LONG, DARK...AND DANGEROUS
Mascara is a “one and done” cosmetic for many of us.
A swipe of black – or maybe blue – on the lashes is all it takes to make us look, and feel, awake and ready for the day.
It’s an ancient part of the cosmetic kit…and one with the potential to be really dangerous. After all, you’re putting it practically in your eye!
Like eyeliner (next week’s post) mascara dates back to the Ancient Egyptians, who used everything from burnt almonds and honey to lead and crocodile dung to play up their lashes. Recipes for eyelash enhancers appear in the Kama Sutra, as well as ancient Roman and Persian texts, too.
Fun fact: thick curly lashes were an especially big deal in Rome, because of an old philosopher’s tale. Pliny the Elder claimed excessive sex made the eyelashes fall out, so all the respectable ladies wanted to maintain a healthy fringe!
If that’s not weird enough for you, how about the red eyelashes of the Elizabethan Era? The fashion was set by the Queen, a natural redhead with, yes, red lashes. Which led to wild preparations involving soot and crushed berries. Not mention other toxic substances that could cause lash loss and worse.
Mascara was “out” again for a few centuries after that, though resourceful ladies always came up with a few ways to enhance their eyes. Soot or lampblack mixed with water or some type of salve and carefully brushed on was the favored method by the Victorian era, one of the many under-the-table cosmetics women used in an era that strongly frowned on makeup.
The name “mascara,” by the way, dates to the 19th century French conquest of Algeria. Antimony, a key ingredient, was discovered there.
By the late 19th and early 20th century, the made-up look was coming back, and so were the cosmetics to make it possible. Mascara that we’d recognize today started appearing in the late 1800s, usually in a cake form. Cake mascara still exists – and some makeup artists swear by it, especially when they’re trying for authentic vintage looks.
Mascara really took off with the movies. First, with the starlets who needed all the help they could get in the brutally harsh lights of the early cinema, and then women who wanted to look like them. Hollywood glam sparked a huge appetite for cosmetics at home, and gave the growing industry a huge boost.
Unfortunately, in the 1930s, it was an almost completely unregulated industry. So there was nothing to stop “Lash Lure,” an eyebrow and eyelash dye made with coal-tar aniline dyes. Most women used it without incident, but the few who were allergic suffered horrific blisters, abscesses, and ulcers on their faces and eyes. More than a dozen were blinded…and one even died. The case helped fuel the drive for the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in 1938, which set up the Food and Drug Administration. (The photo of Lash Lure with this post is from the FDA.)
These days, mascara is a safe, standard part of the makeup bag, and you can get in just about any color and style to suit your fancy. Even red, if you’re in an Elizabethan mood!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
A swipe of black – or maybe blue – on the lashes is all it takes to make us look, and feel, awake and ready for the day.
It’s an ancient part of the cosmetic kit…and one with the potential to be really dangerous. After all, you’re putting it practically in your eye!
Like eyeliner (next week’s post) mascara dates back to the Ancient Egyptians, who used everything from burnt almonds and honey to lead and crocodile dung to play up their lashes. Recipes for eyelash enhancers appear in the Kama Sutra, as well as ancient Roman and Persian texts, too.
Fun fact: thick curly lashes were an especially big deal in Rome, because of an old philosopher’s tale. Pliny the Elder claimed excessive sex made the eyelashes fall out, so all the respectable ladies wanted to maintain a healthy fringe!
If that’s not weird enough for you, how about the red eyelashes of the Elizabethan Era? The fashion was set by the Queen, a natural redhead with, yes, red lashes. Which led to wild preparations involving soot and crushed berries. Not mention other toxic substances that could cause lash loss and worse.
Mascara was “out” again for a few centuries after that, though resourceful ladies always came up with a few ways to enhance their eyes. Soot or lampblack mixed with water or some type of salve and carefully brushed on was the favored method by the Victorian era, one of the many under-the-table cosmetics women used in an era that strongly frowned on makeup.
The name “mascara,” by the way, dates to the 19th century French conquest of Algeria. Antimony, a key ingredient, was discovered there.
By the late 19th and early 20th century, the made-up look was coming back, and so were the cosmetics to make it possible. Mascara that we’d recognize today started appearing in the late 1800s, usually in a cake form. Cake mascara still exists – and some makeup artists swear by it, especially when they’re trying for authentic vintage looks.
Mascara really took off with the movies. First, with the starlets who needed all the help they could get in the brutally harsh lights of the early cinema, and then women who wanted to look like them. Hollywood glam sparked a huge appetite for cosmetics at home, and gave the growing industry a huge boost.
Unfortunately, in the 1930s, it was an almost completely unregulated industry. So there was nothing to stop “Lash Lure,” an eyebrow and eyelash dye made with coal-tar aniline dyes. Most women used it without incident, but the few who were allergic suffered horrific blisters, abscesses, and ulcers on their faces and eyes. More than a dozen were blinded…and one even died. The case helped fuel the drive for the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in 1938, which set up the Food and Drug Administration. (The photo of Lash Lure with this post is from the FDA.)
These days, mascara is a safe, standard part of the makeup bag, and you can get in just about any color and style to suit your fancy. Even red, if you’re in an Elizabethan mood!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
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James wrote: "Interesting as always, Kathleen."The eyes have it" is an intriguing idiom that suggests our eyes reveal more than just sight. They can communicate feelings, emotions, or decisions without uttering..."
Impressive! Thank you for the insight!
"The eyes have it" is an intriguing idiom that suggests our eyes reveal more than just sight. They can communicate feelings, emotions, or decisions without uttering a word.
It is probably a play on the idiom "The ayes have it, " meaning the majority voted in favour.
Originally appearing in the magazine Science Fiction Stories in 1953, “The Eyes Have It” is an early story from Philip K. Dick, a prolific American science fiction writer.