More Than Just Decoration: How Makeup Has Shaped History

A swipe of eyeliner, a dab of blush, a glossed lip catching the morning light. These gestures seem ordinary today. Yet each stroke of makeup carries millennia of culture, ritual, rebellion, and self-expression. From the temples of Egypt to Roman theatres, Victorian parlours, Hollywood sets, and Instagram feeds, makeup has always reflected identity, status, and creativity. It is art, armour, and announcement, a mirror of both society and self.

Kohl, Lead, and the Eyes of Pharaohs

Over 5,000 years ago, along the Nile, Egyptians transformed minerals into magic. Kohl, made from galena (lead sulfide), malachite, and soot, lined eyes with dramatic black strokes. Far from mere ornament, it was functional: reducing glare from the desert sun, protecting against infections, and warding off evil spirits.

The lead content, though potentially toxic, was believed to strengthen the eyes and skin. Men, women, and even infants wore it, illustrating the unisex role of cosmetics. Royal tombs contained kohl pots, signalling their sacred significance.

Across the Mediterranean, Greeks polished skin with oils, tinted cheeks with pigments, and perfumed themselves, linking beauty to status and ritual. Roman elites powdered faces, stained lips, and applied rouge to signal health, class, and theatrical persona.

Actors and senators alike used cosmetics as a visual language, making no distinction between gendered norms for them; appearance was a form of power.

Powder, Poison, and the Weight of Beauty

The fall of Rome saw a mix of moral scrutiny and continued courtly use. In the Middle Ages, cosmetics were often condemned as deceptive. Yet aristocrats secretly maintained powdered faces and subtle rouge behind closed doors.

By the Renaissance, Venetian ceruse, a lead-and-vinegar paste, dominated elite beauty despite its severe toxicity. Pale skin meant privilege, a life sheltered from labour, and women endured blistered skin for societal validation. Beauty became both desire and danger, a subtle rebellion against mortality itself.

The 18th century introduced the Great Male Renunciation: European men abandoned wigs, powders, and flamboyant dress, embracing sober suits and bare faces. Cosmetics became coded feminine, narrowing public use.

Victorian society reinforced restraint, praising “natural beauty” while women quietly experimented with powders, lip stains, and cheek rouge. Even as social rules restricted expression, cosmetics remained a discreet tool of personal freedom.

From “Making Up” to Mass Markets

The word “makeup” entered English in the 19th century, meaning “to make up” one’s face. Industrialisation transformed pigments from apothecary mixtures to factory-made products.

In 1915, Maurice Levy patented the first metal lipstick tube, making lip colour portable and publicly acceptable. Women could apply colour discreetly anywhere, a radical departure from centuries of private rituals. The invention of the swivel-up “bullet” tube soon made lipstick an icon of autonomy and style.

Hollywood amplified these shifts. Max Factor, a Polish-born theatrical makeup artist, reformulated stage greasepaint for film, then marketed it to everyday women.

Stars like Clara Bow, Greta Garbo, and Marlene Dietrich transformed cosmetic tools into cultural symbols. Lipstick, blush, mascara, and compacts leapt from the silver screen to shop counters. The line between performance and daily life blurred, making glamour accessible and identity visible.

The Four Classics: Eyes, Lips, Cheeks, and Powder

Eyeliner and Kajal: Timeless, protective, and dramatic from Egyptian kohl to modern cat-eye styles. Eyes have always been the most expressive cosmetic canvas.

Lipstick: From crushed gemstones to cochineal insects to modern metal tubes and viral shades on social media. Lipstick has signalled rebellion, liberation, and personal power. Suffragettes in the early 20th century painted red lips as a protest, and today, trans women and queer artists reclaim it as empowerment.

Blush: From theatrical Renaissance rouge to subtle sunburn blush trends today, it celebrates vitality, mood, and artistry. Cheeks have long been a canvas for creativity.

Powder: From toxic Venetian ceruse to portable compacts, powder reflects aspiration, technology, and social hierarchy. It embodies the tension between aesthetic desire and practical innovation.

These four pillars of makeup have always carried cultural, social, and emotional significance, especially for those whose gender identity challenged societal norms.

Makeup Beyond Gender

Cosmetics were historically unisex. Egyptian men, Roman senators, and kabuki actors all adorned their faces. The gendering of makeup emerged in Europe through cultural shifts like the Great Male Renunciation and Victorian moral codes.

Today, those boundaries are dissolving. Men, trans, non-binary, and LGBTQ+ individuals reclaim makeup as a language of self-expression. Drag performers transform for art, storytelling, and politics. K-pop idols normalise daily cosmetic use for men.

Trans and non-binary individuals use makeup to align outward appearance with inner identity, asserting authenticity in public and private spaces. Social media amplifies this visibility, fostering experimentation and community.

Makeup is now both a personal statement and a political act. It enables exploration of gender fluidity, defiance of stereotypes, and assertion of presence in spaces that once excluded diverse identities. It is celebration, resistance, and liberation all in one brushstroke.

Relevance Today: Identity, Society, and Expression

Makeup today is more than aesthetic — it is a tool of social and personal significance. Brands now offer wider shade ranges, gender-neutral products, and cruelty-free formulations, reflecting social awareness and ethical demand. Makeup is a platform for inclusion, representation, and dialogue about who has the right to be seen and how.

Cosmetics are inseparable from human history. They narrate creativity, rebellion, ritual, oppression, liberation, and identity. Across civilisations and centuries, from tombs to theatres to social media, makeup has expressed individuality, challenged norms, and reflected society.

Every swipe of colour nods to ancestors, converses with culture, and declares presence. Makeup is not superficial it is identity painted, layered, and unapologetically alive. In the hands of men, women, trans, non-binary, and queer people today, it continues to defy boundaries, reclaim space, and proclaim: I am here, I am me, and I will be seen.

SheThePeople Sartorial Series | Views expressed by the author are their own.