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The Edwardian Era – Youthful Beauty
Edwardian women loved facials and spent many hours massaging and applying creams to their face to keep their skin soft and supple. By the turn of the century, cosmetics generally consisted of little pots of home-made rouge for cheeks, eyes and lips along with blotting papers. A full face of makeup was reserved only for movie stars or prostitutes. Because of this, an average woman during this era sported a very natural look with rosy cheeks and lips. -
Rouges and Creams Introduced – St. Louis, Missouri
Max Factor, a Polish-American cosmetician and former cosmetic expert for the Russian royal family, began selling his rouges and creams in the United States at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Cheek color had been homemade until this point and was never sold in bulk before. Years later, Factor settled in Los Angeles and began full-time work for the film cosmetics industry. -
Hair Dye Developed – France
French chemist Eugene Schueller demonstrated his capacity for new ideas by creating his first hair dye formulae under the name Oréal, using a blend of harmless chemical compounds. The dyes provided a subtle range of colors in contrast to other methods on the market which used henna or mineral salts. Schueller later changed the name of his company to L'Oreal, which is still prevalent today in many more mediums than just haircare products. -
First Cosmetics Counter Opened – London, England
Businessman Gordon Selfridge opened the first cosmetics counter in his department store in London to allow women to "try before they buy." This method of selling cosmetics and perfumes is still popular today in department and cosmetic stores alike. -
DIY Mascara Becomes Popular – United States
American women began to fashion their own form of mascara around 1910 by applying beads of wax to their eyelashes. This was the first glimpse of the very popular "doe-eyed" look that women strived for, even after mascara was invented. -
Metal Lipstick Tube Invented
The days of lipstick in a jar were now a thing of the past once the first metal lipstick tubes were introduced in 1915 by American inventor Maurice Levy.This invention was one of the first instances of increased mobility and social acceptance of applying makeup in places outside of one's home to touch up. Women simply had to slide a tiny lever at the side of the tube with the edge of their fingernail to move the lipstick up to the top of the case. -
Invention of Maybelline Mascara
In 1917, 19-year-old Tom Lyle Williams introduced the first-ever packaged cake mascara. To use this product, one would have moisten the brush with some water, glide it along the pigment palette and then sweep it over lashes. This original formula was produced from a blend of petroleum and black coal dust because that is what Williams' older sister Mayble would use before he forumulated his version complete with a brush. With that, in honor of Williams' sister, Maybelline Cosmetics was born. -
Age of the Flapper Begins – United States Cities
A full face of makeup became popular for the first time in history in the 1920s. Being that cosmetics were so readily available at nearly every pharmacy and department store in the nation, women could purchase an extensive variety of eye color, mascara, lipstick and face powder at a low cost. The stigma that makeup had received in the past was now ignored by women as they embraced the many products at their fingertips to beautify daily. -
Compact Powder Case Invented
The versatility of powdered face makeup got even larger in 1923 when the first patent for compacts was released by inventor R.W. Oliver. This invention was a step in showing women that makeup can be available on-the-go as well as at their vanity at home. -
First Swivel Lipstick Container Invented
Every lipstick in a woman's handbag up until this point was equipped with a side lever to push up the lipstick. This invention was challenged by a patent released in 1923 by James Mason Jr with a turnable knob at the base of the tube that allowed the product to swivel up and down at the twist of a finger. -
The Great Depression's Effect on Cosmetics
With the close of the 1920s came the crash of the stock market – and with that came an expedited change in attitude about hair and makeup. Gone were the days of the rebellious flapper, which were replaced instead by a softer more feminine look. While many women had to adjust their beauty routines, they still strove to achieve the looks made popular by their favorite movie stars. Glamour was still in, although it was much more muted than it had been in the 1920s. -
1930s Cosmetic Trends
Some trends that became the norm for women in the 1930s included pencil-thin eyebrows, bright rouge and shimmery eye shadows. The makeup looks of this era were a lot more refined and toned down than the previous flapper era. -
Revlon Founded, Introduces Pigmented Nail Polish
In the midst of the Great Depression, brothers Charles and Joseph Revson, along with chemist Charles Lachman, found Revlon. The founders had discovered a unique manufacturing process for nail enamel, using pigments instead of dyes. -
Max Factor Introduces Pan-Cake Makeup
Pan-Cake Makeup was developed by Polish makeup artist Max Factor to meet the unique makeup requirements of technicolor film, as without corrective makeup to provide a natural complexion actors' faces appeared brick red or blue. When actresses started taking large quantities of Pan-Cake home with them for their personal use, Factor realized that his new makeup worked fabulously both on and off camera and later introduced Pan-Cake to the general retail trade. -
The Invention of Suncreen
The founder of L'Oreal, Eugene Schueller, introduced his formula for sunscreen in 1936, which set a precedent for many other advancements in the forumula throughout history. -
The Era of Pinup Functionality
In the 1940s, a very prominent makeup trend came into play – the pinup look. Film stars of the 40s gushed beaty and luxury and many women of America chose to emulate their look. Arched eyebrows and defined, dramatic lips were two common staples of the pinup look seen during this era. Though it was popular for formal events, because of the war era most women chose more practical versions of these looks, as they had to work. -
Marine Corps Cosmetics Introduced
The 1943 uniform regulations for the newly-formed U.S. Marine Corps Women’s Reserves required that not only were women to wear red lipstick and nail polish, it must match the “Marine scarlet” chevrons and cap cord of their uniforms. Cosmetic designer Elizabeth Arden filled this void by formulating the shade “Montezuma Red,” which was released to U.S. consumers and servicewomen in 1944 in the form of lipstick, nail polish and rouge. -
Estée Lauder Founds Cosmetic Brand
In 1946, New York-born Estée Lauder officially began her self-titled cosmetic company, complete with four skin care products and a simple premise: that every woman can be beautiful. The company still exists today and has patent to many formulated advancements in skin care products. -
The Golden Age of Cosmetics
This age of makeup entered it's golden age in 1950. From the invention of cream foundation to non-smudge lipstick, this era reverted back to the more full-faced look of the 20s. Cream foundation provided more coverage to even skin tones and blemishes, and with powder on top women saw much more coverage than ever before.Winged eyeliner became a popular additive for drama in place of bright rougue, which was mostly depopularized during this time.
