Lisa Eldridge

To those who really enjoy makeup, Lisa Eldridge is a well-known name. A highly skilled makeup artist with her own cosmetics line (the lipsticks are brilliant), she also knows a great deal about the history of makeup. In this gorgeously illustrated hardcover book, Eldridge covers the history of makeup and what things may look like in the future.

Interestingly, the book isn’t structured as you would expect with all makeup discussed chronologically or a discussion of each product. The book opens by examining three major colours in beauty – and no, pink isn’t one of them – and one isn’t used that much in current trends. Interspersed through the chapters are short biographies of women who were makeup muses, some well known (e.g., Marilyn Monroe) and some not known to me. The book then looks at the role of media in advertising makeup and the initial innovators, such as Max Factor. The companies themselves also have short biographies, from Revlon (it wasn’t a good week for them when I was reading this) to Chanel. The photographs of antique makeup (think gorgeously embellished lipstick tubes) and advertisements (some very sexist to a modern reader) really add to the narrative her. The final chapter looks at trends and what drives them nowadays, such as technology from silicone (and the clearest description of Colorstay I’ve read) to pearl powders and glitters.

All in all, the book is a fascinating (and relatively fast) read. Some subjects, such as particular companies, I would have liked more of, and others less (not really fussed about ancient makeup). But like makeup itself, that’s what makes the individual and how we can make so many different faces when there are only so many shades of pink in the spectrum.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com… (mere)

Mm, not as in depth as I would like, but that would be a much heavier tome. This book is gorgeous, with contemporary photos, vintage ads, and historical art as illustrations. The first half examines the use of three colors (red, black, and white) over time in Western and Eastern makeup (African and South American cultures are somewhat mentioned, but not as in depth as the first two). Eldridge notes a fascinating correlation between embracing the use of makeup and emancipation of women- in Egypt where the kohl and eyeliner ran free, women could own and inherit property whereas in Greece, where makeup was discouraged for all except courtesans, 'proper' women were kept cloistered at home. There are also some cross cultural parallels- both Renaissance Italians and Chinese painted their faces with lead, aging their skin prematurely.

The second half was the history of the the cosmetics industry, which despite makeup being used for millennia seems to be a relatively recent thing. I enjoyed the profiles of the early 1900s makeup entrepreneurs behind many of the brands we know and use today.… (mere)

Famous makeup artist Lisa Eldridge brings us a history of makeup. She goes into both the chemistry (what the makeup was made of) and the sociology (how social mores influenced its use) of it to create a rounded view of makeup. It’s been around for thousands of years- the ancient Egyptians made great use of it- and, while for centuries in the western world it wasn’t considered a good thing to do, it was there, being made at home of rose petals and blackberries, flying under the radar.

The first part of the book is a look at the three basic colors of makeup: red, white, and black. Those colors have been used in every century and civilsation. She tells us how each color was obtained and how the uses changed. The rest of the book is basically about Victorian times on, because that is when beauty products came to be more widely available, and, possibly more important, when they became advertised. I’m a history and vintage fan, so I loved seeing the various styles of makeup- different eye brow shapes, different rouge placement, and different eye shadows. (Of course, looking back through the decades at the styles, I had to occasionally think “What the hell were we thinking?!?!”) I also loved that she gives the chemistry behind the products, from soot mixed with petroleum jelly to today’s modern silicones that work like magic. The history of makeup also includes the people behind the products: Elizabeth Arden, Estee Lauder, Charles Revson, Helena Rubenstein, Max Factor, and the Westmores. There are also inserts on Makeup Muses: various beauties like Monroe, Garbo, Josephine Baker, and Bardot and how they did their makeup.

One of the best parts, of course, are all the illustrations. Not just women with makeup on, but vintage ads (love those) and old packaging- I’d love to have Kigu’s Flying Saucer powder compact, with its deep blue lid covered with golden stars! The book is written in a very engaging style and was fun to read, as well as being very informative.… (mere)