Beyond Beautiful: Ancient Egyptian Cosmetics

If you have seen a movie, television program, or even a cartoon featuring the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, I bet she’s probably wearing a lot of makeup. Cleopatra is typically portrayed with bright red lips, heavy blue or green eyeshadow that covers her entire eyelid, dark brows, and even blush on her cheeks. All of that’s not just for show — I mean, it is, but it’s also historically accurate. Cosmetics were a common part of Ancient Egypt’s culture, and date back as early as the Predynastic period (c. 6000 - c. 3150 BCE).

Makeup was routinely worn by both men and women during this period. It was not only used to enhance beauty, but it also had a practical purpose as well. The Egyptian word for “makeup palette” derives from their word for “to protect.” Ancient Egyptians lined their eyes with smoky kohl — like modern-day eyeliner — to protect their eyes from the sun’s rays. Kohl is a powdery substance made from an ore called galena and lining their eyes with it had the same effect as the black under-eye protectant that many athletes use today. They also used blue and green eyeshadow, but that was usually ornamental and saved for special occasions. Hello Cleopatra! In addition to all this eyework, Ancient Egyptians paid just as much attention to what was below the nose too, and applied tinted ointments to their lips — like lipstick and lip gloss. This not only added color to their mouths, but also served to protect and heal sun-chapped lips.

Did you know there are many beauty and hygiene practices that we use today that derive from ancient practices? Today, you can get products made of grainy salt to rub onto your skin to help remove dead skin cells. This process is called exfoliation and it makes your skin smoother and fresher. Ancient Egyptians had a similar process using Dead Sea salts to exfoliate their skin. They would then take baths in milk to soften their skin. Take a trip to your local beauty store and you’ll find a variety of face lotions and masks to help your skin look younger and feel softer. Ancient Egyptians would make similar face masks by mixing milk and honey, as well as using honey and sugar to wax off excess hair. They used a variety of oils to help soften their skin, fade scars, and prevent wrinkling — like modern day face creams. These oils were practical, too, as they protected them from sunburn and warded off sand flies and other insects. The oils usually smelled good, because they would come from plants with strong odors, such as lavender, peppermint, thyme, cedar, rose, and almonds. With these scented oils, they also created variations of deodorant, perfume, breath mints, and toothpaste. The Egyptians took their hygiene very seriously.

Everyone wore make-up in Egypt during these ancient times. It didn’t matter if you were a king or queen, or just a regular, everyday person. However, royal families would typically have their own makeup artists and manicurists. The Egyptian term for makeup artist derives from the word for “write or engrave,” which suggests that being a makeup artist back then required a great deal of skill. These makeup artists  — or servants — would mix the components to make the cosmetics, and then apply it using various brushes. Henna was also used too. It is a dye made from a plant known as a henna tree. There is evidence that Egyptians used henna to add highlights to their hair. It can also act as a temporary tattoo, and they would use henna to decorate their skin with elaborate designs.

Religion was also another reason why Ancient Egyptians wore makeup. The Book of Dead, a collection of texts that includes spells and instructions to help a citizen’s journey from life to the underworld and afterlife, claimed that a person must be well presented when entering the afterlife. As death could come at any time, people were expected to look their finest whenever possible. Cosmetic items were frequently placed in tombs to accompany people on their journey into the afterlife.

It’s worth noting that although the makeup Egyptians used seemed very similar to what we use today, the ingredients were very different. The eyeliners they used were made of ore, carbon, lead, and sulfite. The eyeshadows came from minerals like malachite. The red lipsticks were made of ochre mixed with animal fat or vegetable oil. It’s said that Cleopatra would crush beetles to get a deeper red for her lips. They also made lipsticks that mixed the dye from iodine and bromine mannite – which was poisonous. Perhaps that’s where we got the phrase “kiss of death.”