History of Chinese Makeup

Makeup is an ancient practice that was used in ancient cultures such as Egypt, Ancient Rome, India or the Imperial Girl. And today we are going to discover the history of aesthetics and beauty canons through makeup in the eastern country.

In the Chinese Empire, cosmetics is an ancient tradition; As early as the 3rd century BC, women used handmade makeup with natural products. In general, the canon of beauty was based on a delicately made-up woman, with a very careful and delicate complexion, especially white skin. Since it was associated with the upper classes and power. In addition to showing an image of a fragile woman as if she were made of porcelain. It was also considered beautiful to have small features, white teeth, and luminous eyes. The makeup was based on fine pink, red or orange powders, and the eyes were marked with Indian ink.

According to the various dynasties that occurred throughout the empire. The makeup was changing. Thus, during the Qin Dynasty (3rd century BC) and the Han Dynasty. The canon of white-skinned beauty associated with power began to be promoted. In addition, a lot of importance was given to the lips, especially making them up in intense and bright red. But drawing a large stain on the lower lip and a smaller one on the upper lip.

The first lipstick would be born, which was commonly made up of colored pigments obtained from minerals, juices, or animal blood. This is how the Vermilion appeared, made with mercury, which would later be added with wax and animal fat, creating an intense red lipstick.

Later, the lips began to be painted in the form of a fan. And during the Sui and Tang Dynasties (6-10th centuries) they changed their design, lips were fashionable to make up in the shape of a cherry. Finally, during the Tang Dynasty. They experimented with wearing black lips but it was not very successful. But they began to give importance to the eyebrows: sharp, pointed, and dark.