That's What She Said: My Thoughts on Obsessing Over Makeup
In ancient Egypt, beautification of a woman was exalted in the highest regard. Moreover, women adorned themselves in luxurious fabrics, robust fragrances (fragrance cones and incense), and elaborate makeup. Keeping this in mind, if a woman followed a specific deity(ies), she would align her makeup to please them. For instance, a reoccurring makeup trend was kohl liner. Then, kohl liner was revered for having magical, pharmaceutical and antimicrobial properties. Henceforth, makeup vamping was intended to please the gods and heal, not for the satisfaction people. This puts a whole other perspective on makeup, self-care and beautification.
Let's not forget, deities also wore makeup, too. The masculine and feminine deities wore kohl eyeliner, therefore the people followed suit. For instance, Ra, Horus, Isis and Nephthys wore makeup (as seen below).
“Egyptians of all social classes applied the eyeliner daily in veneration of the deities, satisfying both religious obligations and beautifying desires. Wearing the glossiest, highest quality kohl denoted one’s upper class status in society while the less wealthy adulterated their kohl with fire soot...it was applied liberally around the eyes to reduce the sun’s glare, to repel flies and to provide cooling relief from the heat. It also trapped errant dust and dirt, a simple remedy to curb the desert’s regular assaults on the body. Besides lining the eyes, the substance was also used to outline the eyebrows and enhance facial tattoos.”
Egyptians added pigment to their lips and cheeks through washing/burning red ochre. Natural cosmetics from the Earth's clay resulted in some of the world's first makeup. Then, henna was used to paint nails and dye their hair. Today, women use henna to dye their hair and create artwork to adorn the body.
I'd like to add, men also participated in wearing makeup to show praise to their gods as well. Moreover, in their eyes the more beautiful your makeup looked, the more pleased their deity would be with them. All in all, during this time makeup was not viewed specifically for the attention of others. Although, peers witnessed such pristine beauty, makeup was not gender based, nor solely for the purpose of vanity.
Observantly, it was not until Roman influence that makeup was worn for people. Thus, a red lip could attract a lover or voluminous lashes could be used to flirt. Unlike, their Egyptian forefathers, whose intentions were first for god, secondly for themselves, thirdly for peers.
On a final note, makeup is an investment in oneself. Let me rephrase, self-care is an investment in oneself. Thus, if the person chooses makeup as their self-care investment, then others should not judge that. Instead, they might ask themselves how do they invest in self-care. To place judgment on them about how they spend their money, and their time on self-care is left to the individual.
Shonchelle Shereé does not own the rights to any of the photos feature in the article, besides the Youtube video.