What Is Make-up?

A group of COSMETICS including face powder, lipstick, mascara, eyebrow pencil, eye shadow, and eye liner that are used to enhance a person’s appearance.

Face powder covers up the outer layer of the skin, creating a velvety fi nish on the face. This product usually contains titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, with talc, kaolin, ZINC or magnesium stearate, color, and perfume. Powdered silk, sometimes included in face powder, is a powerful marketing tool but contributes very little to the product’s function.

Compact powder is compressed face powder with a binding component (such as gum arabic). Translucent powder offers an extra opaque quality through the addition of titanium dioxide.

Lipstick is made up of a number of components, including carnauba wax, beeswax, castor oil, LANOLIN, preservatives, perfumes, and indelible dyes (such as D&C Red #21, D&C Orange #5, and so on).

Mascara is a soap that emulsifi es when moistened; liquid mascara is emulsifi ed with alcohol. Eyebrow pencil is made with the same pigments as in mascara and is basically a crayon. Cream eye shadow is a mixture of a petrolatum and pigment, whereas stick eye shadow contains most of the same ingredients as lipstick.

Eyeliner contains pigments in a resin solution that may often be irritating to the eyes. It also contains a small amount of mercury, which has been prohibited in all other cosmetics. However, the amount in eyeliner is not believed to be harmful.

Sensitivity can appear in response to any cosmetic, but the eyes are especially vulnerable. Too frequent or too harsh cleansing of the eyelid can also cause irritation.