Shifting Standards

The standard of beauty is not fixed. From the 7000 years that makeup has existed, the styles and trends that decorated and accentuated the face have been shifting to match the icons and customs of the times.

Audrey Hepburn

The kind of makeup we usually see today is to generate aesthetic appeal; the makeup industry’s relevance on our YouTube and Instagram feeds makes it difficult to escape the influence of such. The use of makeup today is to create art on a canvas (one’s blank face) and conjure appeal.

James Charles, Makeup Artist and Youtuber

However, the original intent of makeup was meant for more than just beautification; makeup has been used to portray dramatic theatrical caricatures, such as the masks and makeup for Japanese Kabuki performers. Other times, makeup have been a symbol of protection, and representative of the preservation of vitality and youth. The presence of makeup was significant in Ancient Egyptian society. For them, makeup was used for practicality as well as a symbol of protection.

Egyptians have been experimenting with cosmetics from as early as 4 millennia BC. There has been extensive evidence found on Ancient burial grounds of the significance of the presence of such—because each of the artifacts provided with the mummified body were significant to a successful trip to (and in) the afterlife, makeup in Ancient Egyptian culture can be deemed as significant.

Ancient Egyptian Cosmetics

Makeup was used to enhance and preserve the face, in addition to being used to create an unearthly, ethereal effect. On recorded accounts, Egyptian-type balms made of honey and lacewing flies were meant to protect and preserve the skin and face from the harsh rays of the sun. It served to preserve the skin from infection and damage from the sandy winds, as well.

In addition to the practical aspects of wearing makeup, elements such as kohl were meant to provide symbolic protection. Deriving from the etymologic stem meaning “to protect,” makeup was believed to have the power to channel the image of the Egyptian Gods. Kohl, known today as a soft kind of eyeliner, not only was a common fashion statement that darkened the eyes for both genders. Its presence also served to mirror the image and thus bring the protection of Ra and Horus, the Sun God and the Sky God, respectively.

Wadjet, the Eye of Ra and Horus

Interestingly, the use of Kohl to rim the eyes was not a popular trend until the excavation of Queen Nefertiti's bust from the sculptor Thutmose's workshop in 1912. The bust itself, crafted in 1345 BC, is a beautiful rendering of the woman who sparked a "religious revolution" in Egypt. The bust's accentuated, kohl rimmed eyes, sparked interest and led women to add this liner to their makeup routines, a trend that is still popular and widely used today.

Queen Nefertiti Bust, 1345 BC

This is not to say that they used the safest products available in the market. With highly-advanced technology today, we are able to test out the safety of the cosmetics before they are given to the consumer to wear. In Ancient Egyptian society, eyeshadows made of copper, lead, and malachite—a problem, considering that copper, lead, and malachite is “toxic in high amounts”. Even so, some research finds that the toxic quantities in makeup would have “anti-bacterial properties” when combined with “moisture from the eyes”.

The way that the Ancient Egyptians viewed makeup largely contrasts to the stereotypes that we play on in our society today; in their customs, makeup is not stereotyped into a materialistic, facial-distorting entity, but serves as a symbol of empowerment and status.

When we observe makeup from this lens, we are able to look past the stereotype that makeup is for the feminine, and that it ultimately serves as a mask to beautify the subject. Rather, this allows us further insight on how we impose views and specific connotations to gender.

It is true that Ancient Egypt was a different time and place than where we are today. However, we can relate this back to our Humanities Core course because it allows us to observe the customs upheld in different societies in different times. Similar to how the indigenous peoples often viewed the European colonizers (and vice versa) with distaste because of their difference in practice and custom, we are able to see how the media is able to shape our view and generate certain connotations to specific groups. In turn, both groups view the other with inaccuracy and bias. Because there is such difference in custom, and few bridges of translation to understanding the others' cultures and practices, we often see hostilities and conflicts between many societies.

Thomas de Bry's Rendering of the Indigenous Peoples of America

Analogous to how the European settlers often viewed the indigenous men as feminine, our society today sees makeup as a feminine product. However, when we view the presence of makeup from past instances, we are able to observe that makeup, in addition to being unisex, serves a greater purpose.

What we can take away from this blog is that our ideologies are often shaped by what we are portrayed. Men do not often wear makeup in our society today, because of the apparent gender limitation promoting masculinity. However, if we had lived five thousand years ago, across the Atlantic Ocean, we may have a different viewpoint on how we see and categorize makeup.