The history of makeup (and professional makeup) is as colourful as the products themselves. Cosmetics usage dates all the way back to at least Ancient Egypt around 4000 BC, some say even earlier. Because the technology required to manufacture makeup and actual makeup artists didn't exist (but the desire to look good did!), women were rather resourceful when it came to concocting their own cosmetic products. Unfortunately though, the agents women plucked from their gardens were sometimes responsible for numerous physical problems, not excluding muscle paralysis or death!
Some of the poisonous substances included: lead and antimony sulfide, used in eyeshadow; mercuric sulfide, used in lip reddeners; and belladonna, used to make eyes sparkle.
The makeup industry itself didn't get its modest beginnings until the turn of the 20th Century, in spite of Queen Victoria having publicly declared that the use of makeup was impolite. It was around this time that the original market developers began to build what later became international cosmetic and beauty enterprises: Max Factor, the "grandfather of cosmetics," and life-long rivals Elizabeth Arden and Helen Rubintein. Since then, professional makeup and makeup artistry has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry, ripe with creativity, controversy, and progress. Even amidst adversaries such as war, economic depression and radical social change, the desire to enhance one's appearance is invariable.
If your curiosity has been peaked and you think you may wish to pursue a career as a makeup artist in this multihued industry, click on the courses tab above for valuable guidelines in choosing a professional makeup school, and on how to become a working makeup artist. For further reading on the subject of makeup, check out our Professional Makeup Blog!
makeupart.ca is operated by The School of Professional Makeup. Our mission is to create a community of like minded makeup artists, sharing their knowledge
and expertise, and of course, their love for the professional makeup industry.
The history of makeup (and professional makeup) is as colourful as the products themselves. Cosmetics usage dates all the way back to at least Ancient Egypt around 4000 BC, some say even earlier. Because the technology required to manufacture makeup and actual makeup artists didn't exist (but the desire to look good did!), women were rather resourceful when it came to concocting their own cosmetic products. Unfortunately though, the agents women plucked from their gardens were sometimes responsible for numerous physical problems, not excluding muscle paralysis or death!