Makeup in Ancient Egypt
Egyptians loved to dress up and wear fancy makeup. They had an amazing collection of cosmetics and used to do makeup in the most graceful ways you can imagine. For Egyptians, especially during ancient times, one's attire and appearance mattered a lot. From dressing to cosmetics everything had to be as beautiful and stunning as possible. From dressing to cosmetics everything had to be as beautiful and stunning as possible.
Importance Of Makeup
In ancient Egypt, makeup was important both for appearance as well as for protection. Both men and women used to use various cosmetics and rubbed them all across their skins to protect them from the drastic atmospheric conditions and strong sun. They had different classes and categories of makeup that were used for different purposes and depending on your social class.
This included:
- Black Makeup: This makeup mixture was made of carbon, lead sulfide, and manganese oxide and was used to enhance the beauty of the eyes.
- Green Makeup: This was made from copper-based minerals like malachite.
- Red Makeup: This was a mixture of red ochre and water. It was used to make up lips and cheeks.
- Henna: This was used to make hair look more beautiful and stunning to Egyptians. They also used it for dying their fingernails in colors like yellow and orange and for making hand tattoos.
Ancient Egyptian Face Makeup
To protect their face from bad atmospheric conditions and to look beautiful Egyptians used wonderful makeup on their face, especially red makeup that enhanced the beauty of their lips and cheeks. Ochre was used as the primary ingredient for doing this.
Ancient Egyptian Eye Makeup
Egyptians used to pay particular attention to their eyes and outlined them to highlight and accentuate their beauty. Egyptians used to paint their eyelids with both black and green makeup to create stunning impressions.
Apart from the beauty factor, there were a few other reasons as well that made Egyptians use eye makeup. These included:
- Medical reasons, since kohl and other eye cosmetics provided immunity against various diseases.
- Religious reasons, since green eye makeup was believed to have been evoked from the eye of Horus.
- Various traditional beliefs, since for mothers using eye makeup for their infants was providing them protection against the evil eye.
Ancient Egyptian Hair & Nail Makeup
Egyptians used various cosmetics as makeup for their hair and nails as well. Henna was the major content used for this purpose that was extracted from leaves and flowers of various colors. Egyptians used this dye to color their hair as well as their nails.
The Beautiful Makeup Of Ancient Egypt
From their hair to nails ancient Egyptians showed their talent in extracting cosmetics and made their era even more beautiful and charming. Beauty and appearance are a major pride of Egyptian history that is clearly reflected in their appearance in ancient times.
