Foundation (cosmetics)

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Foundation is a skin coloured cosmetic applied to the face to create an even, uniform colour to the complexion, to cover flaws, and, sometimes, to change the natural skintone. Foundation applied to the body is generally referred to as 'Body painting".

History

The use of cosmetics to enhance the complexion has been known since antiquity. “Face painting” is mentioned in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 23:40). Ancient Egyptians used foundation. In 200 B.C., ancient Greek women applied white lead powder and chalk to lighten their skin. It was considered fashionable for Greek women to have a pale complexion. Roman women also favoured a pale complexion. Men also wore makeup to lighten their skin tone.^[1] They would use white lead powder, chalk, and creams to lighten their skin tone. Wealthy Romans favoured white lead paste, which can lead to disfigurements and death. The cream is made out of animal fat, starch, tin oxide.^[2] The fat would be made from animal carcasses and they heated the carcasses to remove any color. Tin oxide is made out of heating tin metal in air. The animal fat provides a smooth texture and the tin oxide provided color to the cream.^[3]

Throughout the Middle Ages in Europe, it was considered fashionable for women to have pale skin. Upperclass Greco-Roman women show off their affluence by being pale. Having a pale face signifies upper social class. A tanned women would be considered lower class. Women would wear water soluble lead paint or powder. In the 6th century, women would often bleed themselves to achieve a pale complexion.^[4] One of the most popular powders is called Aqua Tofana, an arsenic face powder. The container contained a note telling women to visit the creator, Signora Toffana. They can get instructions from her. She told them to apply the powder to their cheeks. Women unknowingly placed the powder on their cheeks and died because the powder is poisonous.^[5] During the Italian Renaissance, many women wore water–soluble lead paint to their faces. Throughout the 17th century and the Elizabethan era, women wore ceruse, a lethal mixture of vinegar and white lead. They also applied egg whites to their faces to create a shiny complexion.^[6] Many men and women died from wearing lead based make-up.

In the 18th century, Louis XV made it fashionable for men to wear lead based makeup.^[1] Theatrical actors wore heavy white base.^[7]

In the late 18th century and early 19th century, Victorian women wore little or no makeup. Queen Victoria abhored make-up and deemed that it was only appropriate for prostitutes and loose women to wear make-up. It was only acceptable for actors or actresses to wear make-up. In the late 19th century, women would apply a whitening mixture made out of zinc oxide, mercury, lead, nitrate of silver, and acids. Some women stay out of the sun, ate chalk, and drank iodine to achieve whiteness.^[4]

In the Edwardian era, women wore base and did not bleach their skin as much as the women did in previous centuries.^[8]

Modern foundation can trace its roots to Carl Baudin of the Leipzeiger Stalt theatre in Germany. He is the inventor of greasepaint. He wanted to conceal the joint between his wig and forehead, so he developed a flesh-coloured paste made of zinc, ochre and lard. This formulation was so popular with other actors that Baudin began producing it commercially, and, as such, gave birth to the first theatrical makeup.^[9]

This would be the standard for theatrical make-up until 1914, when legendary makeup artist Max Factor created Flexible Greasepaint that was more reflective under the lighting on movie sets.^[10] Although make-up would evolve dramatically from Baudin’s invention, theatrical make-up is, to this day, not too far removed from the original blend of fats and pigment.

[edit] Pan-Cake

The first commercially available foundation was Max Factor’s Pan-Cake. Originally developed for use in film, actresses were so taken with the results that Max Factor was overwhelmed with demand for the product for their personal use. The breakthrough in his formula was the first “foundation and powder in one”; traditionally, an actor was made up with an oil/emollient based make-up, which was then set with powder to reduce the reflection and ensure it would not fade or smudge. Pan-Cake used talc — rather than oil or wax — as the base, and, applied directly to the skin with a wet sponge, it offered enough coverage (it could be layered without caking on the skin) to eliminate the need for a foundation underneath. This was considered significantly more lightweight and natural-looking on the skin than the standard method, hence the keenness of people to wear the item in public. Although foundation make-up was widely available and used within the film industry, the use of cosmetics in general was still somewhat disreputable, and no one had tried to market foundation (although lipstick, blush and nail polish were popular for daily use) as an everyday item. Factor had the product patented in 1937, and, in spite of the economic turmoil of the era, Pan-Cake became one of the most successful cosmetic launches of all time. By 1940, it was estimated than 1 in 3 North American women owned and wore Pan-Cake.^[11] As of February 2009, Procter and Gamble, the brand’s current owner, confirmed the original formula Factor developed and used himself is still sold today.