Graphite Kohl: The Iron Age Eyeliner That Shimmered
A 2,700-year-old kohl from Iran's Kani Koter cemetery mixed manganese oxide with graphite, making it the earliest metallic-shimmer eyeliner on record.
June 5, 2026 · Layla Hassan
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#ancient cosmetics
Every article tagged ancient cosmetics, newest first.
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history Byzantine cosmetics: the empire that built a vanity trade
Constantinople ran a thousand-year cosmetics industry of carmine, antimony and rose oil. It's the missing chapter between ancient Egypt and the Renaissance.
June 2, 2026 · Sienna Park
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history Minoan cosmetics: the Bronze Age perfumery of Chamalevri
Before 2000 BC, a Cretan workshop was blending anise, beeswax, and resin into compounded cosmetics. It is the oldest such site ever found.
May 31, 2026 · Sienna Park
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history Red Lipstick: A Five-Thousand-Year History
Red lipstick has been crushed gemstone, mercury sulfide, fish-scale shimmer, and lead. The 5,000-year story is mostly about pigment chemistry, and luck.
May 6, 2026 · Layla Hassan