Arsenic Pills and Lead Foundation: The History of Toxic Makeup

Learn about poisonous ingredients in ancient makeup and see what lipstick is made of today.

The video below explains that modern lipstick is made from waxes, colors, and oils (and depending on what you brand you buy, the color could come from bugs). But throughout their long history, cosmetics like lip coloring, eyeliner, and face powder have been made from a lot of other ingredients—some of which you wouldn’t want to put on your face.

Here are some notable examples. (And to learn what ingredients are in lipstick today, check out the video.)

Cleopatra is famous for her heavy eyeliner, but she wasn’t the only ancient Egyptian with distinctive makeup. All men and women in ancient Egypt painted their eyes with black and green powders. In addition to protecting them from the sun, this makeup was believed

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