Face Paint: The Story of Makeup

I got the book "Face Paint:  The Story of Makeup" by Lisa Eldridge as a Christmas present from my Dad. I didn't even really know what the book was about, but I love Lisa Eldridge, so I wanted to own it.

I thought it would be about makeup application, kind of like Kevyn Accoin's "Making Faces" (which is excellent, by the way.) But "Face Paint" is about the history of makeup. It's not something that you need to read from front to back. I have flipped through it and just read whatever grabs my attention. I'm not really a history person, but I do love makeup, so this is actually very interesting.

One part that jumped out at me was the piece about Marie Antoinette. In the book, Lisa explains, "Her famous toilette ritual was described by Madame Campan as 'a masterpiece of etiquette'. The first 'private' toilette included the washing of face and body, the application of whitening face paint or powder, and the fixing and powdering of the hair. The 'public' toilette began at noon, and was all about makeup and final touches - with the application of rouge being the most popular to attend."

Isn't that fascinating? Lisa adds that, "Her strict toilette regime created styles that infiltrated the toilettes of women around Europe". When I first read that, I thought it was super weird. People would go watch her put on her makeup? But, wait a second. I do that all the time when I check out Nikki Tutorials or Jeffree Star or the lovely Lisa Eldridge herself on YouTube. I love watching people put on their makeup. Then they mention products that I haven't tried, like Clinique's Airbrush concealer, and I rush right out and buy it. I guess things haven't changed so much since the 1770s.

Aside from the interesting content and gorgeous photos, "Face Paint:  The Story of Makeup" is a beautiful book to have on your coffee table. I definitely recommend it, if you haven't had a chance to check it out.