Versailles rouge: the painted circle on 18th-century cheeks
How Versailles turned a dot of carmine and alum into a class signal. Louis XV's decree, the painted circle, and the lead-cinnabar history nobody mentions.
May 15, 2026 · Sienna Park
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history Maybelline: the vaseline and coal-dust origin of modern mascara
Mass-market mascara started with a kitchen-stove fire in 1915 Chicago. The story of Mabel Williams, her brother Tom Lyle, and a recipe that built a billion-dollar brand.
May 14, 2026 · Layla Hassan
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history Rubinstein vs Arden: the feud that built modern cosmetics
Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden ran rival cosmetics empires for fifty years and never met. The industry they built still runs on their playbook.
May 13, 2026 · Sienna Park
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history Twiggy's painted bottom lashes: the 1966 mod eye, deconstructed
Twiggy wore three pairs of false lashes on top and painted every lower lash on with a brush. The 1966 mod eye, taken apart line by line.
May 8, 2026 · Maya Chen
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history Kohl and galena: the chemistry of 5,000 years of eye paint
Egyptian kohl was a lead-sulfide cosmetic with real antimicrobial chemistry, not just decoration. Tracing the recipe from Badarian graves to today's tubes.
May 7, 2026 · Layla Hassan
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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