Beauty

Everybody knows that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Literally speaking, this means that beauty is subjective; it exists in the plane of thought, and belongs to the thinker, rather than the object being described. When somebody uses the adjective, ‘beautiful’, when describing an object or a person... there is no case for debate, as it is his or her opinion, so they need not prove this point. However, this is also true of the adjective ‘ugly’.

Cosmetics

As well as being a well known adjective, beauty is also big business. The cosmetics industry is a multi-billion pound industry, with thousands or products for sale from hundreds of different companies. There are many types of cosmetics, but they all usually fall under these 11 main categories, Lipstick, Foundation, Powder, Blusher, Bronzer, Mascara, Eye Liner, Eyebrow Pencils, Nail Polish and Concealer and Skin care products.

It is hard to imagine a world without so many cosmetics products and brands, but there was a time when women had very little choice regarding beauty products. In fact, the cosmetics industry only became big business early in the 19th Century. It all started in 1877 with the birth of Max Faktor, in Lodz, Poland.

Shopping

As a young man in Moscow, Russia, he established his first shop where he sold perfumes, skin crèmes and wigs. A theatre group wore some of his makeup while performing before Russian aristocrats, which led to his being employed by the Royal Family as its makeup consultant. He was also engaged by Russia’s national opera.

In 1904 Max, his wife Lisa and their 3 children left Europe and immigrated to America, arriving with less than four hundred dollars to his name, the spelling of which was Americanized into “Max Factor" during his immigration proceedings. That same year he worked at the St. Louis World’s Fair selling skin crèmes and perfumes and then moved on to the theatre district in Los Angeles four years later, where Max opened the Max Factor beauty salon, thinking he might have the opportunity to work in the newly emerging movie industry in Hollywood.

Some six years later, in 1914, he invented the first of many creations that would come to be known globally. This initial invention, greasepaint compressed into a tube, was designed specifically as a makeup for actors, one that would not crack. It was Max Factor who coined the term ‘makeup’ to describe his product.

As a result of this product, many of Hollywood’s top movie stars began visiting his beauty studio and his reputation was born. During the following two decades, he was responsible for the glamorous looks of celebrities such as Jean Harlow, Judy Garland, Rita Hayworth, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn and Joan Crawford, many of whom relied on his services not only for their movie appearances but in their ‘everyday’ lives.

Max Factor

Then in the 1920’s Max Factor started selling his cosmetics to consumers, believing that all women should have the opportunity to look like the stars. In doing so, Max was largely responsible for the commencement of the cosmetics industry as we know it today. Many of his Hollywood clients also agreed to appear in magazine ads to market his cosmetics, and the name Max Factor soon became known around the globe.

From there Max Factor was responsible for a number of cosmetic innovations including the first foundation (known as Pan-cake), which was applied to the face with a silk sponge. Other ‘firsts’ introduced by Max Factor and the company of the same name he founded were false eyelashes, lip gloss, the eyebrow pencil, stick makeup, concealer, the mascara wand, water resistant makeup and many others.

Max Factor died in Beverly Hills in 1938, but the company he founded continued to grow under the direction of his son, Max Jr., becoming synonymous with high fashion and glamour. In 1991 the brand name “Max Factor" was sold to Procter & Gamble.