Editing Cosmetics (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of cosmetics}}
Cosmetics have been in use for thousands of years, with [[Ancient Egypt|ancient Egyptians]] and [[Sumer|Sumerians]] using them. In Europe, the use of cosmetics continued into the [[Middle Ages]]—where the face was whitened and the cheeks rouged—<ref name="auto1">Angeloglou, Maggie. ''The History of Make-up''. First ed. Great Britain: The Macmillan Company, 1970. 41–42. Print.</ref> Though attitudes towards cosmetics varied throughout time, the use of cosmetics was openly frowned upon at many points in Western history.<ref>{{cite book | title = Lipstick: A Celebration of the World's Favorite Cosmetic | first = J | last = Pallingston | isbn = 978-0-312-19914-2 | publisher = St. Martin's Press | year = 1998}}</ref> Regardless of the changes in social attitudes towards cosmetics, many occasionally achieved ideals of appearance through cosmetics. 

According to one source, early major developments in cosmetics include:<ref name=Ullmann />
* [[Kohl (cosmetics)|Kohl]] used by [[Ancient Egypt|ancient Egyptians]]
* [[Castor oil]] also used in [[ancient Egypt]] as a protective [[Liniment|balm]]
* [[Cream (pharmaceutical)|Skin creams]] made of [[beeswax]], [[olive oil]], and [[rose water]], described by the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] 
* [[Vaseline]] and [[lanolin]] in the nineteenth century.

Historically, the absence of regulation of the manufacture and use of cosmetics, as well as the absence of scientific knowledge regarding the effects of various compounds on the human body for much of this time period, led to a number of negative [[adverse effect|effect]]s upon those who used cosmetics, including [[deformities]], blindness, and, in some cases, death.  Although harmless products were used, such as berries and [[beetroot]], many cosmetic products available at this time were still chemically dubious and even poisonous. Examples of the prevalent usage of harmful cosmetics include the use of [[ceruse]] (white lead) throughout a number of different cultures, such as during the [[Renaissance]] in the West, and blindness caused by the mascara [[mascara#History|Lash Lure]] during the early 20th century. During the 19th century, there were numerous incidents of [[lead poisoning]] due to the fashion for red and white lead makeup and powder, leading to swelling and inflammation of the eyes, weakened [[tooth enamel]], and blackened skin, with heavy use known to lead to death.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-01-10 |title=Suffering for beauty has ancient roots |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna22546056 |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> Usage of white lead was not confined only to the West, with the white Japanese face makeup known as {{lang|ja-Latn|[[oshiroi]]}} also produced using white lead. In the second part of the 19th century, scientific advances in the production of makeup led to the creation of makeup free of hazardous substances such as [[lead]].{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} 

Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, changes in the prevailing attitudes towards cosmetics led to a wider expansion of the cosmetics industry. In 1882, English actress and socialite [[Lillie Langtry]] became the poster girl for [[Pears (soap)|Pears]] of London, making her the first celebrity to endorse a commercial product.<ref>{{cite news|title=When Celebrity Endorsers Go Bad|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2002/02/03/when-celebrity-endorsers-go-bad/260776e6-d38c-4319-b683-eb466c499dce/|access-date=2 March 2022|newspaper=The Washington Post|quote=British actress Lillie Langtry became the world's first celebrity endorser when her likeness appeared on packages of Pears Soap.|archive-date=16 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116081428/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2002/02/03/when-celebrity-endorsers-go-bad/260776e6-d38c-4319-b683-eb466c499dce/|url-status=live}}</ref> She allowed her name to be used on face powders and skin products.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Marsh |first1=Madeleine |title=Compacts and Cosmetics: Beauty from Victorian Times to the Present Day |date=2014 |publisher=Casemate Publishers |page=40}}</ref> During the 1910s, the market in the US was developed by figures such as [[Elizabeth Arden]], [[Helena Rubinstein]], and [[Max Factor]]. These firms were joined by [[Revlon]] just before [[World War II]] and [[Estée Lauder Companies|Estée Lauder]] just after. By the middle of the 20th century, cosmetics were in widespread use by women in nearly all [[industrial society|industrial societies]] around the world, with the cosmetics industry becoming a multibillion-dollar enterprise by the beginning of the 21st century.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=A History of the Cosmetics Industry |url=https://www.cosmeticassociation.org/cosmetic-products/a-history-of-the-cosmetics-industry/ |website=American Cosmetic Association |access-date=2023-02-28 |archive-date=2023-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228143623/https://www.cosmeticassociation.org/cosmetic-products/a-history-of-the-cosmetics-industry/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The wider acceptance of the use of cosmetics led some to see makeup as a tool used in the oppression and subjection of women to unfair societal standards. In 1968, at the feminist [[Miss America protest]], protesters symbolically threw a number of feminine products into a "Freedom Trash Can",<ref>{{cite journal | last=Dow|first=Bonnie J. |title=Feminism, Miss America, and Media Mythology |journal=Rhetoric & Public Affairs |volume=6 |issue=1 |date= Spring 2003 |pages=127–149 |doi=10.1353/rap.2003.0028|s2cid=143094250 }}</ref> with cosmetics among the items the protesters called "instruments of female torture"<ref>{{cite book|last=Duffett|first= Judith |title=WLM vs. Miss America |series=Voice of the Women's Liberation Movement |date=October 1968 |page=4}}</ref> and accoutrements of what they perceived to be enforced [[femininity]].

{{As of|2016}}, the world's largest cosmetics company is [[L'Oréal]], founded by [[Eugène Schueller]] in 1909 as the French Harmless Hair Colouring Company (now owned by [[Liliane Bettencourt]] 26% and [[Nestlé]] 28%; the remaining 46% is traded publicly).

Although modern makeup has been traditionally used mainly by women, men also use makeup in order to enhance their own facial features or cover blemishes and dark circles. The negative stigma of men wearing makeup in countries such as the United States has weakened over the years, with the number of men using makeup increasing in the 21st century.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=O'Grady |first1=Megan |last2=Schorr |first2=Collier |last3=Holmes |first3=Matt |date=2021-05-10 |title=Makeup Is for Everyone |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/t-magazine/men-makeup-gender-norms.html |access-date=2022-06-20 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2022-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620050837/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/t-magazine/men-makeup-gender-norms.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Cosmetics brands have increasingly targeted men in the sale of cosmetics, with some products targeted [[Male cosmetics|specifically at men]].<ref name="North2018">{{cite web |last1=North |first1=Anna |title=What the rise of men's makeup means for masculinity |url=https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/9/24/17851190/makeup-chanel-queer-eye-maybelline-men |website=Vox |access-date=10 April 2022 |language=en |date=24 September 2018 |archive-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410193427/https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/9/24/17851190/makeup-chanel-queer-eye-maybelline-men |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Elan2020">{{cite news |last1=Elan |first1=Priya |title=Beauty and the bloke: why more men are wearing makeup |url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/feb/23/beauty-and-the-bloke-why-more-men-are-chooisng-to-wear-makeup-warpaint |access-date=10 April 2022 |work=the Guardian |date=23 February 2020 |language=en |archive-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410193427/https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/feb/23/beauty-and-the-bloke-why-more-men-are-chooisng-to-wear-makeup-warpaint |url-status=live }}</ref>

Lead has been used as a makeup product since the 18th century. It is said to be lethal to women who apply it daily to achieve a pale complexion, representing nobility, as tanned skin represents the working class. Lead can be detrimental to people's health and cause death if mixed with [[vinegar]], which it allows lead to be absorbed through the skin.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McNeill |first=Fiona E. |title=Dying for makeup: Lead cosmetics poisoned 18th-century European socialites in search of whiter skin |url=http://theconversation.com/dying-for-makeup-lead-cosmetics-poisoned-18th-century-european-socialites-in-search-of-whiter-skin-176237 |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=The Conversation |date=27 February 2022 |language=en |archive-date=2023-05-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503011112/http://theconversation.com/dying-for-makeup-lead-cosmetics-poisoned-18th-century-european-socialites-in-search-of-whiter-skin-176237 |url-status=live }}</ref>