Mascara: History, Science & the Magic Wand...

Mascara: History, Science & the Magic Wand

 

Hey All! Welcome back Kats and Kittens.

Today, let’s delve into those beautiful curtains to the windows of the soul, your eyelashes. I wanted to cover some of my current and even past, favorite mascara but when I pondered the subject I began to think about how much more information I could pass along. That being said…

Mascara has quite the history! Our earliest records regarding the first known documented uses take us back to 4000 BC. Ancient Egyptians used “kohl” as a way to protect themselves from those evil spirits that wandered all willy nilly around the place and they used it as decoration around the eyes. Some scholars believe it was also one of the earliest uses of sunglasses, but without the glasses. (The dark material rubbed beneath the eye helps glare and it is still used in this manner today!)

Ancient Egyptians used kohl to darken the eyes, eyebrows and their lashes. Their tools of the trade were pretty primitive though in comparison to what we have stashed in our beauty drawers now. Back then the ingredients were packed into pressed cake and then applied with a dampened brush.

Those ingredients? Uh yeah…charcoal, soot, honey, water, malachite and crocodile dung. Mmm mmm the smells of fragrant kohl crocodile poop from your local mascara dealer.  At least the brush was high quality though. Today we pay a pretty penny for real hair bristled brushes.

Our version of mascara didn’t arrive onto the scene until the 19^th century when Eugene Rimmel, a chemist, used a brand new creation called petroleum jelly to develop a new formula that was creamier. Still made a big mess though!

Much like rival movie studios that tend to produce similar movies at the same time (Armageddon vs. Deep Impact) a T.L. Williams was hard at work on perfecting his recipe for mascara too. His goal was better mascara for his darling sister, Mabel. Want to take a guess on the name he would eventually give his company? DING! DING! DING! We have a winner on computer number 3! Maybelline.

Let’s fast forward several decades to another intense rivalry between Elizabeth Arden (yes of that Elizabeth Arden) and Helena Rubinstein (not a well known name but you are about to start paying her homage). These ladies were single handedly on a mission to bring makeup mainstream. It would no longer be something looked down upon or brushed off as unnecessary on the fashion scene. They took the world and Europe by force. And as a result makeup grew in popularity.

Rubinstein was not content though and in 1957 she changed the game completely. Rubinstein had been hard at work on the problematic mascara. It was still being used in tins with rod brushes. It was incredibly messy. She worked to create a lotion like mascara she would then package in tubes. This eliminated the open tins and made it incredibly less likely to look like you’ve went to war in a Vaseline coal mine war. Later the mascara “rod” was replaced with the familiar wand shape we have today.

Now let’s look into the magic!!!

Just kidding. We are going to delve into the science, which I know will fascinate you just as much as it does me and because you want to know what is going on your face. You should always, always, ALWAYS know what is going on your body – especially your beautiful peepers!

Some of the most common ingredients found in all mascaras are:

·         carbon black (or in the case of brown mascaras it is iron oxides),

·         Oils: linseed, castor, eucalyptus, lanolin, turpentine, sesame

·         Waxes: paraffin, carnauba, beeswax

The actual ingredients change depending on brand and even the desired effect you want from a mascara. Water-resistant (there is no such thing as truly water proof) mascaras will often have dodecane. Non-water resistant will have water soluble ingredients.

The common ingredient all mascaras have is a stiffening agent and these could range from methyl cellulose, ceresin and gum tragacanth.

Lengthening/thickening mascaras have nylon and rayon fibers. Mascara brands that seemed so revolutionary with their fibers that took your lashes to extreme with the whole two step system? Yep…your favorite mascara had been doing that for decades. They just added in a shit load more fibers.

Speaking of shit…

Know that rumor that bat guano is in makeup, or rather that it is in the really expensive brands, or it was in makeup in the past? No it is actually a misconception due to a similar word. Guanine. That is the ingredient that many…okay probably like one or two affluent people made the mistake when reading the ingredients and then ran with the whole story. Guanine is actually an addictive for color that is taken from fish scales. You’re welcome. Mmm mmm…fishy fishy! (But when you think about it there was once poop in mascara but it was crocodile. No bats here!)

 

Now the stage is set for Part II, Return of the favorite mascaras. I promise that now we have the basics, the mystery, science and history out of the way we can now move on. Just remember! An educated consumer is an intelligent, safe wickedly beautiful diva!

 

Now go on kats and kittens...Be the Beauty in the Mirror and enjoy this day without worrying about poop :)