting with different textures and effects. In 1959, Max Factor’s Iridescent Magic first hit the shelves, containing glitter to give the lips a shine.

The 1960s were a time of experimenting with colors. A real revolution in this direction was made by the Biba brand. Launched by the brand at the end of the decade, the brown lipstick advertised by model Twiggy became a real bestseller. In 1979, a new burst of fashion for unusual shades occurred thanks to the couturier Yves Saint Laurent, who offered ladies a fuchsia lipstick. In the 1980s, the Etre Guerlain two-tone lipstick (1986) became a cult product. Starting in the 1990s, sticks began to crowd out democratic lip glosses, the first of which, by the way, was invented by Max Factor back in 1937.

The history of manicure is rooted very deeply, because even the ancient Egyptians created compositions from natural resins that were used to polish and change the color of the nail. However, until the beginning of the 1920th century, all varnish variations were decidedly far from the compositions that we use today. American entrepreneur Charles Revson, the founder of the famous Revlon company, began to introduce innovative developments in the production of enamels in the 1937s. The products that existed on the market at that time were transparent, used only for polishing the nail plate and washed off with water. Revson offered women a varnish that was water resistant. Since XNUMX, its products have been sold in pharmacies and department stores. However, this waterproof formula did not differ in durability – the varnish lasted at best for a couple of days, and then began to peel off.

Apparently, precisely because of the low resistance of the varnish to damage in the 30s, the fashion was mainly “moon manicure”, in which the tip of the nail was not covered with varnish. At the same time, another big hitter of the beauty business, Max Factor, began to step on the heels of Charles Revson in the field of manicure development, who proposed a more liquid formula of varnishes. However, at that time, the palette still remained very scarce – only five or six shades, and the enamel compositions included components that were unsafe for health. Since the 40s, an active search for new formulas began in order to increase their strength without the use of harmful components. Scientists managed to achieve noticeable shifts in this direction only by the 50s. In the post-war years, the color palette of varnishes began to expand noticeably, and by the 60s women already had in their arsenal not only red and flesh, but also varnishes of neon shades. The production of durable enamels reached its zenith in 1979, when a gel polish (Shellac) was patented for the first time. The technology was named Creative Nail Design (CND).

The appearance of this product in women’s cosmetic bags was influenced by one important cultural event of the early 1908th century – “Russian Seasons” by Sergei Diaghilev, which was successfully staged in Europe from 1929 to 1910. The fact is that both Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden, who were among the first to develop eyeshadows, admitted that this idea came to them precisely after visiting the ballet Scheherazade (1914), in which a very bright theatrical make-up was used. … In 1917, the Elizabeth Arden company began production of decorative cosmetics, in particular, eyeshadow. In the same year, Max Factor presented his author’s shadows with henna extract. The rapid growth in the popularity of the product developed by him was facilitated by the fact that soon, in XNUMX, the most popular film “Cleopatra” was released, in which Ted Bara played the main role, and Max Factor was the actress’s makeup artist in this tape.

In the 1930s, the American campaign Maybelline took up the baton, which made the eyeshadow in four shades: black, green, blue and brown. In addition, manufacturers have provided their palettes with detailed instructions telling which eye color which shade is best for which eye color. It was believed that blue eyes are best emphasized by blue shadows, light brown – brown, and dark-eyed beauties should choose black. Maybelline makeup artists considered green shadows universal.

However, the shadows were the hardest to take root in women’s cosmetic bags. For a long time, there was a strong stereotype that in everyday life a girl should not be brightly painted. And if lipstick was considered part of natural makeup, then shadows were perceived as an excess for a long time. A poll conducted in 1957 in the United States showed that more than half of the women surveyed, using lipstick daily, avoid applying eyeshadow. To get the consumer interested, cosmetic firms are beginning to experiment with the color and shape of the product. So, in the late 50s, Revlon first launched a palette consisting of two shades of shadows at once. The most popular combination was the tandem of green and blue colors.

A sharp rise in the popularity of shadows occurred in the rebellious 60s, when stereotypes finally faded into the background. The main popularizer of bright eyeshadows at that time was the model Twiggy, who became the face of the Yardley brand, which first released a palette of black and white matte eyeshadows. The 60s became the time of hypertrophied bright makeup, in which expressive eyes played a decisive role. In the following decades, manufacturers constantly expanded the palette of shades, experimented with textures, creating various variations of shadows.

The rise in popularity of liquid eyeliners in the 1922th century paralleled the rise of eye shadow and mascara fashion. However, this beauty process also had its own peculiarity. The impetus for the creation of the first products was the emerging fashion for ancient Egyptian culture. This was due to the fact that in XNUMX the tomb of Tutankhamun was excavated. All the world’s tabloids wrote about this event, and, of course, on this wave, the ancient Egyptian style was in honor. In particular, women have taken a great interest in makeup with heavily lined eyes. The fashion was immediately picked up by all the big-timers of the beauty business – Maybelline, Revlon and Max Factor. This product has enriched manufacturers, bringing them billions of dollars.

In the 1940s, the popularity of eyeliner declined sharply, as bright lips became the main focus of makeup. The kayals were able to rehabilitate only by the 1960s, when women began to do very bright makeup and, following the fashionista Twiggy, eyeliner with colored pencils. The “Egyptian theme” once again helped to solidify the fashion for make-up with arrows – in 1963 the film “Cleopatra” with Elizabeth Taylor in the title role was released. After filming, the actress continued to popularize the “Egyptian style”, coming out with thick and clear arrows. At that time, eye makeup lines became very clear and geometric, which required manufacturers to develop special formulas. Since the 1990s, when grunge declared the sloppy fashion, kayals began to be shaded, which prompted the industry to go towards creating softer and more pliable eyeliner compositions.

Unlike shadows, foundations and lipsticks, analogs of which existed in ancient times, mascara is a beauty discovery of the 1915th century. Although it is believed that a remedy with a similar function was invented back in the middle of the XNUMXth century by Eugene Rimmel, a product that is as close as possible to modern mascara in composition appeared only in XNUMX. It was invented by pharmacist Terrid Williams, founder of Maybelline. In the name of his company, he used the name of his younger sister Mabel (Maybel), since he admitted that he had spied the idea of ​​the product from her. At the time, the mascara was dry and applied to the lashes with a damp brush.

Hollywood helped popularize the development of Williams. In the 20s, actresses Ted Bara and Paula Negri became consumers of mascara, and in the 30s, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo and Bette Davis continued to move on thickly made up eyelashes. Of course, with the growing popularity of the product, Maybelline has competitors. One of the most famous makeup artists of the time, Max Factor, contributed to the evolution of the product. He added carnauba wax to the mascara, which gave the lashes not only color, but also shine. In 1939, Elena Rubinstein proposed her formula, adding turpentine to the mascara, which made the product waterproof. However, the innovation did not take root at that time, since the secret ingredient polls caused allergies.

Until the mid-1950s, only bar mascara was produced, which had to be diluted with water. The familiar tube packaging in 1957 was invented by the same Helena Rubinstein. In the 1960s, when very lush eyelashes were in fashion, the popularity of the product grew from year to year. Then pigmented products were invented, the fashion for which increased dramatically in the 1980s thanks to Princess Diana, who dyed her eyelashes exclusively with blue mascara. From the moment of its appearance to the present day, mascara has gone through a huge evolutionary path, aimed not only at simplifying its operation, but also at changing the composition, from which components that cause allergies and other harmful health effects have gone.

Skin color and imperfections have been a concern for women throughout history. Ways to whiten the face and mask imperfections have been known since the times of ancient civilizations. However, it was at the beginning of the 1914th century that the first product appeared that made it possible to achieve the effect of naturalness along this path. Of course, in 1936, ideas about naturalness were very different from ours, but the tonal tool developed by Max Factor really became a breakthrough for its time. As a cinematographer, he decided to offer actresses a completely new tool that would not create a mask effect. The product combines base and powder, which were previously applied to the skin separately. The cream consisted of talc and pigments and was applied with a sponge. This product, called Pan-Cake, went on sale in XNUMX.

The principle laid down a hundred years ago by Max Factor is used in the production of foundations to this day. The evolution of the product has gone towards lightening the texture and adding the properties of moisturizers. As a result, today we have such hybrid products as BB- and CC-creams, which are a mix of care and decorative cosmetics.

Grated chalk, crushed beans, lead white – this is not a complete list of beauty tricks that people have gone to throughout history to make their skin beautiful. Moreover, not only women were involved in the process, but also men who, during the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, willingly powdered themselves on a par with the fair sex. The main differences between the powders that were in the arsenal of mods until the beginning of the XNUMXth century were the instability of their textures, which required constant updating, and the presence of components (like lead) that ruined health.

A revolution in this direction was made by Max Factor, when he proposed compact powder in 1935. It was compressed and enclosed in a flat case. The powder was called “Pancake”. Now women did not have to sprinkle it on themselves from head to toe, and then remove the excess from their hair, shoulders, etc. They were able to use the product more precisely – on problem areas of the skin.

Powder advertisement, 1920s

Helena Rubinstein made the compact powder available to the public, who was able to establish a more budgetary production of it. Elizabeth Arden began to supply this product in large quantities to the market in the 1940s. In the 1950s, powder and stylish powder boxes became fetishes for women around the world. Cosmetic companies designed exquisite cases that looked like true works of art. Hard times for powder manufacturers came when the fashion for tanning took over the world. From that moment on, a systematic expansion of the palette and the development of sculpting products, which are so popular today, began.

We owe the fashion for blush to Catherine de Medici, who ruled in the 30s of the XNUMXth century. For the queen, a cosmetic product was produced by doctors, getting blush, mixing wax and natural carmine dye. In some European countries, blush manufacturers have long used cinnabar, a mercury metal, in their composition. Probably, it is not worth specifying how such a make-up affected health.

The production of blush was brought to a qualitatively new level by Max Factor. His product was based on talc, which is still used in manufacturing today. It was then, in 1914, that the blush began to be sold in small colored cases that matched the shade of the product. And this was also a revolution – now a woman could choose the color of blush that suited her, while until the beginning of the XNUMXth century, blush had a single shade of carmine. I must say that there have been no fundamental changes in the production of blush over the past hundred years.