The History of Cosmetics

The broken cycle of make up for people of color
Technology has played a significant role in the broken cycle of make up for people of color. The broken cycle of make up is a term reflective of the fact that when the technology for make up was first created, it was unequivocally designed to complement those of European descent. Thus, people of color were traditionally not considered for the products comprised of makeup. These products include different cosmetics such as lipstick, eyeliner, rouge, and the many others which numerous women have in their inventory of makeup in contemporary times. However, there are several different facets of technology which have helped change this broken cycle so that women of color are not only included in the design of make up products but, in certain instances, deliberately targeted and marketed. Today, make up is inclusive for all women of all colors, races and ethnicities. Technology has played a formidable role in bringing about this process. Thus, this paper will denote how unequivocally technology has created a modern beauty and health landscape in which make up is intended and appropriate for women of color—although previously, it was not.
This paper will follow a format which is specifically formulated to elucidate the progression of the expansion of make up to people of color specifically due to developments in technology. Initially it will provide an overview of make up consisting of its history, its development, and the various technologies deployed within various make up products such as applicators, chemicals, bottles and more. It will then delineate the cycle of struggle through the lipstick effect, before delving into how make up and its technology applies to the concept of whiteness, particularly as it applies to the modern woman. The next sub section of the paper will detail issues of race and beauty, which is interesting because of the dominance of Eurocentric features associated with the concept of beauty. This paper will then document the dearth of advertising directed towards people of color, before elucidating various advertising factors such as what social classes were targeted, and what types of models were used.
Overview
The history of make up is parallel to the history of human kind. Anthropologically, make up was first chronicled in the daily lives of ancient Egyptians existing at least as far back as 10,000 BCE (1). The primary forms of make up then (as well as now) were foundation, eye liner, and lip stick. It is valuable to note that make up was just one of the many forms of cosmetics which were deployed throughout ancient times, which also consisted of perfumes and various ways to color or alter hair. Ancient Egyptians used make up to render their eyes in ovular forms, to smooth their complexions, and to counteract the effects of the sun. Thus, although there was a certain aesthetic function to make up, it was also utilitarian in nature. These basic forms of makeup persisted throughout the dark ages, and were largely changed with the Industrial Revolution which occurred in earnest during the 18th and 19th centuries (2).
Prior to the Industrial Revolution the technology utilized for make up was basic. Substances such as dyes, powders, and chemical compounds for applying make up were oftentimes gathered and cultivated from the users in a domestic setting. These materials were frequently stored in shells and simply applied with the hands to the face, lips, and areas around the eyes. One of the most significant trends in the history of makeup is that after make up spread from the Egyptians to other parts of the civilized world (and Occidental countries such as Greece, for example) the concept of aesthetics shifted with it. In Westernized countries, make up was used to lighten a woman’s face and make it more pale. Later on, women augmented this trend by using make up it give themselves a more sanguine, ruddy complexion (3). Still, it is important to realize that early on when make up was used through the Roman and Greek societies make up was used to make women look pale and reddish. The technology for make up has always consisted of chemicals. Traditionally, substances such as white lead and zinc oxide were used to lighten the complexion of a woman’s face, while substances such as lampblack were used for eye shadow, mascara, and eyeliner. Once the Industrial Revolution occurred and modernity took place, bottles and chemicals would become mass produced for make up—especially during the 20th century.
Cycle of Struggle Through the Lipstick Effect
The lipstick effect is widely known as a term indicative of the fact that during difficult economic times people tend to turn to personal indulgences such as make up to spend money on, since they cannot necessarily afford expensive luxury items (4). This effect is important both literally and figuratively when understanding the correlation between the technology behind make up and its effect on people of color. Were one to consider the postmodern period of the 20th and the 21st centuries, there have been significant periods of economic downturn. The Great Depression, the periods preceding and concluding each of the World Wars, and the economic recession of the collapse of the financial market in America in 2008 all denote this fact. During these periods, women have turned to the purchase of lipstick and make up to continue to treat themselves to smaller luxuries since they could no longer afford major ones. This trend is the literal application of this term.
Figuratively, the lipstick effect suggests that during difficult economic periods people rely on smaller pleasures since they cannot afford to lavish themselves with more costly ones. This fact is particularly eminent for people of color, who have had to struggle because of issues of economics, race, and ethnicity. Certain groups such as African Americans endured all of the aforementioned economic struggles in conjunction with the racism accompanying the Civil Rights movement or the Black Lives Matter movement in contemporary times. For this group and other peoples of color, they also had to tolerate a similar struggle for the very make up which other groups could turn to (and which were marketed towards them) widely because of concept of whiteness and how the modern woman is viewed.
Whiteness and how the modern woman is seen
As previously alluded to, the notion of whiteness has been particularly salient in Westernized culture ever since it embraced make up. Again, this fact is readily deconstructed from both a literal and figurative perspective. Figuratively, a lightening of the complexion was desired as the effect of make up in Occidental culture. The greater ramifications of this trend, however, are associated with its figurative consequences. Figuratively, the notion of whiteness was able to achieve a degree of dominance in make up and the overall cosmetic industry, in part because it was seen as a way to make people appear more pale, or closer to white, in color. Again, the influence of technology in this regard is highly important. Whereas people once made make up at home and for their own personal use, once the various applicators, brushes, and containers for make up were created they were created by external entities that had an inordinate amount of power. That power was associated with the types of make up produced, its colors, and its effects on the skin.
The producers of the earliest make up products specifically created colors that prioritized by white culture, and which were designed to flatter the white skin of those of Eurocentric backgrounds. Even a cursory overview of the earliest make up products and the technologies which they relied upon illustrate this fact. The creation of lip gloss in the 1930s, for example, was characterized by different shades of bright red which flatter women with paler countenances and which may occasionally appear garish on women with darker skin and darker lips. Maurice Levy invented the metal case for lipstick which is a foundational technology for make up and fairly ubiquitous across the spectrum. When it was first invented during the Great Depression (which is another example of the lipstick effect, the most quintessential one which explicates the semantics behind this term) it was used to case lipstick colors which were designed for Caucasians. The modern woman, then, was seen as one of the Eurocentric women who could afford make up and would be flattered by colors aesthetic to whites.
Issues of Race and Beauty
Issues of race and beauty have always existed, and are perhaps a natural repercussion of the struggle for cultural hegemony which has taken place from antiquity until now. Quite simply, not all races are prioritized the same when it comes to notions of beauty, particularly in Western culture. Western culture stratifies the features and nuances of European descent as the foremost manifestation of beauty, which is significant for the impact of technology on the broken cycle of make up for people of color in multiple ways. Western features include things like recessive hair and eyes (blonde and blue, respectively), fair complexions and skin tones, and long, straightened hair. Thus, beauty was “racialized” (5). Other cultures which do not directly assimilate to those features, or which have features which are innately at variance with them, are not deemed as beautiful or perhaps even beautiful at all. Thus, the issue of race plays a disproportionate role in the conception of beauty as it exists in Occidental culture. This fact impacts the technology associated with make up because initially, the technology responsible for the mass production of make up was used to reinforce these European standards of beauty. The colors, powers, and chemicals used in foundation, blush and rouge, for instance, were engendered to make women seem more European in nature. What is significant about this fact as it applies to people of color is that initially, it produced this same effect on them. Simply by using the make up mass produced by basic factory technologies in the Industrial Revolution and aspects of lipstick, lipstick cases, etc. these people lightened their features to make them resemble those of Europeans. Thus, these technologies originally reinforced the dominance of European culture, features and standards of beauty even for people of color.
People of Color
It is necessary to note that due to the depiction of beauty as the manifestation of various Eurocentric traits, that people of color were not necessarily marketed make up products for quite a while. This fact was true throughout antiquity and remained that way until the final decades of the 20th century. One the one hand, there was a lack of appreciation for the aesthetic features of people of color, which partially explains why they were not marketed make up products. However, on the other hand they were simply marginalized within the make up industry the same way they were marginalized within every other industry, as well as every other important sociological component. They were not considered important enough to market to because they were not considered first class citizens. Moreover, the make up industry (as well as the industry creating the technology which make up relied upon) was busy marketing to its Eurocentric audience. Remember, that audience had the inherent features which were deemed beautiful by Western society. Thus, it was prioritized well before African American and other people of color were prioritized for marketing needs. It was not until after the Civil Rights movement and the Black Power/ Black Pride movement that manufacturers of make up were able to market to people of color. However, what is most noteworthy about this fact is that after those movements took place, the technologies were already in position so that they could be actively marketed towards. Now, darker powders, creams, and shades of lipstick were readily manufactured to market to people of color in the latter part of the 20th century until now.
Advertising
The advertising of make up manufacturers readily reveals the shift in focus from exclusively that of Eurocentric clients to people of color. Prior to the final decades of the 20th century, the vast majority of the models used for make up advertisements were Caucasians. This fact readily coalesced with the reality that the bevy of those make up products were designed for Caucasians and the quintessential European conception of beauty. By utilizing predominantly Caucasian models, make up companies could buttress the notion of European standards for beauty. Additionally, most of the advertising targeted a decidedly middle class, if not outright upper class audience. The socio-economic conventionality of doing so was again aligned with the notion of superior Eurocentric beauty, since early on to the midway point of the 20th century people of color were substantially poor. Thus, even in the advertising of these products people of color were marginalized until the midway point of the 20th century, when the technologies used to create make up were suddenly directed towards them because of the civil rights and Black Power movements of the 20th century.
Today
In contemporary times, there are models of people of color for make up as well as those for traditional European audiences. Make up is targeted to a variety of socio-economic classes. Technological advancements of the Industrial Revolution, combined with the social civil rights movement of the 1960’s created this situation.
Bibliography
Chaudhri, S., Jain, N. “History of Cosmetics.” Asian Journal of Pharmaceutics 3, no. 3 (2009): 164-167.
Draelos, Zoe. “Cosmetics: The Medicine of Beauty.” Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology 14, no. 2 (2015) Jun; 14(2): 91.
Netchaeva, Ekatarina., Rees, McKenzie. “Strategically Stunning: The Professional Motivations Behind the Lipstick Effect.” Psychological Science 27, no. 8 (2016): 1157-1168.
Pearson, Robin., Richardson, David. “Business Networking in the Industrial Revolution: Riposte to Some Comments.” Economic History Review 56, no. 2 (2003): 362-368.
Walker, Susanah. “Pageants, Parlors, and Pretty Women: Race and Beauty in the Twentieth-Century South.” Journal of American History 101, no. 4 (2015): 1304-1305
End Notes
1. Chaudhri, S., Jain, N. “History of Cosmetics.” 164.
2. Pearson, Robin., Richardson, David. “Business Networking in the Industrial Revolution: Riposte to Some Comments.” 362.
3. Draelos, Zoe. “Cosmetics: The Medicine of Beauty.” 91.
4. Netchaeva, Ekatarina., Rees, McKenzie. “Strategically Stunning: The Professional Motivations Behind the Lipstick Effect.” 1157.
5. Walker, Susanah. “Pageants, Parlors, and Pretty Women: Race and Beauty in the Twentieth-Century South.”1304.