Giving the user a unique oriental or middle-eastern appeal, mascara is a cosmetic accessory that is used to shade the area along the eyelashes. First used in its modern avatar in the nineteenth century, mascara was invented by Andy Duchesnay. The word mascara was from maschera, which means mask in Italian. The practice of using mascara originated in the kohl lined eyes of the ancient Greeks and Egyptians. They used to think that eyes were the ‘windows of the soul’ and that enemies could see their inner thoughts by staring into their eyes. More importantly, they used to think that bad intentioned people could cast an evil eye on them by staring into their eyes. These ancients used Kohl, which is basically antimony sulphide, to line their eyes. Kohl-lined eyes were supposed to ward of evil and cause the ‘curse’ to rebound back to the sender. It was only later in the Elizabethan Age that such a practice assumed an element of style.
Using mascara gives your eyes a certain ‘depth’. Ideal for those whose eyelashes are sparse, mascara renders the eyes with a fuller look. Used mostly by women, some cultures even have men using mascara. The mascara we know of today was created in 1913 by a chemist called T. L. Williams, the founder of the cosmetics giant, Maybelline, named after Williams sister, Mabel. Most mascara is composed of a combination of Bees wax and certain colorants. The modern method of using mascara from a tube with a brush was initiated by the other cosmetics major, Helena Rubenstein.
Modern mascaras are broadly divided into two groups; water-proof mascaras and non-water-proof mascaras. While water based mascaras can be easily washed off with water, water-proof mascaras require a special makeup remover that dissolves the mascara. While black is the most common color for mascara, brown is also occasionally used, with violet, maroon, and blue being somewhat rarer colors.
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