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 Face powder
has been incredibly indispensable for several centuries already and it was used
in the past times as the care product to even the complexion, making it pale or
too tanned, whether required by the fashion or not. From the time immemorial,
long before the Egyptian women proceeded to use the powder, the citizens of
many nations would apply various mixtures onto the skin based on clay or chalk,
though it was done not for beauty consideration but with the intention to escape
from evils, as it was believed before.
As the
cosmetic care product, the powder appeared in the ancient Egypt when the
Queen Cleopatra applied powder before applying makeup. White skin was the sign of
high status in the society since wealthy women did not have to work in the open
air under the heavy sun light and their face never got tanned. When tanned for any
reason, the Egyptians concealed the bronze under the layers of powder. The ingredients used for powder were various substances,
even very exotic. So, Cleopatra who was ready for everything scarifying
for her beauty used the powder made from crocodile excrements. The women residing
in the antique Rome
would use the powder presented as the mixture of crushed chalk and lead
extremely toxic and harmful for the health, though immediately concealing all
defects and drawbacks of the skin under the layer of dangerous makeup. In spite of the obvious harmfulness for the skin,
such mixture was highly appreciated, and only the most rich and wealthy Romans
could afford it. The other, less wealthy Roman women were satisfied with
application of mixture from wheat flour.
The face powder
was demanded by many nations in the world in the beginning AD and in Asia white
skin was believed to be the sign of aristocratism, membership of the elite, and
yet, white color is the pure symbol of the internal beauty and nobility.
The Japanese
women and men commonly used the face powder made from rice flour, while in
Europe such flour appeared a little bit later, in the XVI century, when rice
was marketed in some of European countries including main cores of fashion and
noble life, as France, Spain and England. The powder made from
grinded rice was used to apply onto the face skin and wigs that became more
massive. During the reign of Louis XV the powder was made a «must-have»
cosmetic means by the favorite of the King, marquise de Pompadour. The court
ladies applied the thick layer of powder onto the face, hands, and shoulders
making them aristocratically pale and hiding the skin defects. The colorful
powder became fashionable, when the tender pink powder was used to accentuate
beauty of cheeks and the blue powder was applied under eyes.
Within several
centuries the powder was used by women and men from the entire Europe including court people and wealthy bourgeois. Later
on, the powder disappeared from practice since in the end of the XVIII century
a plenty of wheat and rice flour was spent to make the powder to the extent that
powder pro was officially forbidden in France first and then in other
countries to produce powder to save the assets. And the powder sank into
oblivion for almost a hundred years and healthy and tanned look came in
fashion. The Queen Victoria of Great
Britain was the one who prohibited using the
makeup for the reason that it seemed vulgar.
The face powder
returned its fame in the beginning of the XX century when theater actresses
concealed skin defects under the layer of powder not only on the stage but in
everyday life also. Then in France
the powder was invented similar to the face powder we use now. The base for the
powder was the talk without harmful lead admixtures not irritating the skin.
For several decades the cosmetic industry underwent sea changes and revolutions.
And in 1923 the English Company Laughton & Sons proceeded to manufacture the
comfortable compact powder-cases with sponges, and in the fifties the legendary
Hollywood stylist Max Factor launched affordable to actresses and ordinary
woman a version of foundation powder for everyday use called «Pan Cake», that
effectively conceal drawbacks. In the early XX century Anthony Overton launched
his first powder for Afro-Americans under High Brown Brand.
One of the first
cheaper powders was launched by Helena Rubinstein, and in the early forties
Elizabeth Arden initiated manufacture of powder altogether with the other care
products and makeup.
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