Mascara (cosmetics)
Mascara , also called mascara , is a cosmetic product for coloring, lengthening, thickening and emphasizing the eyelashes , often also the eyebrows . The liquid dye is applied to the lashes with a small brush to make them appear thicker and larger. The mascara brush is sometimes referred to as the eyelash coil .
The effect is mainly due to the tinting of the lash ends. These are thinner and lighter than the lash line and can therefore only be seen up close against the skin-colored background. The dark tint of the mascara makes the ends stand out more clearly. The additional layer of color on the eyelashes also ensures that the eyelashes become thicker and thus appear stronger. In some cases, mascara also contains rayon or nylon fibers, so that the optical effect is also physically extended.
From a regulatory point of view, mascara is a cosmetic product . Together with eye shadow and eyeliner products, they form the product segment of eye cosmetics, which is assigned to the higher-level market segment of decorative cosmetics.
Word origins and grammar
From medieval Latin masca ( "mask", "ghost", "nightmare"), the older directs Italian word form mascara ( "mask") from. On the one hand, the newer Italian word form maschera ("mask") emerged from this, on the other hand the word was taken from Spanish and conveyed from there into English . In English, the mascaro form was initially common from 1883 , the mascara form has been used since 1922. The word mascara finally made its way into German from English .
The further origins of mascara or from Middle Latin masca and a likely connection with Arabic masẖarah ("fool", "clown", "something funny") are unclear in detail. It is possible that words from different languages merged in the Middle Latin masca ; Words from Germanic and Old French (possibly with pre-Indo-European descent) as well as Arabic masẖarah come into question . Duden considers the Arabic origin to be probable, the dictionary of the Real Academia Española even gives the Arabic ancestry without reservation as follows: Spanish máscara <Italian maschera <Arabic masẖarah ("something funny"). The Uruguayan linguist Ricardo Soca points out the plausible meaning transition from “fool, clown” to “mask”: The Arabic word used to refer to clowns who appeared in the theater with masks.
When comparing today's word usage in different languages, both the grammatical gender and the accentuation fluctuate (each highlighted in bold):
- Italian il masc a ra ("mascara"), but: la m a schera ("mask")
- Spanish la m á scara de pestañas ("mascara"), la m á scara ("mask")
- French le mascar a ("mascara")
- English masc a ra ("mascara")
- German the (or the ) Masc a ra ("mascara")
- German the masc a ra ("pen or brush for applying mascara")
history
Mascara was first mentioned in writings from the 4th century BC. Chr. According to records, the mascara was a paste of coal , honey and crocodile - excrement . The eyes were already considered the gateway to the soul in ancient Egypt , the black texture was supposed to protect them from evil spirits.
The first solid mascara was produced and sold by Eugène Rimmel (1820-1887), a French-born British perfumer . His black block, which had to be rubbed with a damp brush, became so popular in Europe that his name became a term or synonym for mascara in various languages, e.g. B. French and Italian rimmel , Spanish and Portuguese rímel , Romanian and Turkish rimel .
In 1915, in Chicago, the young mail order company Tom Lyle Williams watched his older sister Mabel try to color her eyelashes with a mixture of petroleum jelly , ash, and coal dust . This gave him the impetus to develop a mascara. Williams founded a company that same year which he named Maybell Laboratories in honor of his sister . His first salable product, Lash-Brow-Ine, was a perfumed cream made from petroleum jelly and various oils that did not contain any colorings. Lash-Brow-Ine was intended to give the eyelashes (English lashes ) and eyebrows (English brows ) a shine and supposedly also promote their growth. From 1917, Williams sold a dry product called Maybelline for coloring eyelashes and eyebrows, which was offered in shades of brown and black. The brush for application had to be moistened and brushed over the block. In 1923 Williams' company Maybell Laboratories was renamed Maybelline . In 1925 a liquid, waterproof product was also offered under the name Maybelline , again in brown and black and also for coloring eyelashes and eyebrows. In 1929 the Maybelline company introduced eyeshadow and eyebrow pencils. As a result, the previous product Maybelline was limited to use as a dark-colored mascara, the two product variants (solid and liquid) were renamed Maybelline Eyelash Darkener . In 1931 the chemical composition was changed. It was only between 1933 and 1935 that Maybelline established the name mascara for this new mascara. The company developed into a leading cosmetics manufacturer in the USA .
In 1935, Helene Winterstein-Kambersky patented a waterproof mascara. Triggered by the experiences on stage that the heat of the headlights made the eye make-up melt away, after more than 2000 attempts she developed a recipe with a process that made it possible to combine new ingredients and offer a mascara in cream form, withstood external influences and was easy to remove. The eyelash cream was filled into small tubes ; a stick of paper rolled lengthways served as an applicator. The overlapping of the wrapped paper layers already gave a "groove shape" which enabled the cream to be applied in a targeted manner. This radical invention of the mascara world is still offered today.
In 1957, Helena Rubinstein launched a viscous mascara in a bottle that is still common today.
application
Mascara can be used on all lashes. The brush is moved from the base of the lashes away from the eye to the end of the lashes. The brush should not be dipped briefly into its bottle several times to pick up the mascara, as this leads to air bubbles in the ink, which cause it to clump and dry out prematurely. Instead, the brush should be rotated several times in the bottle.
The most common cosmetic accident is said to be the slip of the mascara brush in the eye. This creates scratches filled with Indian ink. These can become inflamed, lead to corneal ulcers and, in the worst case, blindness. It is therefore urgently advisable not to rub your eyes and in such a case to consult an ophthalmologist.
Contact lens wearers have other problems: on the one hand, eyelash-lengthening fibers that can get under the lens and chafe, and furthermore possible lens deposits from eye cosmetics. Therefore, "eyelash-lengthening" products should be avoided. The correct order in each case is helpful: first insert contact lenses, then apply make-up; first remove contact lenses, then remove make-up.
See also
literature
- Wilfried Umbach: Cosmetics and hygiene from head to toe . 3rd, completely revised and expanded edition, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim 2004, ISBN 978-3-527-30996-2 .
- Sabine Ellsässer: Body care and cosmetics. A textbook for PTA training and advice in pharmacy practice , 2nd, revised and expanded edition, Springer, Heidelberg 2008, ISBN 978-3-540-76523-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Duden online: Mascara, die or der (mascara).
- ↑ Duden online: Mascara .
- ^ Wilfried Umbach: Cosmetics and hygiene from head to toe . 3rd, completely revised and expanded edition, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim 2004, pp. 316–336, ISBN 978-3-527-30996-2 .
- ↑ Online Etymology Dictionary: mascara and mask (English)
- ↑ Wiktionary English: Etymology to mask
- ↑ Similar in the Online Etymology Dictionary: mask (English) with several possible derivations.
- ↑ See Duden online: Mask , quote: “probably too Arabic masẖarah”.
- ↑ Diccionario de la lengua española (2017): máscara (Spanish)
- ↑ etymology máscara (Spanish) at elcastellano.org (excerpt from books by Ricardo Soca).
- ↑ On foreign languages cf. mascara in the LEO dictionary: Italian , Spanish , French , English , each with a pronunciation file.
- ↑ Duden online: Mascara, the (pen or brush for applying mascara)
- ↑ a b c Süddeutsche Zeitung: Which mascara is the best? Retrieved February 25, 2020 .
- ^ Eyelashes at the 19th Century. eyelashesinhistory.com
- ↑ Maybelline cosmeticsandskin.com
- ↑ Sharrie Williams, Bettie Young: The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It . Bettie Youngs Book Publishers, 2010, ISBN 978-0984308118 .