Cosmetic

It is said that women in Egypt used cosmetic more than
four thousand years ago. These women painted their
eyebrows; added a thick dark line under each eye and had
different kinds of paint for different seasons of the year.
Women in ancient Rome used cosmetic too. They used
powdered chalk for whitening the skin and red colour for
the cheeks. A rich Roman lady spent many hours over her
toilet; and a crowd of young slaves helped her. The Roman
poet Ovid wrote a book on cosmetic and gave a recipe for
what we now call a face-pack made of flour, eggs and other
materials. The use of this, he says, will make the face smooth-
er and brighterl than a mirror.

In England in the 17th and 18th centuries it was a custom
for all ladies of fashion to paint their faces and to blacken
their eyebrows. In the 19th century there was a change of
taste and the ladies who used cosmetic were not accepted
in high society. Today the use of cosmetic is accepted everywhere.