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Racquel Fox English 1 March 1, 2013 iSearch/Egypt Essay Ancient Egyptian Makeup Egypt had a very long civilization

and over the 3,000 years, the Egyptians made a lot of culture. One thing that I found particularly interesting in class was the makeup the Egyptians used. Women have always wanted to look their best, and in ancient Egypt, there was no exception. I wanted to know why they used all the makeup that they used. What kind of purposes did the makeup have? I was also wondering what kind of ingredients went into the makeup. Egyptian makeup may not seem very interesting, but its actually more interesting than I would have thought. Both men and women wore eye makeup on their eyelids, eyebrows, and eye lashes. The most common colors were black and green. They started to wear makeup in about 4000 BC. Egyptians used makeup for cosmetic reasons, medical reasons, and as a fly deterrent. For cosmetic reasons, they used makeup to define their eyes. For medical reasons, the physicians prescribed kohl for eye diseases. Kohl, which was made out of galena, had disinfectant qualities. The kohl shielded the eyes against the sun, and kept the flies away from them. Kohl was a very important ingredient in the makeup, and it might have been the most important ingredient. The ancient Egyptians also used perfume. The Egyptians used perfume to smell good as we still do to this day. They usually liked flowery scents. Ordinary people, like peasants, usually smelled bad. Bad smells such as burnt animal dung and body odor were very common in Egypt, due to the heat; but it was the main reason they used good smelling fragrances. The perfume was an important part of their appearance, even if they couldnt see it. The higher the status of the person the more clothes and make-up they wore. Says Linda Alchin of King-Tut.org. This shows the Egyptian social pyramid, because if you were a peasant you wouldnt be able to wear as much make-up or clothes. The eyemakup that the noble women wore was very made of a very fine

quality known as kohl. A lot of hard work went into making the eye makeup. The perfume they used very useful in Egypt because the humidity made it smell terrible. Egyptians wore makeup for a lot of different reasons. Obviously they wore it to look good, but it was also used it for medical reasons. Kohl was made out of galena, which had disinfectant qualities, and physicians prescribed kohl for eye diseases. Kohl shielded eyes against the sun, which was very necessary in Egypt. It also kept the flies away, which was also very necessary in Egypt. Perfume was also important. They used perfume to make themselves smell better, and to make things around them smell better. Since Egypt was so hot and humid, body odor was a major reason for the use of perfume. Researching Egyptian makeup was actually very interesting and fun. I learned a lot more than I probably would have with any other topic. At first it was hard to stick to about three websites for information, but it got easier when I found the right ones. I gained more resilience because sometimes when I found a website that I thought was good but wasnt, I got very frustrated and didnt want to keep going. However, I did and I feel a lot better about doing it. I realized that I have a lot more willpower than before and it was really fun researching my topic. I was able to answer all of my questions and the answers all satisfied me. I learned so much during the research, and I cant wait to do this again.

Bibliography
Alchin , Linda. "Egyptian Make Up." King Tut. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. <http://www.king-tut.org.uk/ancientegyptians/egyptian-make-up.htm>. Alchin , Linda. "Egyptian Make Up." King Tut. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. <http://www.king-tut.org.uk/ancientegyptians/egyptian-make-up.htm>. "COSMETICSINFO.ORG - Your source for safety information about cosmetics and personal care products." COSMETICSINFO.ORG - Your source for safety information about cosmetics and personal care products. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. <http://www.cosmeticsinfo.org/history3.php Dollinger, Andr . "Ancient Egypt: Personal Hygiene and Cosmetics." Reshafim: Kibbutz Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. <http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/cosmeti cs.htm>. Dollinger , Andr. "ancient Egypt: perfume making." Reshafim: Kibbutz Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. <http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/trades/perfume_makers. htm>. Frey, Wendy, John Bergez, and Amy Joseph. History alive!: the ancient world / [author, Wendy Frey ; contributing authors, John Bergez, Amy Joseph]. Palo Alto, Calif.: Teachers' Curriculum Institute, 2004. Print.

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