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 * Makeup Artistry**

There are several different types of artistry, and one of the most widely practiced forms of art is the application of facial and body makeup. Makeup has been around for as long as anyone can remember, dating back as far as 10,000 B.C.. Like all things, makeup fads have come and gone, and what we are left with now is one of the most popular forms of fashion in the world. Makeup is believed to have originated in the middle-east, where makeup was mentioned regularly in the old testament and in other ancient texts. Probably the most well known civilization to first use makeup to enhance their appearances were the ancient Egyptians. Back then makeup was a unisex form of fashion, and was applied dramatically to the face and body to achieve extreme results. Main makeup essentials included eyebrow and eyelash enhancers, eyeshadows, henna, blue body paint and liquid gold. Eyeshadow was normally crushed using a small stone palette and ground into a fine powder. The powder was then applied liberally to the upper lid and under the eyes. Eyelash and eyebrow enhancers (what we would call “eyeliner” and “eyebrow pencils” today) were often made using black oxide, antimony, carbon and other ingredients that were often toxic. The enhancer was applied to the upper and lower lids to create the appearance of wider, larger eyes and drawn over the eyebrows to enhance the shape and color. Henna was used as an early form of nail polish, applied to the nails to give them a reddish tint. Liquid gold was used by women to paint their nipples while the blue body paint was traced over the veins near the breasts and temples. As paleness was a sign of wealth, women in the Roman empire covered their faces with white chalk or lead while kohl was used to darken the eyelids and lashes. Rouge, normally made from some sort of berry, was applied to the cheeks, and a pumice stone was often used to clean and whiten teeth. As the middle-ages came upon us,however, and Christianity started spreading more and more, the use of heavy makeup dwindled drastically in many cultures. Although heavy makeup was frowned upon by society, many women still strived for the look of pale skin and soon began finding creative ways to achieve the ghostly effect. One way was to stay out of the sun, but since this was hard for working class women to do they opted for white powder, water-soluble face paints or if they were desperate, bled themselves regularly. Reconstruction also became popular during this time because make-up was considered so taboo. Many women started plucking their eyebrows into thin, neat lines and wore chinstraps under their headdresses to prevent from having a double chin (this method was overall unsuccessful). Although heavy makeup continued to be considered sinful for many years, women continued finding ways to enhance their appearance. During the Italian renaissance, white lead paint started being used by many women to make their faces pale and flawless. Obviously this was damaging to the skin, as was the popular face powder Aqua Toffana, which was made using arsenic. In England, makeup was considered a health risk, so most women preferred to cover their faces with a thin coat of egg whites to create a healthy glazed look. By the 18th century the french began wearing rouge and lipstick to give the wearer a healthy appearance. Soon enough, other countries became disgusted by the French's “painted faces”. People continued to think this way until the Regency era, when pale skin paired with flushed cheeks became desirable. Rouge, hair dye and black, drawn on eyebrows became very popular among women. Men wore rouge for some time as well, but the fad faded as the look was considered a little too “feminine” for males. Along with a new found interest in makeup came quite a few medical complications. Women began suffering from tooth decay, poisoning, hair loss, severe skin conditions and even death. The cause of these medical problems weren't just from makeup alone, but from what the manufacturers were using to create their beauty products. Products used to enhance the appearance of cleavage were packed with lead and sulfur, white lead was used as a face powder and products to help conceal the appearance of acne was made out of mercury. By the beginning of the 19th century women continued to do anything possible to keep a pale translucent face. It was considered very unbecoming to have bronzed skin because “proper ladies” never needed to work, and therefore should be pale to accentuate this fact. Women with sun darkened skin were dubbed as lower class citizens because they were assumed to be out working all day, explaining the tan. By this time women went to extreme and stupid measures to achieve a pale complexion and bright “healthy” looking eyes. To whiten the face women would cake on white lead based powders, drink iodine or even eat chalk. Many women would go through the painful process of rinsing their eyes out with lemon or orange juice, eating small amounts of arsenic or in most extreme cases, washing their eyes out with juice from the poisonous belladonna flower. Although this fad lasted for quite awhile, by the end of the 19th century heavy makeup became very unpopular and even dubbed the makeup of “loose women”. This did not stop women from looking their best however. Beauty books of the time instructed women to continuously bite their lips and pinch their cheeks to achieve a flushed look and pink, swollen lips. Even though rouges and lipsticks were considered scandalous and improper, many places in France and some locations in England continued to create beauty products for women that offered a “natural” look. Unfortunately these makeups were still created with loads of nasty chemicals and continued to create health problems for the wearer. Although many cosmetics were still dangerous, companies pushed the use of cold cream to completely wipe the face of any dangerous cosmetics at the end of the day. Thankfully, at the beginning of the 20th century doctors began collaborating with cosmetics companies to create safer beauty products. This was not only better for the women wearing the company's products but also an important selling point for manufacturers. Along with safer makeup came the freedom for women to express their different tastes in makeup application. Now women could choose between heavy or natural makeup as these looks were by now considered mostly acceptable. By the early 1900's dramatic makeup was beginning to become very fashionable, especially in America and Europe because of  influences made by movie stars and theatre performers. Women took a more “safe” approach to whitening their skin by using bleach (as opposed to drinking iodine), so that their skin could wear an extended palette of colors. Black kohl eyeliner, bright red lips and blood red nails were were a staple to women everywhere, especially flapper girls and dancers. Despite the popularity of dramatic, dark makeup, this fashion was still frowned upon by some. By the beginning in the early 1920's, makeup began being widely marketed, introducing largely known brands such as Max Factor and Elisabeth Ardin. By the 1930's and '40's milky white skin became less popular to women in America and Europe and the fad was quickly replaced with dark, bronzed skin. It was said that if you were tan it said something about your status, because wealthy women didn't work, so they sat in the sun all day soaking up rays. Coco Chanel caught on to this new trend quickly, marketing a line of fake bronzers for women who didn't have time to sit around and tan all day. Although bronzed skin was a a very popular look in many places around the world Asia still considered pale skin to be beautiful and ideal. With all of these new trends came one of the greatest makeup artists/ creators of the early 1900's. Max Factor Sr. accomplished many firsts in makeup history, one of those accomplishments being the creator of the term “makeup”, which he derived from the saying “to make up”. He also created the first form of makeup to be used only on movie sets, which was a form of thin grease paint that was used to better apply theatrical makeup to the skin of the performers. By the late 1920's Max Factor Sr. had created many types of high-end makeup products, including specific makeup palettes dubbed “Color Harmony Make-up Palettes” that were designed to better compliment the wearer's eye color. Max Factor Sr. was also the first to create lip gloss, which he did in 1930, and liquid enamel, which was created in 1934. He was also the creator of the first ever “cake” makeup which is thick, creamy makeup that is not liquid nor powder, but is compressed into a small container and normally applied with a sponge. Max Factor Sr. was not only a makeup artist and makeup product creator, he also studied makeup science, and in fact created some inventions that were used to make a makeup artist's job easier. One of his early contraptions was a “Beauty Micrometer” which was a strange machine that pointed out a woman's flaws before the makeup artist started the application process, so that the makeup artist could figure out which features to contour and which features to make more prominent. This machine was not unlike a cage that fit around the head, with flexible metal strips that conform to the woman's facial features. If there were any “flaws”, the contraption would inform the makeup artist where they should start the correction process. Another one of Max Factor Jr.'s inventions was a facial ice-pack that was designed to cool down a performer's face without ruining their makeup. This ice-pack was basically just a sheet of fabric with water filled capsules attached to it, which were supposed to be frozen before application. This contraption was a hit amongst female actresses and performers, as well as among hard party goers, and was dubbed “Hangover Heaven” by many. Elisabeth Arden also had a major influence on makeup during the early to mid 1900's, creating the first mousse face cream and Arden Skin Tonic (which is what we'd call toner now). Although her name was on the label, Elisabeth Arden was not the only one involved in creating her many lines of makeup. Arden collaborated with a chemist named A. Fabian Swanson, who helped her perfect many of her famous products. With Swanson's help, Arden was able to create makeup using a scientific approach, which led to much better sales. Other products that Elisabeth Arden and A. Fabian Swanson put on the market for the first time in the history of cosmetics were foundations that were created to more perfectly match a woman's skin tone and modernized powder eyeshadows, to name just a couple. Elisabeth Arden was also the first brand to create a cosmetics commercial, shown in theaters before movies. As women began going into the work force during World War II, Arden held classes to show soon to be working women how to appropriately apply makeup and dress properly for work. During the 1950's women were extremely influenced by the new increase in media and entertainment, and the fashionable women who where a part of the entertainment business. Women like Marilyn Monroe, Lucille Ball, Bridgette Bardot and many other '50's starlets glamourized being a unique, well groomed woman. Makeup became an instant necessity for any good looking woman, and flawless skin was a must. New creamy foundations started showing up to perfect the appearance, and eyeshadow and lipstick colors expanded greatly. The 1950's brought us the first smear-proof lipsticks and frosty lip colors. Red lips were still very popular, but women were starting to branch out and use makeup as a way to express themselves. Although more eyeshadow colors were available now, the “en vogue” look of the 1950's was generally thin, arched eyebrows that have been colored in, minimal or nude eyeshadow, minimal blush, unblemished skin. The whole idea was for the woman wearing the makeup to look like they were born with their flawless complexions and good looks. So the 1950's were all about “less is more”. As the 1950's came to a close, and the 1960's approached, so did new styles of makeup. Red lipstick became less popular, and pink and peach hues took it's place. Long, false eyelashes became popular, especially in Europe. Thick black eyeliner was worn to take away some of the obviousness of the false eyelashes, and women often wore liquid eyeliner, which gave a more precise line and could create a winged effect at the outer ends of the upper lids, or if the wearer was feeling bold, a thick cat eye, which was the same thing as winging out the eyeliner, except much thicker and often times had longer wings at the outer edges. The classic smokey eye also became popular during the 1960's, and lipstick hues continued to lighten, so light in fact that some women would sport almost completely white lips. The 1970's was a decade where heavy makeup, again, became less popular. Women opted for a more natural look, with nude lipsticks or clear lip glosses, light eyeshadow and minimal blush. By the end of the 1970's most women opted for a bare face, wearing a small amount of foundation if anything. The 1980's brought makeup back with a bang, introducing neon bright eye and lip colors, heavy blush and thick foundation. Eyebrows were normally on the thicker side, thin eyebrows becoming less popular than before. Eyeshadow came in almost every color imaginable, blue, green, pink, yellow, red, you name it. It was also used liberally, basically, the brighter the better. With more and more warnings about how bad the sun was for a person's skin, cosmetics companies started adding low SPF sunscreen to their foundations and facial creams. After the world made their way out of the bright and crazy '80's, the world seemed to step back into the 1950's makeup wise. The early 1990's brought us Neutral eyeshadow, minimal blush and bright red lips were again popular. New high-quality cosmetics brands started popping up in America and Europe, such as NARS and Smashbox. These cosmetics were meant to be better quality than generic or drugstore brands, but at a somewhat decent price so that the brands both appealed to celebrities as well as average ladies everywhere. As the 1990's came to a close and the 2000's quickly approached, futuristic cosmetics became a short but popular fad. Thick, black, smudged eyeliner and metallic eyeshadows paired with shiny, frosted lips adorned the faces of many young women in the late 1990's. Presently, the 2000's have brought many different makeup styles, but there is really no certain style that outweighs the other. Today, women wear makeup to express their personal style choices and to make them feel better about themselves. Makeup styles range from barely there to dramatic makeup that turns heads. The only thing that seems to have stayed relatively consistent throughout the history of makeup is the goal of making the complexion look smooth and flawless. There are so many things that a person can do with makeup, from making their best features stand out to completely cover up any flaws they might have. Makeup has had a long and exciting history, and now cosmetics are some of the most important things for a woman's daily routine. Not only is makeup used to make someone look and feel good, but it can also be used to make individuals transform their faces and bodies completely. There are so many ways cosmetics can be used, and makeup has made women feel better about themselves for centuries. Makeup application is an art, and if done properly, can create beautiful, crazy and amazing effects.