MAKE-UP IN ANCIENT EGYPT

The authoress investigates toilet as an aspect of ancient Egyptians' everyday life on the basis of papyruses from the 16th c. BC, archaeological sources and iconography. Apart form the aesthetic dimension make-up had ritual and magic significance for ancient Egyptians. For instance green make-up was believed to avert coming misfortune. Among the most commonly used ingredients of eye-paints was malachite (a green ore of copper) and galena (a dark-grey ore of lead). Egyptians believed that eye-paints prevented and cured eye diseases, such as conjunctivitis and trachoma. They also used red lipsticks and red or pink rouge for cheeks, the basic ingredient of those being red ochre.