|
Islam set a number of rules of thumb
relating to purity and cleanness, whether in its physical or
spiritual form. For some branches, the general rule is outlined by
the Quran: “For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He
loves those who keep themselves pure and clean” (2:222). Muhammad
also declared: "Allah is Beautiful and He loves beauty." On the
other hand, some "fundamentalist" branches of Islam forbid the use
of cosmetics. The Taliban, for example, would beat or kill women
found to be wearing cosmetics.
An early cosmetologist was the physician Abu’al-Qassim al-Zahrawi,
or Abulcassis (936-1013 AD), who wrote a medical encyclopedia Al-Tasreef,
in 30 volumes, with chapter 19 devoted to cosmetics. As the treatise
was translated into Latin, the cosmetic chapter was used in the
West. Al-Zahrawi considered cosmetics a branch of medication, which
he called Medicine of Beauty (Adwiyat al-Zinah). He deals with
perfumes, scented aromatics and incense. There were perfumed stocks
rolled and pressed in special moulds, perhaps the earliest
antecedents of present day lipsticks and solid deodorants. He used
oily substances called Adhan for medication and beautification.
During some periods, cosmetic use was frowned upon. For example, in
the 1800s, Queen Victoria publicly declared makeup impolite. It was
viewed as vulgar and something that was worn by actors and
prostitutes.
By World War II, cosmetics had common application for all classes,
and for the upper classes in nearly all societies In Japan, geishas
wore lipstick made of crushed safflower petals to paint the eyebrows
and edges of the eyes as well as the lips. Sticks of bintsuke wax, a
softer version of the sumo wrestlers' hair wax, were used by geisha
as a makeup base. Rice powder colors the face and back; rouge
contours the eye socket and defines the nose. Black paint colours
the teeth for the ceremony when maiko (apprentice geisha) graduate
and become independent.
As of 2006, the cosmetics manufacturing industry is dominated by a
small number of multinationals that all originated in the early 20th
century. Of the major firms, the oldest and the largest is L'Oréal,
which was founded by Eugene Shueller in 1909 as the French Harmless
Hair Colouring Company (now owned by Liliane Bettencourt 27.5% and
Nestlé 26.4%, with the remaining 46.1% are publicly traded). The
true market developers were the 1910s American trio Elizabeth Arden,
Helena Rubinstein, and Max Factor. These firms established the
market and were augmented by Revlon just before World War II and
Estée Lauder just after.
The popularity of cosmetics in the 20th century has made the
industry multi-billion in stature. Especially in the United States,
cosmetics are being used by teens (especially teen girls) at a
younger and younger age. Many companies have catered to this
expanding market by introducing more flavored lipsticks and glosses,
cosmetics packaged in glittery, sparkly packaging and marketing and
advertising using young girls. Some social consequences of physical
image continuously existing in the spot light have had much
attention in the media over the last years. Many fear teens are
displaying the physical signs of maturity long before they are
mentally and psychologically ready to handle the attention brought
forth by their physical image.
Small independents, like semi-permanent cosmetics company Lip-Ink
International, have attempted to break into the cosmetics market
with unique products, but are largely shut out of the major retail
outlets.
Make-up can be casually, perhaps derisively, referred to as "war
paint." |
